Nick St. Nicholas
| Nick St. Nicholas | |
|---|---|
Nick St. Nicholas, June 2007.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Klaus Karl Kassbaum |
| Born |
September 28, 1943 Plön, Germany |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock, acid rock, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician and Bandleader |
| Instruments | bass guitar[(most notably Rickenbacker 4001)], vocals |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Associated acts |
The Mynah Birds The Sparrows T.I.M.E. Steppenwolf Blue Cheer Starwolf Lone Wolf The Wolf World Classic Rockers |
| Website | wcr |
Nick St. Nicholas (born Klaus Karl Kassbaum September 28, 1943) is a bandleader, bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. best known for his partnership in Steppenwolf.
Born in Plön, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, his family was forced to flee because his father, an officer in the German navy, was part of the plan to overthrow Hitler in the failed Operation Valkyrie, and was an assassination target. The family moved to Toronto via Switzerland and became Canadian citizens. His sister Maren joined The Royal Conservatory of Music, (Canadian Ballet Company & Conservatory of Music), as a pianist. He also has a younger brother, Gary who entered the Merchant navy.
Kassbaum spent a brief period as bassist with the Epics, then Shirley Matthews and the Big Town Boys before organizing a set of musicians who eventually coalesced as the Mynah Birds, featuring singers Rick James, Neil Young and Jimmy Livingston.
In 1965, he replaced Bruce Palmer as bassist with Jack London and the Sparrows, became Nick St. Nicholas, and played on most of the tracks on their only LP, which was released in 1965. As the band leader, St. Nicholas hired East Prussian-born front man, John Kay when Jack London left The Sparrows and became "Sparrow" [nee: "The Sparrows"], moved the band south to New York for a modest record deal with Columbia Records, then drove Sparrow non-stop to California.
St. Nicholas was one of the driving forces in music of the hippie counterculture movement, the Summer of Love. Having booked the band at the Matrix club in San Francisco, on May 14, 1967, two live shows were recorded, including a 20-minute version of The Pusher. These are the live recordings released by ABC Dunhill Records as Early Steppenwolf.
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Wikipedia