Nick Zinner

Nick Zinner
Nick Zinner at Virgin Festival 2007
Background information
Birth name	Nicholas Joseph Zinner
Born	December 8, 1974 (1974-12-08) (age 36)
Origin	Sharon, Massachusetts[1]
Genres	Alternative rock, New Wave, art punk, indie rock, garage rock, hardcore punk, thrashcore
Occupations	Guitarist Songwriter Producer Photographer
Instruments	Guitar Keyboard Bass Drum machine Piano Violin
Years active	1990s–present
Labels	Interscope Shifty (formerly) Three One G
Associated acts	Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Head Wound City, The Blood Brothers, Bright Eyes, Scarlett Johansson
Website	www.yeahyeahyeahs.com
Notable instruments
First Act guitar, Dewey Decibel Flipout guitar.

Nicholas Joseph Zinner (born December 8, 1974) is the guitarist for the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He is known for his "unmistakable"^[2] wild hair, skinny physique, and pale appearance. Zinner is an accomplished photographer.

Musical career

Before forming the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs with Karen O and Brian Chase in 2000,^[3] Zinner attended Bard College where he played in the Boba Fett Experience, who later changed their name to Challenge of the Future because of concerns about being sued by George Lucas. The band moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the late 1990s and broke up in 2001.^[4]

Since 2001, Zinner has many collaborative efforts under his belt with such acts as TV on the Radio, Har Mar Superstar, Ronnie Spector^[5] The Horrors, and Scarlett Johansson. He contributed guitar and keyboard to several tracks on Bright Eyes' 2005 album Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and went on tour with the band as part of the rotating roster.

In 2005 Zinner formed a band Head Wound City along with members from The Locust and The Blood Brothers.^[6]

Zinner produced the re-mix of the track 'Compliments' on British group Bloc Party's 2005 album Silent Alarm Remixed, and has remixed The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower's song, "INRI," on their INRI ep. Zinner has also remixed Single Frame's song, "People are Germs," in addition to appearing in the music video.

In August 2009 Nick was included at number 16 in NME magazine's future 50 list.^[7]

In early 2011 Zinner contributed guitar to the song "Go" by Santigold.^[8]

In May 2011 Zinner was commissioned to curate, compose and lead a performance 41 Strings in NYC to celebrate the 41st Earth Day. The performance, in which he collaborated with musicians Hisham Bharoocha and Ben Vida, involved 41 players of various stringed instruments, plus additional percussion and synthesiser parts.^[8][9]

Photography

Zinner studied photography at Bard and also in Paris, France. He has released four separate collections of his work: No Seats on the Party Car (2001), Slept in Beds (2003), I hope you are all happy now (2004) which features an introduction written by director Jim Jarmusch, and Please Take Me Off the Guest List (2010).

An exhibit – 1001 Images – of Zinner's photographs was mounted in NYC in October 2010^[10] and in San Francisco in February 2011.^[11]

In January 2011, Zinner was commissioned by Lee Jeans to shoot their Winter ’11 advertising campaign.^[12]

In May 2011 A further exhibit of his photographs was mounted at the Anastasia Photo Gallery in New York City, featuring shots of the crowds at his concerts.^[8][13]

Personal life

Nick is a vegan and involved with the animal rights group, PETA. He has tattoos in different places including one of a star on his arm, and another of a heart on his finger and one on his hand. Zinner listened to metal bands while growing up, and cites Mötley Crüe and Glenn Danzig as major influences.^{[citation needed]}

His father, Stephen Zinner MD, is a medical professor at Harvard University and a classical pianist. Nick Zinner also played the violin, referring to himself as a "child prodigy."^{[citation needed]}

His sister, Meredith Zinner, is an actress and photographer based in New York.

Album Appearances

• The Blood Brothers – Crimes (2004) – "Wolf Party"
• Bright Eyes – Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (2005 · Saddle Creek)
• Head Wound City – Head Wound City EP (2005)
• Bloc Party – Silent Alarm Remixed (2005) – "Compliments (Shibuyaka Remix By Nick Zinner)"
• The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower – INRI (EP) (2006) – "INRI (Nick Zinner Remix)"
• Scarlett Johansson – Anywhere I Lay My Head (2008)
• Nickel Eye – The Time of the Assassins (2009)
• N.A.S.A. – The Spirit of Apollo (2009) – "Whachadoin?"

References

1. ^ Festival draws crowds, August 2007
2. ^ Lazy-i Interview with Nick Zinner, April 2006
3. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/yeah-yeah-yeahs-p522831/biography
4. ^ Bard makes noise
5. ^ Pitchfork Record Review | Ronnie Spector: The Last of the Rock Stars, 6 June 2006
6. ^ auralminority Interview with Nick Zinner, 7 September 2005
7. ^ "The Future 50 – The Innovators Pushing Music Forward". NME. 08/05/09. http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=6901&more=1&c=1. Retrieved 2011-03-26. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} "Nick Zinner co-leading '41 Strings' (RSVP), played guitar on the new Santigold/Karen O song, has his photos in a gallery". Brooklyn Vegan. May 5, 2011. http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2011/05/nick_zinner_co-.html. Retrieved 2011-05-15. 
9. ^ Jay Belin (May 5, 2011). "Nick Zinner Curates 41 Strings Earth Day Event". NONSTOP SOUND (NBC New York). http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/nonstop-sound/Nick-Zinner-Curates-41-Strings-Earth-Day-Event-121326944.html. Retrieved 2011-05-15. 
10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yADwFEc3ZZo
11. ^ http://publicsf.com/exhibitions/nick-zinners-1001-images-2479
12. ^ "Nick Zinner On Shooting for Lee". Lee Jeans. http://www.leejeans.com.au/insider/Interview/nick-zinner-on-shooting-for-lee.html. Retrieved 2011-03-26. 
13. ^ Faces in the Crowd: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Guitarist Nick Zinner on Secretly Photographing His Fans, for Art's Sake ARTINFO.com

External links

• Nick Zinner at Discogs
• Free Williamsburg Interview with Alexander Laurence (2003)

Persondata
Name	Zinner, Nick
Alternative names	Zinner, Nicholas Joseph (real name)
Short description	American guitarist and photographer
Date of birth	December 8, 1974
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death