Last December, Nick Santino released an EP “Savanah,” just 7 months after the release of his first full length album “Big Skies.” Nick began 2015 with an a show opening for Hanson in Mexico, playing in various college performances, and even headlining a rare, intimate acoustic performance in his small hometown of Braintree, MA. Following his performance tonight in Dallas, TX at the South by So What?! festival, Nick will be heading back on the road for a full tour with Oh Honey on the “Postcards Across America Tour.”

The tour opens next Tuesday in Los Angeles. You can get your tickets here.

When we spoke with Nick Santino in December, his full length album as a solo artist, “Big Skies” was still just a bunch of song ideas recorded on phone notes.

In just 5 months, Nick recorded the album –which he had envisioned as not “a country record, I wouldn’t say it’s going to be a folk record. I think it’s just going to be a storytelling, songwriting thing.” Nick’s album turned out exactly how he described it; mixing folk, country, and rock to create a cohesive collection of 11 different stories in song forms.

Photo by Rosemary Vega

“Big Skies,” produced by Pat Kirch (of The Maine) is the perfect next step for Nick. Before Nick went solo, he was the lead singer of A Rocket to the Moon, whose last album, “Wild and Free” experimented with a country sound. After the band parted ways early in 2013, Nick released two solo EPs, “Going Home,” and “The Ones You Meet Along the Way, under the name “Nick Santino and The Northern Wind.” These EPs continued his journey towards a folk sound. With “Big Skies,” Nick seems to have found his place in the genre, and as he said, is not just country or folk, but rather a mix of his influences, which seem to range from classic rock all the way to Taylor Swift. In a time where artists no longer confine themselves to one genre, Nick has found himself in an interesting mix that allows the album to be carefree and sentimental all at once.

The songs are stories about growing up, love, and heartbreak, with simple lyrics that seem to be influenced by the likes of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. “It is What it Is” is very reminiscent of Cash’s cover of Dylan’s “It’s Ain’t Me Babe,” female vocals included with the help of Maria Sais de Sicilia. But the songs also seem inspired by classic rock. “Keep on Going” could easily be played along with The Eagles. Nick admitted to us that he listens to a variety of music, including Taylor Swift. So it comes as no surprise that “Jackson Browne,” a touching song about heartbreak, is almost a response to Swift’s “Tim McGraw.”

The album is filled with mostly mid-tempo songs that give the album an easy-going feel, perfect for summer lounging. (Releasing the album just after Memorial Day was perfect timing). “Bad Taste,” and “Can’t Say I Miss You,” the first two tracks off the album, are the perfect opening songs for already-fans to transition from A Rocket to The Moon, to just Nick Santino. While both tracks are similar to music Nick has released in the past, he takes more chances with “Gone Like Yesterday.” Another song that seems to be heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, Nick takes more risks with melodies, as well as adding more of a folky-twang sound. “Back To Where I’m From” follows in the same direction genre-wise.

“Long Way Home,” co-written by John O’Callaghan of The Maine, is another song that fills the gap from Nick’s music in A Rocket to the Moon. And to turn the tables completely on everyone, the song comes before the most different song on the album, “Mood Ring Eyes.” The song, one of the standouts, is filled with a more gritty rock sound than the rest of the album, and yet manages to fit among the other songs. Nick’s ability to maintain a signature sound while mixing so many genres, whether it’s because of the songwriting or smooth vocals, is what makes the album most interesting.

The two ballads on the album, “Have a Little Faith in Me” and “She Don’t Miss Me,” feel the most honest. “She Don’t Miss Me” is a live one-take track, which allows for the raw vocals and music to emphasize the heartbreak and pain in the lyrics. While Nick proves himself as a songwriter through the album, the song’s simplicity allows for the lyrics to shine more than in the other tracks. The simple lyrics, “I found my baby, but she won’t come home with me,” with the simple sound convey the most tender emotions in the album. Mistakes and all, this song is a hauntingly beautiful (yeah, quoting drunk Ted in HIMYM) finish to the album.

Score: 4/5

When we sat down with Nick Santino in December, he told us he had recorded a song with John O’Callaghan of The Maine. Well, that song is finally here. Nick released the song, “Long Way Home” as part of the 8123 Single Series. “Long Way Home” was co written by Nick and John, and produced by Pat Kirch of The Maine. The song is available on iTunes and on a limited edition 7″ Vinyl, which can be purchased here. (FYI, you can listen to the song for free there too.) The vinyl also includes a bonus track, a cover by Nick of a song originally by The Maine.

The 8123 Single Series was created by Kirch. “The idea of doing an 8123 single series came very naturally,” Kirch explains. ”We wanted to be able to play around with some collaborations and yet still be able to release the music for fans to hear.”

Check out the making of the song below:

One things for sure: Nick Santino does not like to be adventurous with his food, but does like to be with music. We sat down with Nick at the end of the The Up Close and Personal Tour with This Century to talk about the end of A Rocket to the Moon, his new music, food, traveling, and the future.

Check out the interview below.

How did the tour go?

