Nakia

The Cusp: Naki & His Southern Cousins
By Paul Carrubba

There are some nights when everything just clicks. For the artist known only as Nakia, that night was a packed South By Southwest afterparty in 2006. In a moment of sheer adrenaline, the singer leapt off the stage and nearly ran over a shocked ex-Talking Head David Byrne. The following week, Nakia formed the first incarnation of his backing band, the Southern Cousins.

Since the Alabama native moved here in 2002, he hasn’t stopped. Nakia and his band were voted among the 10 best at the 2007-2008 Austin Music Awards. He’s performed live on ME Television as well as on John Aielli’s venerable KUT show, Eklekticos. The band has a regular Thursday gig at Momo’s and had a slot at ACL Fest, where Nakia also danced onstage with Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Performing is something he was born to do.

Growing up, he soaked up the sounds of gospel, soul and hard rock coming out of the south. Performing at church and in theater productions throughout high school and college stoked his burning urge to be onstage. In 2002, Nakia traveled to Austin and fell in love with the city. “It’s the first place that I really felt at home besides home,” says the singer. He moved here soon after. He played scattered gigs for two years before finally hooking up with his current band. After that fateful show in 2006, Nakia made the switch from band member to bandleader, and the newly formed Southern Cousins put out the EP Playing the Cards in February 2007. His first LP, Water to Wine comes out in April.

Every song on Water to Wine drips with southern flavor. “Choose your Poison” is hip-shaking blues while “Elizabeth Lee” slinks around the Mississippi Delta. But the real standout is the title track. The song just feels like coming home. To really get a taste of Nakia, though, live is where it’s at. He has his steady Austin gigs, plus the West Coast beckons and he also wants to tour his old stomping grounds in the Southeast. A singer with as much presence as Nakia can’t be held back. Nothing beats watching listeners with their mouths agape as he gives his usual 125 percent.

- Austin Monthly

Water To Wine, by Nakia

Southern soul is a special thing. Alternatively inspirational and sinful, it is always engaging. Exhibit A is Austin soulman Nakia’s debut release. The Austin soulman book-ends his debut full release with “Choose Your Poison,” a down and dirty ode to guilty pleasures and “Safe Inside” a gospel ballad. In between are eight tracks that showcase the breadth of Nakia’s talent. He brings an intoxicating swagger to the love song “Make Love Mine Tonight” but quickly works up a soulful fervor over a break-up in “All Over You.” Among the other stand-outs is “World of Love,” a gospel laced ballad interspersed with some Duane Allman-influenced guitar. Backed by his impressive band the Southern Cousins and singers the Fresh Up Girls, consider this a welcome introduction to a tremendous talent. - Twangville.com

Nakia, our G Stylecover boy, is a soulful, powerful beast, chewing up musical notes and spitting them out in a bluesy, passionate haze, reminiscent of the classical blues musicians of a bygone era. Nakia and His Southern Cousins, a band made up of several additional Austin musicians successful in their own rights, will perform at ACL fest on Sunday at 1 p.m. on the WaMu Stage. Trust us, you won’t want to miss it.

It’s a balmy Thursday night in downtown Austin. The streets, void of university students, are as still as the thick summer air. A grackle caws from afar, a truck guns its engine as it turns up Rio Grande Street – the only sounds echoing in the night air. Then, as suddenly as if someone turned on the radio to an old blues station, a drum beat kicks in and music comes flooding in to the night, honeyed guitar chords descending on to Sixth Street from live-music venue Momo’s, the funky little club where local band Nakia and His Southern Cousins have just taken to the stage. Soon, the warm, smoothed-gravel vocals of singer-songwriter Nakia burst forth from the bar, enveloping an entire city block in rich, resonant tones.

Inside, amid clinking beer bottles and calls to the bartender for another round, Momo’s patrons fix their attention on the stage, periodically slap- ping their knees and closing their eyes as they shake their heads to the music, as if passionately empathizing with an aging blues musician’s aches and troubles.

But this is no down-on-my-luck blues perform- ance that leaves the crowd mourning about lost love, broken souls and hard times. Far from it. This is a spiritual revival, a celebration of joyous rhythms and uplifting chorals, a symphony of crescendos and heart-pounding caesuras that command attention. And as the band breaks in to a flawless cover of “With a Little Help from My Friends” – a version that easily gives Joe Cocker’s rendition a run for its money – several audience members spring from their chairs, bolt for the closest part of the club that resembles a dance floor and begin convulsing rhythmically to the music.

