Mr. Big’s illustrious drummer Nick D’Virgilio has shared a new episode of his “So…You Want To Be A Musician?” podcast. Nick D’Virgilio podcast with Mark Daly & The Ravens was hugely liked by many music enthusiasts.
Nick D’ Virgillo has had a long and rewarding career as a musician. He started playing drums at the age of 4 and was self-taught until attending the Dick Grove School of Music at age 17. He joined my first band with longtime friend Stan Ausmus at the age of 15.
In 1995, he met Kevin Gilbert and joined his band THUD and from that moment his career took off in many different directions. Nick went on to play for artists like Jonatha Brooke, Genesis, Tears For Fears, Fates Warning, Frost*, and Mike Keneally. Meeting brothers Neal and Alan Morse at a jam night in 1991 led him to combine forces with them, forming the band that became known as Spock’s Beard.
With Spock’s Beard, Nick made a whooping 10 studio records, the first six as drummer/background vocalist, and the next 4 as drummer/lead vocalist. Nick later left Spock’s Beard in 2010 and joined the Cirque Du Soleil show TOTEM, playing as drummer, singer, and bandleader for almost 5 years.
He then went on to become a member of my current band Big Big Train in 2007. Around August 2014, he also started working at the music gear retail giant Sweetwater as the studio drummer, providing masses of web content.
Shortly thereafter, he ventured with his friends Jonas Reingold and Randy McStine to start The Fringe, a trio that released their debut album in 2016. Along with his friend Stan Ausmus and several of the wonderful musicians working at Sweetwater, they formed the band UniKuE, a ukulele-based band that reinterprets progressive rock material from the 70s and beyond, releasing two albums thus far.
After releasing his full-length solo album “Karma” in 2001 and then in 2011 the EP “Pieces”, he proudly worked on his sophomore studio album “Invisible” which came out on June 26th, 2020, and featured collaborations from Tony Levin, Paul Gilbert, Randy McStine, Jonas Reingold, Don Carr, and many others.
The podcast was intriguing and featured Mark Daly and his band, The Ravens. The Ravens are a band with Jack Ross on bass, James Brown on lead guitar, Danny Laverde on drums, and Cillian Plummer on rhythm guitar. Nick recounted that earlier this year, The Ravens hit the road with Mr. Big’s band and that he had the pleasure of catching their electrifying performances every night. He showered praise on their shows and said that they were fantastic and that it was a privilege to get to know them.
He further went on to add, “ Mark and the band were kind enough to sit down with me for an insightful chat about the musician’s life, just before one of their shows. I really appreciate their generosity in taking the time to share their experiences and perspectives.”
He then gave more accolades to the band stating:
“Mark has been diligently crafting his career through relentless touring and record releases, continually building his brand. Witnessing their dedication and commitment to delivering top-notch performances was truly inspiring. This autumn, Mark and The Ravens will be hitting the road again, this time supporting Richie Kotzen across the USA.”
The podcastosted by Nick has had various artists and drummers share their momentous journey in the field of making music. The guests include Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan, James Nichols, etc. The Nick D’Virgilio podcast with Mark Daly & The Ravens was definitely an eyeopener on understanding the various nuances of music.