By Myles Crawley

Singer Aja Volkman, guitarist Rich Koehler and drummer Dan Epand. These three individuals make up the band Nico Vega. I was fortunate enough to catch up with the band at Bar Pink in San Diego. Any time you walk into a situation like this, you are at the mercy of the particular talent and the circumstance. But I’ve gotta tell you, these three folks were some of the kindest, warmest and most talented people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. We hung out in an alley behind the club and talked about their past, present and future. Danica Waters was there taking photos for Project Rhythm Seed. Here is the resulting interview and images:




I coaxed them into playing an acoustic version of “Gravity” which is their current single from their self-entitled CD. This is candid video at its finest! Check this out:



Nico Vega’s show was much different than they appear on this acoustic video. They told me it was going to be the case and they were right. They are hard-edged and extremely powerful on stage. Vocalist Aja Volkman was all over the place and constantly demanding more and more participation from her audience, who responded in kind and sang along on several tunes. Guitarist Rich Koehler is an extremely fluid and very talented musician. He has the onstage appearance of an old western gunslinger. Drummer Dan Epand was a hard hitter and kept a steady driving presence within their songs. Their new album on MySpace Records is called “Nico Vega”. Go and get it. It’s a high energy, multi-faceted album that paints a beautiful sonic picture of modern life.