This is the effect Nakia and His Southern Cousins have on music lovers. It’s entirely impos- sible to experience the band’s sound, particularly in a live setting, without having a visceral physical reac- tion. Like a cobra coaxed out of a straw basket by the haunting notes of an Indian snake charmer’s flute, Nakia’s music seduces the senses and entices the body to move in time.

“When I got to Austin, I felt like I was at home and being nurtured, that I could grow here as a person, a musician and a gay man” Nakia divulges. “I’ve never felt as comfortable being openly gay as I do in Austin.”

Upon his arrival in Austin, Nakia threw himself in to the local music scene and managed to land a few steady solo gigs at Graffiti’s Bar & Grill and the like, but, as is the case with many young musicians, it was a rough go.

“I would play to practically nobody,” Nakia says. “Paying your dues in that sense can really keep you grounded but it made me want to do bigger things.” Bigger things were certainly on the horizon for the singer, who describes his musical style as “show-stoppin’, foot-stompin’, heart- poundin’, sweat-pourin’, Southern-fried, blue-eyed soul, hot rock ‘n’ roll.” After growing an online fan base and picking up some gigs at the Carousel Lounge, Nakia recorded a short demo called “Kendall Marston Spider,” and used the EP to book a solo tour of shows throughout the South. The tour inspired him to write “Broken Spoke,” a quintessentially Nakia tune about the hardship and enlightenment of being on the road. Though the car he’d set out in didn’t make it back from the tour, Nakia returned home to Austin with something far more valuable – live material he record- ed at venue Eddie’s Attic in his old stomping ground, Atlanta. After dropping a copy of the recording by KGSR-FM radio, he was surprised to learn that program director Jody Denberg liked the music enough to air it on one of Austin’s most popular stations. Nakia’s music career grew from there. He began to perform at KGSR-sponsored events, and gained lots of support from local music nonprofits like the SIMS Foundation and the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, particularly when he fought to regain his sobriety and health. “The amount of support I’ve been given through organizations like that has made it possible for me to thrive and succeed like I have,” Nakia says. Though he was also building steam portraying Vic Odin, the tawdry British “manager” of the popular tongue-in-cheek band the Small Stars, a frank yet supportive discussion with frontman Miles Zuniga (also the lead of successful band Fastball) led Nakia to quit the band in order to focus on his solo career. Nakia spent the next few months recording as much new mate- rial as he could, and starring in performances of “The Music Man” at the Paramount Theatre and “The Rocky Horror Show” at the Zachary Scott Theatre Center. He continued to connect with other reputable musicians in Austin, and before long, he was piecing together the band that would become Nakia and His Southern Cousins. By February 2007, the band released its “Playing the Cards” EP, a beast of a Southern- soul-rock record that featured collaborations with notable musi- cians like Trish Murphy and Mac McNabb, and a tune called “Making it Up to My Baby,” written by Austin honky-tonker Monte Warden.

The CD got plenty of Austin radio play, and Nakia’s fan base grew dramatically. In fact, Nakia and His Southern Cousins were voted one of the top 10 best new bands of 2007 and received an Austin Music Award. By then, Rose Reyes, director of music mar- keting for the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, had already seen something special in Nakia and arranged for Mayor Will Wynn to declare Feb. 15, 2007, “Nakia Day” in Austin. “Nakia is a powerhouse performer,” Reyes says, “and always wows audiences with his soulful, fun shows. I believe his unique talent stems from a generous, open spirit, great songwriting and raw, dynamic live performances.” These days, Nakia is taking it all in, but he’s hardly kicking back. A new record, titled “Water to Wine,” his first LP, features several new Nakia originals as well as songs written by Warden and other musical luminaries, and is scheduled to be released soon. “I couldn’t be happier with the selection of material for this new record,” Nakia expresses. “We recorded 20 songs for a 10-song album, and the material is so much stronger. I think people will really be pleasantly surprised when they hear the progress from the last record to this one.” Nakia and His Southern Cousins are set to perform at this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, a show that will certainly gain the band a ton of exposure and a slew of new fans. And the band can be found every Thursday at Momo’s, pounding out enough soul- ful tunes to give the audience goose bumps. While many Nakia newcomers are instantly touched by his music, it is his personable demeanor and appreciation of his fans that often keeps them coming back, Rankin says. “He is very passionate about his music. When he is up there singing, you can tell he is feeling the music,” Rankin explains. “During the break in his weekly shows, Nakia goes out and mingles while the band cools off and rests. He likes to make sure people are having a good time.” That dedication has garnered this rising star a powerful fan base that’s ready to follow him all the way to the Grammys and beyond. “The Nakia buzz is still strong,” Reyes says, “and we are all cheering him on to the next phase.”

