NikoMusic

As NY-Rock Street Beat puts Niko, LA Town Colors: The cover sports a Bono-like fellow, holding his tinted shades with one hand while the other pushes his belted jeans down toward his crotch. The first song is "China Girl," but not the one you're thinking of, though it does show Bowie's influence. A little research proves our hero Niko to be more than just some guy with enough cash to make a disc. This is his second, actually, and I might add, he's a doctor who does research on genetic disord...

As NY-Rock Street Beat puts Niko, LA Town Colors: The cover sports a Bono-like fellow, holding his tinted shades with one hand while the other pushes his belted jeans down toward his crotch. The first song is "China Girl," but not the one you're thinking of, though it does show Bowie's influence. A little research proves our hero Niko to be more than just some guy with enough cash to make a disc. This is his second, actually, and I might add, he's a doctor who does research on genetic disorders. As if that's not enough, the liner photos have him standing next to Playboy Playmates. Oh, one more thing, he races Porsches. I'm sure there's more, but that's enough for me. As for the music, well, it does have a Bowie tinge to it – big, with shades of glam, but more Ian Hunter kind of sound. Niko's pipes work quite well, though he sounds a bit more like Jim Morrison than Bowie. He also assembled some big players for this disc, such as drummer Jimmy Hunter (Ray Manzarek, Steppenwolf), bassist Bob Birch (Elton John), and guitarist Paul Warren (Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker). The result is a disc that comes from the outside in a sense; with all the other stuff going on in his life, Niko can't possibly immerse himself in music 24-7, and admits in the liner that he can't really read or write music. It's that outsider approach that gives the disc a fresh sound, and allows it to stand apart from the mainstream. Check out the doc at www.cdbaby.com/cd/drniko2