Our second part of the series about AC & The Heat features an interview with Nick Kosanovich, the band’s bass player and Musical Director. Nick brings more than his bass to the band – his intense energy is almost tangible and the chemistry between Nick and Andrea fills the atmosphere. The end result is music that we can’t get enough of and a performance that leaves the audience wanting more.
Nick always wanted to be in a band, or at least what he knew of being in a band. His earliest memories as a small child, four to six years old, are of music. He remembers having a toy “Close N’ Play” record player that he played his Banana Split records on. TRA LA LA, etc. (You’re welcome for the song that will stay in your head for the next day or two!) He clearly remembers watching The Monkees and thinking, “I wanna be one of those guys, that looks cool.” He used to watch Sonny & Cher and remembers seeing Elvis on TV in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He loved Hee Haw, The Glen Campbell Good Time Hour and all the other variety shows of that time. All of these things were part of the fiber of his being and were key to developing his passion for music. When he was in about the 4th grade, 1974ish, he went with his parents to a wedding and there was a live band performing. They were called Rainbow and he was mesmerized by actually seeing a band play LIVE. He thought, “That looks COOL, I want to be part of that.”
In the fall of 1979, Nick was a sophomore in high school. He was sitting in English class when the student behind him (Mike, his soon-to-be best friend for the next few years) said he was going to sell his bass so he could buy a guitar. Nick immediately turned around and said he would buy it. Nick recalls THAT being the moment. He bought Mike’s Harmony sunburst finish precision style bass, Mike showed Nick what he knew, and they went from there. Nick took the rest of the money he had saved from his paper route, babysitting and mowing grass and bought a Traynor bass amplifier. It was a large, four-foot tall cabinet with two 15-inch speakers. He found it in the newspaper classified ads and had his grandmother take him to the guy’s house in her ’72 Nova to buy it. It took up the entire back seat of her car, and Nick was on his way!
The Monkees was the first band Nick remembers hearing and seeing on TV, but KISS is the band that was most influential to him as he started to play bass. He says he has always been a ROCK guy (Classic Rock as we call it today) but he loved 70’s funk/disco like KC & the Sunshine Band, Ohio Players, Sly Family Stone, etc.
Nick’s first AND best concert to attend was 1979 KISS on the Dynasty Tour in Pittsburgh, PA at the old Civic Arena. He says, “WOW, just WOW! Everything I could have imagined and more was right there in 3-D!” Nick and his friends would listen to the albums, stare at the cover, read the liner notes and dream of what the concert would be like, but to actually BE THERE was unbelievable for a 15-year old!
While KISS was Nick’s best concert to attend, one of HIS best performances was AC & the Heat at the Ribs N Rock festival. Nick says he is so fortunate to be not only the bassist but also the Musical Director for Andrea in this endeavor. He is playing with some of the best musicians and people he has worked with over the past 40 years. He and Andrea are much of the same mind musically and both have the utmost respect for each other – they work well together in all facets. Chuck (the band’s original guitarist) and Nick have played together in several bands since 2009 and have always gelled. Jason (keys) and George (drums) are new to Nick’s musical life but both are accomplished players and great people. AC & The Heat has everything it takes to make a once-in-a-lifetime band!
Other topnotch performances include Mane Atraxion (Andrea, Chuck, and Nick) at the Goodyear Theatre in Akron, OH in January 2022. Also, on November 1st 2007, Nick was in an Alice Cooper tribute band and played a showcase Halloween party at the L.C. Pavilion, which is a 1200 seat venue in Columbus, OH. A final show that comes to mind is St. Patrick’s Day 2008 in Pittsburgh, PA when he played in an 80’s band – OVERDRIVE. It was like playing to a sea of GREEN! He has no idea how many people were there, but there were people as far as the eye could see.
Nick’s favorite song to perform has changed a lot over the years/decades. It often depends on the band he is playing with; most recently, with AC & the Heat, he loves playing their originals. Playing a song he created the bass line for to a crowd of people who have never heard it before, and seeing them enjoy it is very rewarding! When he first started playing it was KISS’ “Rock N Roll All Nite”. That was the band he and Mike both loved and they would spend countless hours listening and playing along with their albums.
