About Roland Nipp

 

Roland Nipp is a self-professed gear junkie, knob-twiddler, and song addict.  When not playing guitar, he is usually thinking about guitars, amps, songs, and CDs.

 

Nipp’s obsession began inconspicuously in a Vancouver suburb, where he was given his brother’s hand-me down guitar.  Says Nipp:  “The radio was always playing in our home.  When I was handed a guitar at the age of 13, that was it - I felt like I was admitted entrance to a sacred club.  I loved the look and sound of the guitar…I loved carrying it in its case, how it felt, how it smelled…”  Music quickly infiltrated and ultimately replaced all his other childhood activities, and by the age of 18, he was playing professionally in the B.C. Top 40 bar circuit.  Guitar teaching followed shortly thereafter, with Nipp providing instruction for the Vancouver School Board, in addition to his private teaching practice.

 

Like many of his idols, Nipp learned other instruments along the way (bass, piano, harmonica, air drums), and with it, a fascination with sound recording began.  This led to his 1999 debut release, The Blue Room, a well-received album featuring Nipp on all instruments, recorded in his home studio/playground, Blue Room Studios.  Nipp’s follow-up release, By Night (2004), again featuring Nipp on all instruments, earned enthusiastic reviews from international magazines including Guitar Player (“an album reminiscent of Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, and the Beatles”), and 20th Century Guitar (“high musical drama…echoing the tactical studio precision of fretboard masters…an audio pleasure worth repeating”). 

 

Unlike some fleet-fingered guitarists, Nipp is always servant to the song: “I am drawn to a great song, and feel my role is to play strong melodies and sympathetic guitar parts instead of fretboard gymnastics.”  His songwriting is lauded by Guitar Nine Records as “haunting, timeless melodies…musical drama soaked in moody magic…a memorable work that will stand the test of time.” 

 

Nipp’s new album, Little Victories, was three years in the making, created in the bookend hours of everyday life.  Like its predecessors, it was written and recorded one instrument at a time, one song at a time, and by one man in his time.  In our celebrity/soundbite world of manufactured idols, it can be hard to recognize authenticity.  Against this backdrop, Little Victories reminds us how good it is to hear songs again.

 

 

Roland Nipp - Interesting and not so interesting facts

 

Place of birth:  Prince George, B.C., Canada

 

Place of residence:  Richmond, B.C., Canada

 

Family:  Wife Corinne, daughter Emma

 

First good guitar:  Fender Stratocaster

 

Favourite guitar players:  Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmour, Brian May, Alex Lifeson, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Lukather, The Edge, Marty McFly, many others

 

CD Discography:  The Blue Room (1999), By Night (2004), Little Victories (2009)

 

Movie most likely to quote from:  The Big Lebowski

 

Store least likely to frequent:  Ikea

 

Topic least likely to be thinking about:  Home improvement

 

Personal care item no longer required:  Comb

 

Task likely to avoid:  Writing biography in the third person

 

Favourite question to be asked:  Can I treat you to some new gear?

 

 

 

 

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