About Nicki Gonzalez

At the core of The Nicki Gonzalez Band is the sister-and-brother songwriting team of Nicki & Ira Gonzalez. Born and raised in the Washington DC area, their musical influences are as eclectic as the city itself. Nicki and Ira entered the metro area music scene in 1994 with their nine-piece funk band called “The Magic Pocket Company”. They combined old-skool funk and R&B classics with their own original material of the same vein. The ensemble was high-energy – and high-maintenance. After a two year run in the local college scene these young players parted ways to pursue their individual musical interests.

After a long hiatus, Nicki’s enthusiasm was sparked once again by a local songwriting competition at a local coffee house. The prize? Eight hours of free recording time – just enough for a demo. Nicki entered the contest as an acoustic trio with a guitarist and bass player. Each contestant was to introduce a new song every week for three weeks. It was a challenge for the novice songwriter, but she met it – and won. With eight hours free recording time she pressed a demo and focused on learning jazz material to complete a full night’s repertoire. Her goal: to get gigs. She finagled a “steady” at a Felix, a popular restaurant/lounge in DC’s famous Adams Morgan neighborhood. In short order, Nicki was a big fish in the small, D.C. jazz-pond. This experience did much to sharpen her as a vocalist and front-woman but Nicki craved to be more than a pretty voice. She wanted to be Nicki Gonzalez, Singer/Songwriter.

So, in 1998 Nicki and Ira joined forces again, this time under the name “The Nicki Gonzalez Band”, and it was this project that grabbed the audience and earned them a faithful following. Their original music demonstrated an undeniable jazz and R&B influence of jazz but with their own, original, pop appeal i.e. thicker basslines, substantive and personal lyrics, gutsier vocals. One by one, new songs emerged from the duo and debuted in front of the live audience at Felix every Friday night. Finally in 1999, by popular audience demand, the band recorded, produced and released their self-titled, debut album featuring Nicki’s three contest-winning tunes from years earlier and six more original songs. The debut album has sold over 2,000 copies in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. region and continues to sell steadily.

On December 18th, 2002, The Nicki Gonzalez Band released their sophomore album, “Spilt Milk”. This album is The Nicki Gonzalez Band coming into their own. “Luxuries”, the album’s opening track, ebbs and flows with emotion in a driving ¾ time signature, backed by a swelling string chorus. The tense, angst-laden track “A Quart of Blood” is the album’s tantrum, revealing a harder, edgier side to the surprise of many fans. “Melody”, Nicki and Ira’s personal favorite, features both their vocals in the warm, classic, harmony and is the song that bridges the style-differential between their jazz-rooted debut and “Spilt Milk”, their pop rite-of-passage.

From album to album, the growth of The Nick Gonzalez Band as musicians, producers and as a unit is undeniable and the songwriting shines with maturity and lyrical rawness. Contributing creatively and instrumentally on this album are Nicki Gonzalez on vocals and percussion, Ira Gonzalez on bass and vocals, Jamieson Tobey on drums, Eli Staples on keyboards and Michael Harris on guitars.

The Nicki Gonzalez Band has had the honor of performing at The 2000 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Artscape and The Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage. They played three sold-out shows at the legendary Blues Alley and were the headlining act at the 2002 Crosstown Jam. Following Nicki’s “Wammie” award in 1999 for “Latin Vocalist of the Year” given by the Washington Area Music Association, The Nicki Gonzalez Band was recognized as Best Pop Group, 2001 and most recently, Nicki won for Jazz Vocalist of the Year, 2002.