The Eric Clapton version of “Cocaine” was the first song Nick remembers when the bass played against the guitar, and that was new and different from all the other songs he had played to that point. Years later, when he was playing in an Alice Cooper tribute band, Nick learned “I Never Cry”. The bassline played by Bob Babbitt (Hungarian born, Pittsburgh, PA raised and Motown bassist) was MOVING on a level he had not yet learned. The way the bass and vocals worked together was a huge step in Nick’s development at the time. This same interplay is also evident in “Bobby McGee”, which is a huge moment in AC & The Heat’s show, every time.
Nick’s favorite moments as a musician, other than the live performances he told us about, are when he is recording in the studio. He says it has changed so very much over the decades, from when he started until now, but he always finds it rewarding, and humbling at times. He enjoys the time he spends in the studio, in addition to growing as a player. Nick has always enjoyed recording, even before he started playing. He used to record AM Pop Radio onto his cassette player!
Using a “Boom Box”, he recorded his garage bands, but Nick’s first actual studio experience was in the fall of 1986. He was playing in a band called Arlazja – a made up word that sounded cool and had neat looking letters. They saved up gig money and bought studio time to record a three-song original demo tape. The jam sessions were at Jeree’s Studio in New Brighton, PA, home of King Cool himself, Donny Iris! Although they didn’t get a recording deal from the demos, it was Nick’s first experience and he was very proud of their work! He remembers being exhausted at the end of the day, and did not realize beforehand how much focus and energy he was going to expend in six to eight hours of recording. Nick still has copies of what they recorded, and he cherishes them.
In 2000-2001, Nick played with an original artist, Anthony Rankin (guitar, vocals and songwriter) and his father, Ned (a drummer who played and recorded four albums for MCA with Pittsburgh’s own Iron City House Rockers). They recorded a complete CD at Studio L in West Virginia. That CD was independently released. It was shrink wrapped, bar coded and sold at Border’s Music and Books throughout Pennsylvania and Ohio! Nick was better prepared this time around and a more mature player. It was also a different recording experience because Anthony had a clear vision of what he wanted and what he expected from his bass player. Nick learned quite a bit from this and still remembers it fondly.
Another favorite was when Andrea employed Nick and Chuck to work/record with her on an original song, “Finish What You Started”. Chuck and Nick both recorded their parts in their home studios, and Nick had his friend, former bandmate Cameron Cruiz record the drums in Nick’s home studio also. They sent the tracks to Nexus studio and Andrea sang her parts and mixed it. The song was released on Spotify in June 2022 and was also played on the radio. Pretty Cool Stuff!
Along with the favorite moments as a musician come the challenges. We laughed when Nick said he could go on for days about those! Nick auditioned for a REAL working club band when he was just 18. It was two months after he graduated high school and he was working part-time at a bank answering a telephone, giving out account information to internal bank departments. He replied to an ad in the newspaper classified section, auditioned and got the gig (he says he is certain only because he was one of one guy who replied). He played in that band for several years and it was clearly his very first venture in the REAL music world with adults much older and much more experienced. He learned so much during this time and believes it has stayed with him to this day. They opened up for the Edgar Winter band later that same year in 1982!
In the spring of 2019, Nick got a call to do a fill in gig for St. Patrick’s Day with an 80’s band, Ridgemont High, on a referral from Chuck. He had two days to learn 30 songs, then show up at the gig, not knowing anyone else in the band and never having a rehearsal or having played with anyone prior. The gig was not perfect but it was good enough to get an offer to be in the band for the next four-plus years. Nick is still playing with them to this day (at least until he moves to Ohio, but that is a subject for another blog post!)
Finally, this past spring, Andrea called Nick to let him know she was starting her own band and she wanted him to be her bassist and Musical Director. He had never been given the formal title of Musical Director before and much of the material was in genre’s he had not played. He has spent a lot of time woodshedding (a musical term for locking yourself in your practice space and working on your craft) new techniques.
Nick says he finds the most challenging times are when the most growth is realized, as is the case with most everything. He has learned over the years and decades that the number one thing is having your mind right! Don’t waste time over analyzing things and just play. Nick’s most important thought when he is “in the woodshed” is to focus on the PROCESS, not the product. Play one note at a time and practice what he doesn’t do well vs play what he does. (Great advice, Nick!)
You can connect with AC & The Heat on YouTube and Facebook. Their single “Guys Don’t Get It” is available on iTunes, Spotify and all the major streaming sites. It is also playing on iHeart Radio.
For more about Nick and AC & The Heat, go to www.acandtheheat.com.Check out their concert schedule and go see them live – you will be glad you did!