G Style Magazine - September/October 2008 BY CHANTAL OUTON PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL THAD CARTER - L Style-G Style Magazine

"N is for Nakia: The local soul grizzly danced on stage with Sharon Jones on Saturday and led his Southern Cousins in one of my favorite Sunday sets."

"Nakia & His Southern Cousins stir sprinkles of rock, country, and gospel into the stew, but make no mistake, this booming Appalachian-born local blues belter is a soul man all the way, from his bushy beard down to his Budweiser belly. It wasn’t quite the tens of thousands that watched Nakia shake his groove thing onstage with Sharon Jones the day before, but he and his band earned several hundred converts with the jumping-jack keys of “Choose Your Poison” and heartbroken ballads “All Over You” and “Making It Up to My Baby.” Backed by the Marvelettes-styled dance moves of the Fresh-Up Girls, who were dutifully dressed for Sunday service with white gloves, etc., the Cousins gave Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles” a soaring workout, while an impassioned cover of Ryan Adams’ “Touch, Feel and Lose” brought Nakia to his knees and the crowd to its feet."
-Thomas Fawcett

"Most unexpected appearance: While performing, Sharon Jones stuck a microphone in Nakia’s face and was blown away when he sang back at her."
- Margaret Moser
- Austin Chronicle

By AMANDA HARRIS/VALLEY MORNING STAR
November 4, 2007 - 1:34AM
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — The second day of the South Padre International Music Festival started at noon on a sunny day and with many of the bands performing right along the beach and the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

“This is probably one of the nicest setups I’ve ever played in,” said Nakia of the Austin band Nakia and His Southern Cousins. “I probably could have played in shorts today.”

The group performed Saturday at Wanna Wanna, a beach bar and grill on the Island.
“I think the festival is a great idea,” Nakia said. “Why not have a big music festival on the beach — and it’s literally right on the beach.”

Bands from across Texas and around the world gathered on the Island for the three-day festival with more than 50 bands performing at 13 venues over the first two days.
Island resident Lynne Tate said she heard songs performed by Nakia and His Southern Cousins on the music festival’s Web site.

“I couldn’t stop dancing,” Tate said.

Tate and her friend Connie Pearcy, a Dallas resident, were at Wanna Wanna Saturday to hear the band perform live and bought CDs.

Pearcy traveled to the Island to attend the music festival, she said.

”That song ought to be the number one hit in the country,” Tate said. “That’s how I feel about it.”

Nakia said he and his fellow band members were excited about performing their music, which he described as “southern rock fused with Appalachian soul,” at such a large festival.

http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/music_13137___article.html/festival_band.html
- Valley Morning Star

• “Nakia is the real deal y’all, he’s got some serious soul… And that’s what Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are all about… Soul.”
Sharon Jones of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

• “…Nakia’s full- throated, gritty howl that lights this fire. Someday, Nakia’s vocal chops are going to be front and center as part of the next great supergroup to come out of Austin (a la the Arc Angels or Storyville). But until then, this one-name solo artist is doing just fine with a little help from his friends.”
Texas Music Magazine

• “I absolutely love Nakia’s Water To Wine, I love the singing, the songwriting and most importantly, the soul. His talent shines.”
Michelle Shocked

• “The debut full-length from Nakia proves the Appalachian-born belter one of Austin's most talented singers.”
Austin Chronicle

