CircuitsNikki Sudden died twenty years ago today.
This was a big one for me because he'd performed live on my WFMU radio program just days before he passed. The events of that night are presumably the last studio recordings he ever made, and so obviously remain very close to my heart.
I was a huge Nikki fan and always went out of my way to see him perform when he'd hit NYC. Even then, his gigs felt like an alien visitation from some other dimension -- he was a classic rock and roller with a seminal artpunk past. A considerable departure from the hipster posing and faux-No-Wave culture that was gathering steam in early aughts NYC. His gigs weren't the type you'd show up to dressed in a hoodie and jeans -- something about his presence signaled that dressing sharply was the expectation, and for (single, mid 30ish) me that meant anything from my black velvet suit jacket to a pair of red leather John Fluevog kicks. A little embarrassing upon review many years later, but these sartorial choices seemed spot-on in the moment.
I was unusually nervous the night he performed live on my show. I'd had plenty of revered bands down for FMU sessions by 2006, but Nikki accepting my invitation felt different. He was a bona fide legend! I did my best to bottle up the gushing fanboy routine, and his initial skeptical glances at me through the studio glass softened as the night progressed. By 11 PM, we were sharing a bottle of champagne, laughing, and discussing plans for him to return to the station on his next stateside visit. Before he left, he signed my copy of "The Bible Belt", his solo LP from 1983.
And a few days later, he was gone.
RIP Nikki Sudden. Art punk terrorist in the Swell Maps, Bolan/Bowie refugee in the Jacobites, and prolific solo troubadour who played an outsized role in shaping my understanding of art and life’s various tragedies.
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