If someday you find yourself walking down the street, hearing the sounds of someone strumming the entire Beatles back catalog or almost any well known pop song, you might want to look again as you may be listening to The King of Nowhere. His friends adoringly call him the 'human jukebox.' The exact song total is somewhat hazy, as many songs he doesn't know he can play until they're mentioned and the melody and chords come to mind.
It's safe to say, Bruce Driscoll, has spent a lot of time with a guitar in his hands. Alongside his cousin, Charles, he bounced from street corner to street corner playing in Sweden, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Great Britain, and Norway. In his band, Blondfire, with his sister, Erica, they toured in the US and Brazil. As a live member of the band Ivy he toured Spain opening for Cake. As the guitar player for Brookville he's done tours with The Trashcan Sinatras, Tahiti 80, and The Postmarks, and even played shows in Japan. Most recently he played guitar with Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan for three shows in Canada.
You can tell when you listen to his songs that he's working from a massive database of music from years past. It's initially hard to pin down his "style" as he writes in whatever genre he's feeling inspired to write in. His influences are as vast as a musical ocean. They range from The Smiths & The Beatles to Beethoven and the bossa nova of his Brazilian heritage.
What unifies his sound more than almost anything is his unique sense of melody and the quirks of his voice. Whether he's doing an orchestral piece or an electronic-laden dance song you can somehow always tell that you're listening to The King of Nowhere.
On his debut album, Shadow Crossing, the songs overall tone reflect his melancholy, nostalgic, hopeless romantic side. Songs like Chasing Rainbows, Time Traveler (co-written with Ivy's Andy Chase), and Memorize Me (co-written with Teenage Kick's Aric Gillis) all sing of a longing for the perfect love.
He's a self-proclaimed contradiction of a shut-in/party-animal. The entire album was self-produced in his home studio in NYC, where he's spent nearly every day for the past few months. He keeps the shades drawn, and pursues his obsession over finishing every song idea he's ever had. A tiny, Fender tube amp sits in the kitchen, and his bedroom consists of mainly a bed and a Pro Tools rig.
The King of Nowhere assures us that he has seven albums of new material finished and mixed, complete with album covers. With such a diverse range of styles and directions, it seems there's something in his sound for every music lover. And with an ability to record nearly two or three songs a day (he posts them all on his youtube), it's safe to say there's no stopping him.
Be on the lookout for Shadow Crossing (Available Soon).
KD
