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Nicky Siano 1955 - now

New York’s house music etymology traces back to three legendary nightspots: The Paradise Garage with DJ Larry Levan, The Loft with DJ David Mancuso and The Gallery with DJ Nicky Siano. What follows is a profile of Nicky Siano, the DJ, the remixer, the pioneer.

Before the Paradise Garage or the Saint there was 12 West. DJ James Stuard's career paralells with that of the "first DJs" It was primarily a gay disco.

Of all the records that I've done, I'm still proud of my first record, 'Kiss Me Again'. Cause I really think that its an all time classic. Timmy Regisford said to me, "I have this record with me at all times," that really meant something to me. And it is an all time for people who were into that underground scene. It was the first Dinosaur record, and they went on to do 'Go Bang', and it was with Arthur Russell and it was just a wonderful, wonderful record. --Nicky Siano

Nicky Siano will go down in music history as the man who set up The Gallery in the early seventies. This is the club where both Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles learned their basic beat mixing skills.

excerpts of e-mail conversation with Nicky on 20 August 1998

Nicky was born on 3/18/55 in Brooklyn, NY

Nicky Siano has been a DJ for a very long time. There were just a handful of DJs in the early seventies and they all knew each other. He knew Francis Grasso although he was only 14 when the Sanctuary opened.

He met Arthur Russell through his best friend Louis who was seeing him at the time...he brought him to The Gallery and Arthur fell in love with the music. They were a mutual influence on each other's music henceforth. For Arthur he recorded 'Kiss Me Again' and 'Waiting Till The Time Is Right', and 'Move',and 'Tigerstripes'. [What label was that?]

Nicky has produced, mixed and written over 30 records among which top ten Billboard dance records. 'Pick it Up', by Sofonda C, was written and produced by him.

Nicky: "Frankie Knuckles came to The Gallery opening night and became friends with Robin, the woman I was seeing at the time who worked the door, she introduced him to me, and we hired him to work at the club. Frankie asked me to hire a good friend of his who was "wild but very talented", that friend was Larry Levan, who became my best friend, among other things."

"Loleatta's first performance as a club artist was at The Gallery, shortly after her first album came out on Salsoul"

Grace Jones' first performance in NY and on the club scene was at The Gallery, at the time she had a small independent label record called 'That's The Trouble' and 'Sorry', when Nicky met her at her agents (Sy Berlin) she sang the song to him and he invited her to the gallery, no one knew who she was when she performed, and although people liked her, it wasn't the reception that Loleatta got. Grace shortly after was signed to a label [Island?] and had her first big hit.

Nicky on Tee Scott:

"Tee Scott was one of the most loving, genuinely nice people I ever met, he was loving and open, and never had a bad word to say about anybody, he was a very special spirit, I really loved him."

Nicky on his musical eclectisism:

"I was the first person to play 'Rock Lobster' in a club, and 'Cherchez La Femme', and 'Call Me'...I grew up in the era when you had to play dance rock as well as R&B to fill the night...I like any record that moves my soul, have also played alot of jazz during my nights, and really like world beat music."

Nicky on Walter Gibbons:

"He was quiet and sad...I always felt like he needed to laugh more, he was a remarkable talent."

Nicky on Alex Rosner:

"Tee was mistaken, [Alex] Rosner did systems at the Limelight (the original one in the Village, not the latter version) and worked for David Mancuso before I hired him...Gallery opened in 1972, I was seventeen, and had worked at the Round Table prior to that."

Was there a difference with Better Days and the "after hour" clubs like Loft, Gallery?

Nicky: "of course, Better Days was a bar, with that type of atmosphere, Gallery was more of underground, homey kind of feel, then we moved and we still had a homey feel, but with greater technical stuff...also the bars close at 4am, we closed at 7 or 8 in the morning, no liquor, and the bars were a lot more cruisy, this was a place to dance, and lose yourself on the dancefloor, letting the rythm take your soul to heaven and back.

What were your earliest musical influences?

David Mancuso, Michael Cappella, and David Rodriguez.

How did you get into DJing?

Nicky: "My girlfriend sucked a club owner off to get me my first gig, unbeknownst tome, she knew I was obsessed with playing, and wanted it more than anything"

Nicky: "'Rain' by Dorothy Morrison, 'I Got It', by Gloria Spencer, 'You're the One' by Little Sister, Kendricks' album 'People Hold On'...those are a few.

TAANA GARDNER
"I'm Comin"
West End Records
Sun, Apr 11, 1999
Jennifer Warner - your Mining Co. Guide to: Dance Music:
Yes, dance music pioneer West End is back, and so is soulful disco star Taana Gardner (remember "Heartbeat"?) with this new funky vocal house groove that's gonna knock your socks off. The cute voice of "Heartbeat" has matured over the years, and now a belting soul-diva delivers the heartfelt lyrics of "I'm Comin." Nicky Siano offers an unconventional, very Paradise Garage-retro- vibed mix, with loads of funky rhythm guitars, heavy acoustic percussion, rousing housey pianos, backing strings, and jazzy vibes--my personal favorite. Kenton Nix adds an interesting retro-tech-house touch, with a skipping tribally beat track and some plucky synth programming--by description it may not sound like it would work, but it does, and surprisingly well. Nicky Siano's Retro Dub is the third and last mix here, nicely expounding upon the A side vocal version and offering solos to the various instruments in the mix in true dub fashion. This is quality stuff, a great return for a fabulous performer that I hope to be hearing more from soon. ***1/2

He recently resurfaced and did a show at Body and Soul which sold out completely. There were over 1500 people there it was an incredible night, the creaming and chanting from the dance floor often overpowered the very high power sound system, it was a love fest. If you missed it there's another chance to catch him at Club Vinyl on Sept 18 1998. Taana Gardner will be performing too. Paris is next in October, and hopefully more dates in Europe shortly after. Contact his agent George Michailow (gmagent@juno.com) if you want to book him. Watch this space for further updates

jahsonic@yahoo.com