Steven Nistor is Brian Blade’s drummer. Forget that he is also a regular call for artist/producers Daniel Lanois and Danger Mouse. That Nistor is the musician’s-drummer’s-drummer is plenty to motivate egress from the cozy pad on a cool and wet Wednesday night to an anonymous Hollywood dive bar to hear him play.
Money, Baby
You’ve likely driven past the place on Vine St. at Santa Monica Blvd. You may even have noticed it. A dull flat slab of a building-front with a miraculously in-tact 60s green blown-glass lamp hanging above the Vine St. entrance and that gloriously stark, monochrome bug-zapper of a neon protuberance that plainly reads, “COCKTAILS”.
Like all superficial facades and illuminated aliases in Hollywood, there is more (or less) than meets the eye, and it has an actual name: Three Clubs. Turns out it is one of the triumvirate (two surviving) of old-school Los Angeles bars forever asterisked by appearances in the movie Swingers. The old martini lounge has withstood its cycles of hipness and relevance and is reemerging as a happening and vibey performance venue.
Wood And Metal
Nistor’s drums were already occupying a sliver in the rear of the smallish stage when we entered the main room. The 28″ x 8″ DW satin veneer woofer as bass drum helped shrink his footprint and elevate his style. A 14″x14″ floor, forward-tilted snare, right-side crash and equivalent-diameter hats completed his set-up.
Glass And Rock
A glass of Redbreast in hand and agreeably seated, the mirror ball began its hypnotic rotation and the band—the drippingly named (and umlaut-ed) Boyz Sküle—ambled on. Class was in session. Essentially a trio, the group is led by guitarist/singer Brett Farkas, with Jonathan Ahrens on bass, and an evidently revolving drum throne. The overall effect evokes the scuplted pop-rock of Elvis Costello and The Attractions. Minus Elvis Costello, naturally. Ahrens’ bass lines are melodic, lifting and deep; and Farkas contributes driving, precise rhythm along with some of the Baddest guitar solos you’re likely to hear in any current rock band, let alone one playing beneath a mirror ball in south Hollywood on a Wednesday night. Tucked in the rear of the constricted stage, Nistor had plenty of room to stretch out.
Aggregate
The set matter-of-factly and inexplicably began with the familiar intro to Yes’ “Heart of the Sunrise.” Familiarity can breed contempt; it can also fluff a few ears at the beginning of an original rock show. The incongruous start aroused attention. Nistor’s drums were buttery and warm. Here comes the sun. In a way, this opening salvo was a fitting signal of things to come…
Composed and precise; loose and earthy. That is Nistor in a fragmented sentence. He maintains a strong and balanced sense of commitment to form and arrangement with improvisational daring and presence. His groove is propelling and relentless, yet relaxed and rooted—never manic. With traditional grip choked up high on his left stick and with full, round strokes, he approaches the instrument and music with sensitivity and strength. Nistor’s drumming reveals a hallmark of most powerful art (and happy souls): contridiction in harmony. Too heavy? OK, the dude rocks. And rolls.
Apparently, I’m not the first to notice.
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I am happily proud of Steven’s success. As a Drum Instructor who has a peronsal philosophy of “Good Enough …. Isn’t”, Steven came into my studio and picked up concepts like a proverbial sponge. When he left my stuudio, he had quite a large amount of musical “tools” for his tool box. I am glad to see him getting the rcognition that attention to detail and relentless hard work garners. He is a good Drummer because he understood what it takes to be a good student
Mark Logsdon