• “Thousands of Austinites might best recognize Nakia as the unassuming fellow pulled on-stage for a dance with soul diva Sharon Jones at the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2008. She’s not the first genre devotee to see something special in Nakia….Nakia’s rich voice and lyrics that lay bare the record’s themes of discrimination, love, loss and spirituality. “On the Bus” features an Otis Redding whistle, while “There Goes the Neighborhood” is a dizzyingly brilliant array of instrumentation and insightful lyricism. The slightly bitter “Elizabeth Lee” and “Outta My Head,” meanwhile, are frustrated odes to a lost love in the best tradition of Southern blues.”
Austin-American Statesman

• “His live performances are akin to a religious experience. With his first full-length release, Water To Wine, Nakia captures his trademark soulful, spiritual sound. It’s a big, theatrical voice, and an execution that’s Southern gospel with more than a hint of Joe Cocker.”
Texas Music Magazine

• "Soul music. With its categories and subcategories – from northern and neo to country and deep – it can be a tough concept to pin down. You might want to rely on a variation of that classic method for identifying porn: you know it when you hear it... On the first half of this assured debut, Alabama-raised and Austin-based Nakia echoes various definitions of soul from over the years, some irrefutable and some fringe... I heard it. I know it."
No Depression

• "Southern soul is a special thing. Alternatively inspirational and sinful, it is always engaging. Exhibit A is Austin soulman Nakia’s debut release. The Austin soulman book-ends his debut full release with “Choose Your Poison,” a down and dirty ode to guilty pleasures and “Safe Inside” a gospel ballad. In between are eight tracks that showcase the breadth of Nakia’s talent."
Twangville!

• "I receive dozens of demo recordings from aspiring Austin musicians; Nakia's submissions have always stood out from the pack. I am excited that his debut album is coming out so that all can hear his magic. He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve." Jody Denberg, Program Director/KGSR

• "It only took one listen for me to rank Nakia in the upper echelons of Austin vocalists! I got an immediate response from listeners. One spin generated requests for days! So I had to play it some more."  Loris Lowe, Music Director/KLBJ

• “With his soulful vocals and rich instrumentation, Nakia stood out among the hundreds of demos we receive each week. “Down In A Pinch” was a perfect fit for The Radar Report, so we featured it in “The Futures” section–a set of emerging artists who we think has what it takes. Nakia certainly does.” Josiah, XMU XM-43, XM SATELLITE RADIO

• “Seeing Nakia perform was the one true unexpected gem for me this year at South By Southwest. Soulful, passionate energy mixed with great songs make Nakia a name everyone needs to know.” Rob Bleetstein, Radioio.com

• “Knocked everyone out. No one saw him coming - but they can't forget Nakia now.” Ed Bailey, Austin City Limits

"Nakia will hook you from the first listen. With upbeat, bold sounds to energizing lyrics; Nakia may not be a name you have heard of before, but after a few minutes, it makes you wonder why you haven't." Atlantis Music Conference 2007 Listening Committee

• "Austin-based Nakia projects a bold, brassy presence his first time out with a striking set of Texas-bred rhythm 'n' blues." Performing Songwriter Magazine

• "Big and Bold, Upbeat and Fun, Nakia's debut is one of the best I've heard in long time!" Bryan Beck, Morning Show Host/KGSR

• "You can’t fake soul, and, on his debut release, Playing The Cards, Nakia proves that he’s the real deal." Singer & Musician Magazine

- Various Quotes

Nakia
Water to Wine

The debut full-length from Nakia proves the Appalachian-born belter one of Austin's most talented singers. Booming, deeply soulful, and accented with the occasional twang, his pipes propel an impressive set of Allmans-inspired Southern gospel-rock. Nakia has a penchant for big ballads with a flair for flourish, the self-penned title track crescendoing into a massive finale, while "All Over You" climaxes in an explosion of rhythmic pounding, power chords, and soul shouting. Half of Water to Wine is written by Michael Fracasso, who also adds backup vocals, keyboards, and acoustic guitar; the poignant anti-prejudice anthem "There Goes the Neighborhood" hits all the right notes, "Elizabeth Lee" adds a dose of dirty Delta blues, and "Choose Your Poison" spikes a dash of New Orleans piano boogie. Nakia's own writing whistles "On the Bus," which rings true to anyone who hops on the Cap Metro every morning. - Austin Chronicle - By Thomas Fawcett

