Got seriously started in music as guitarist with my high school punk band "The Plague" (yeah there's a million bands named the plague, but what the hell did we know/care). That's when Mike Eck dubbed me with the name Grind because of my guitar sound (a '61 SG through a Pevey amp on MAX overdrive and trebble). It just kinda stuck after that. Later on I formed The Grindstones with a couple friends, Joe and Dave. Never expected to become a vocalist, but we didn't have one and didn't think anyone who could actually sing would ever want to be in a band with us. So I grabbed the mic along with my guitar, basically just so we could all follow along together during rehersal. I left The Grindstones behind to attend SUNY Albany as a philosophy major, hell bent on figuring out "the meaning of life". Less than a month after starting school, Bob Gori talked me into dropping out to become the frontman for a new band he was forming called Lethal Lipstick. It sounded like exactly the kind of music/band I always wanted to be in, drawing on influences from The Dead Boys, New York Dolls, Alice Cooper, Sweet, Sex Pistols, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Plus the fact that I idolized Bob and had been a huge fan of The Misfits/Tragics. (I didn't think Bob even knew who I was. LOL) The years in Lethal saw a bunch of lineup changes, and culminated in some limited admiration from fans of '80s and '90s glam. (see the Lethal Lipstick page biography for that whole story). But it was there that I got to join forces with the most talented musician/songwriter I ever worked with in Mike Trash. To this day he's still my favorite. After the demise of the Lethal Boyz, Mike called me up to join him as the frontman for his new project "The Virus". Another band name about as common as "The Plague", so we came up with "The Godfathers Of Infection" (what were the chances of another band with THAT name?). But by the time the old age odometer rolled over to 30, I found myself completely broke, uneducated, without a future, and with a sick and aging father who was dieing. It was time to put old NG in the closet, take care of my family, and figure out a way to survive in life. It was either that, or I was gonna end up 6 feet under before I hit 35. I left the scene behind and dropped out of sight for 15 years. Now, here on Facebook, I've reconnected with so many of my old friends. The people who were like a family to me back in those days. The guys and gals who always had my back no matter how big an asshole I was. (That's especially true for my twin Tragedy, ex-girlfriend and always a true friend Tammy, & my musical idol Mike Trash) In this time of reflection, I able realize how important those people and those times were/are to me. Hopefully now I've gained enough wisdom over the years that I can strike a balance between being Nick Grind (so much a part of the real me) and having a "normal life". Thanks to everyone who has supported me over the years. And to those I've fucked over, hey what can I say except I'm sincerly sorry (ok, so there are some to whome I would still say 'fuck you') and I hope you forgive me.
Love you all!
NG