Nick Didkovsky

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Nick Didkovsky
Nick Didkovsky at The Stone
Nick Didkovsky at The Stone
Background information
Born (1958-11-22) 22 November 1958 (age 65)
GenresProgressive rock
Years active1984–present
Websitewww.didkovsky.com

Nick Didkovsky (born 22 November 1958) is a composer, guitarist, computer music programmer, and leader of the band Doctor Nerve.[1] He is a former student of Christian Wolff, Pauline Oliveros and Gerald Shapiro.[1]

Career

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Didkovsky formed Doctor Nerve in 1984.[2] He received a Masters in Computer Music from New York University in 1987 and went on to develop a Java music API called JMSL (Java Music Specification Language).[3] JMSL is a toolbox for algorithmic composition and performance. JMSL includes JScore, an extensible staff notation editor. JMSL can output music using either JavaSound or JSyn.[4] He has presented papers on his work at several conferences.[1]

Ensemble activities include founding the blackened grindcore band Vomit Fist in 2013.[5] He was a composing member of the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet for the ten years of the band's tenure, and has also played in John Zorn's band.[1] His Punos Music[6] record label is a harbor for his more extreme musical projects such as "split",[7] a guitar collaboration with Dylan DiLella of the technical death metal band Pyrrhon[8][circular reference].

His debut solo album was released in 1997 and featured contributions from Frith.[9] His second album, Body Parts, came out of a collaboration with Guigou Chenevier.[10]

Didkovsky has composed for or performed on a number of CDs including:

Didkovsky's music has also been arranged by the experimental music group Electric Kompany. He is a co-owner of the "$100 Guitar", a guitar which was circulated amongst many musicians (including Alex Skolnick, Fred Frith, and Nels Cline) for the recording of a concept album about the guitar.[12]

Solo discography

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  • Now I Do This (1982), Punos Music
  • Binky Boy (1997), Punos
  • Body Parts (2000), Vand'Oeuvre
  • The Bright Lights The Big Time (2005), FMR
  • Tube Mouth Bow String (2006), Pogus
  • The $100 Guitar Project (2013), Bridge
  • Phantom Words (2017), Punos

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Dorsch
  2. ^ Taylor, Graham "Doctor Nerve" in Buckley, Peter (1999) The Rough Guide to Rock, Rough Guides, ISBN 978-1858284576, pp. 302-3
  3. ^ Didkovsky, Nick & Burk, Philip L. "Java Music Specification Language, an Introduction and Overview", in Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference, Computer Music Association, 2001, p. 123
  4. ^ Dean, Roger T. (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Computer Music, OUP USA, ISBN 978-0195331615, p. 127
  5. ^ "Vomit Fist - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives".
  6. ^ "Punos Music".
  7. ^ "C H O R D / Dylan DiLella - "split"".
  8. ^ Pyrrhon (band)
  9. ^ Jurek
  10. ^ Couture
  11. ^ Schultze, Tom "Upbeat" in Bogdanov, Vladimir et al (2002) All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz, Backbeat Books, ISBN 978-0879307172, p. 443
  12. ^ Kozinn, Allan (2013) "A Generic Guitar Inspires a Distinctive Project", The New York Times, April 2, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2014

Sources

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