Austin is stuffed to the gills with aspiring songwriters, but Nakia isn’t one of them. Sure, he can write a tune, but like Ruthie Foster and Malford Milligan, he’s first and foremost a gifted singer who just wants to sing the hell out of a great song. The soulful Alabama transplant wrote or co-wrote four songs on Water to Wine, including the rafter-shaking title track; but he really goes to town on the six contributions by Michael Fracasso — most notably on “There Goes the Neighborhood, ” a slyly phrased but searing comment on prejudices. Producer/guitarist Mac McNabb and a crack team of Austin’s best musicians keep the tracks tight and punchy, but it’s Nakia’s full- throated, gritty howl that lights this fire. Someday, Nakia’s vocal chops are going to be front and center as part of the next great supergroup to come out of Austin (a la the Arc Angels or Storyville). But until then, this one-name solo artist is doing just fine with a little help from his friends. — RICHARD SKANSE - Texas Music Magazine

Soul music. With its categories and subcategories – from northern and neo to country and deep – it can be a tough concept to pin down. You might want to rely on a variation of that classic method for identifying porn: you know it when you hear it.

On the first half of this assured debut, Alabama-raised and Austin-based Nakia (last name Reynoso, but he goes by just the first) echoes various definitions of soul from over the years, some irrefutable and some fringe. "Choose Your Poison" is reminiscent of Eric Burdon's beat-heavy work with War. "World Of Love" doppelgangs Derek & the Dominos’ slice of denim soul, "Bell Bottom Blues". The whistled opening of "On The Bus" (click here for free track download) seems to pick up right where Otis Redding's whistled ending to "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" leaves off – a rather brazen move for a rookie.

The title track recalls the recordings made by R&B belter Barrence Whitfield in his second and third acts with Tom Russell and the Mercy Brothers, respectively. And "Make Love Mine Tonight" builds a bridge from Memphis to Detroit by imagining the husky, hooky work of Otis Clay at Hi smoothed a tad by an undercurrent of Smokey Robinson. I heard it. I know it.

Most of the second half of the record sticks close to those five flavors, with the payback number "Elizabeth Lee" a dead ringer for recent Whitfield, and "Outta My Head" another Hi-Smokey showcase for Nakia's rock-of-my-soul pipes. And as a bonus, the songwriting holds its own (with half of the ten songs written or co-written by fellow Austinite Michael Fracasso), touching on social issues as well as the personal. And for those still not converted, Nakia ends the album with the gospel number "Safe Inside". The arrangement is standard; the vocals are far above. Did you hear it? - Rick Cornell for No Depression

CD reviews: Nakia - Water To Wine
By Patrick Caldwell | Thursday, April 16, 2009, 04:23 PM

Bret Gerbe FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN

"As any good bartender will attest, the secret to a good cocktail is the perfect mix of sweet and strong, smooth and harsh. Good soul music is no different — the most memorable soul artists blend the sweetly positive humanity of gospel with the harsh kick of furious rhythm and blues.

To judge by that rubric, Austin’s woefully underappreciated soul scene is in good shape. The last month has seen debut full-lengths by two of the city’s most highly regarded up-and-comers: Nakia, the Alabama-raised crooner with the full-throated voice, and Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, the garage soul octet that delivers gritty garage soul with machine gun urgency... both albums herald the emergence of two major talents.

Thousands of Austinites might best recognize Nakia as the unassuming fellow pulled on-stage for a dance with soul diva Sharon Jones at the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2008. She’s not the first genre devotee to see something special in Nakia. His clean, authentic stylings also attracted the attention of veteran local singer-songwriter Michael Fracasso, who co-wrote “Water to Wine.” Seasoned pro and shining newcomer complement each other nicely — Fracasso’s keys and roots rock sensibility are a perfect fit for Nakia’s sugary Southern soul.

Punchy opener “Choose Your Poison” establishes the album’s modus operandi: catchy but not overpowering guitar riffs, Nakia’s rich voice and lyrics that lay bare the record’s themes of discrimination, love, loss and spirituality. “On the Bus” features an Otis Redding whistle, while “There Goes the Neighborhood” is a dizzyingly brilliant array of instrumentation and insightful lyricism. The slightly bitter “Elizabeth Lee” and “Outta My Head,” meanwhile, are frustrated odes to a lost love in the best tradition of Southern blues.

Nakia’s assembled a talented band and might be Austin’s most soulful singer this side of Malford Milligan..." - Austin-American Statesman