It was good! It was a lot of fun. These guys are like my best friends now, so that’s awesome. We did the whole summer tour together. This Century and I have a good time together, but it was a blast. I mean, doing a first solo tour, a little different, a little interesting, not what I’m used to, but I had a lot of fun with it. I like it. I guess I’ll continue to do it.

I’ve read different things about how A Rocket to the Moon Ended. What actually happened? I know it had something to do with the record label.

Yeah, it was not so much the label telling us we have to break up. It was more so just all this stuff with our label not really wanting to put out our record. We were all very excited and happy about the record and then it just felt like we didn’t have the right team of people with us. So, we just kind of made a decision. It was just getting too much to handle, so we were like “You know what? Let’s just call it quits for now, so we don’t overwork ourselves, we don’t end up hating each other.” Cause we left on good terms, and we’re all good friends. Halvo and Andrew are on their way right now, to this show. So it’s cool, and it’s fine. I think it had to happen the way that it happened. I’m glad that it did, because it could have ended a lot worse. But I’m glad the way it did.

Why did you decide to do your own thing rather than try to get everyone back together?

I just like making music. And I think we kind of ran our course. If we continued to do Rocket, if we changed our name, it’d still be a hard thing to start over. And everyone else wanted to try different things. Justin wants to write in Nashville. The other two live out here now. And I think everyone was wanting to see what else is out there. And for me, I just like playing music, so I continue to do it.

Photo by Rosemary Vega

How’s the fan reaction been?

It’s cool. I feel like I’m winning people over, some people that were a little skeptical about the transition over to my solo stuff. After the shows, I’m meeting people that are telling me that they’re very happy and they respect me for continuing on and not letting the label thing get me down, you know? So, I think it’s cool. I think they’re really liking it. I think I need a little more time and work, but I’m willing to give it that.

How’s it been now that you don’t really have a label telling you what to do?

It’s been great. It’s freeing. I definitely don’t miss having the phone calls or emails of disappointment being like, “Hey we didn’t get this,” or “Hey, you owe us this,” or something, you know? So it’s definitely freeing and I like that.

How has this tour been with getting to know everyone, any rituals come about?

Yeah, everybody’s so relaxed, and we all have the same sense of humor. And I mean there’s only four of us. When we were touring there was 5 of us, the tour manager, This Century, and me. We all have the same sense of humor, we joke around, everybody’s easy going. You know, Joel’s a vegetarian, no one else is, but he’ll eat wherever we can go and find an option. It’s cool to have everybody kind of on the same page. It gives it good vibes, nobody’s ever in a bad mood. Even the shows that don’t go as well as the night before, we’re not like “Meh, nobody came!” We laugh about it. We’re like, “Hey, 5 people came. That’s cool!” It’s very humbling and I think we have to stay with that mindset.

Did you have a favorite stop on tour?

New York is always really fun. We have friends that come out. New York is New York. A lot of kids come out to those shows. Boston is cool- hometown show for me. Tonight’s probably going to be really fun, Anaheim has always been one of my favorite places to play. So, you know, I think the major cities like that are the more fun ones.

You just mentioned Boston is your hometown, yet your music has a country sound to it. Where did that come from?

To me, it’s not really where you come from that means you have to listen to certain music, you know what I mean? It’s like, certain music only really exists- country music is in the south, but everything else is all over the place, you know what I mean? Just cause you don’t live in the south doesn’t mean you can’t listen to country music. I didn’t even listen to country until the last few years. And then it turned into more folk, and Americana, and bluegrass, and that kind of stuff. I think it’s just from influence, from listening to that kind of stuff. Like I live 8 miles south of Boston so there’s not fields around me, you know. I’m not a southern boy by any means. The Beatles played cool rock and roll and they also had some folky songs, and they’re from England. So, it’s cool. I think it’s just the influence of what you listen to that really shows in your performance.

So what made you decide to start listening to country?

Senior year of high school I started listening to Johnny Cash. I was on spring break with my friends in South Carolina, and for some reason like- I just got a Johnny Cash record. And I LOVED it. And since then I feel like my writing style is heavily influenced by Johnny Cash, like the storytelling, the simple song structures. From there I branched on to radio country, like Taylor Swift, and bluegrass stuff like Ricky Skaggs. So, I just have an appreciation for it, and that’s what I like about music, that I don’t hate anything. I can appreciate any style of music cause it’s created for a reason.

You’ve released two EPS now, do you have any idea what direction you want your next release to go?

Yeah, I mean, we’re going to work on a record beginning of 2014- hopefully shoot for a summer release. And I think the vibe that I want to make is like- I want it to be a little bit more- “Okay, this is one guy,” instead of this is just Rocket continued on because it’s a full band. There’s going to be full band stuff, but I’m going to keep it pretty natural and roots-y, and very Americana, heavy acoustic and vocal- very singer-songwriter, with some slight percussion throughout the record. I think it’s just going to be a very good feeling, relatable record. I feel like it won’t fit into any one genre, but it will kind of fit into a couple different things. And that’s kinda how Rocket always was, that’s just the way we wrote. The way were feeling that day, we wrote a certain song and it sounded a little twangy. I wouldn’t say it’s going to be a country record, I wouldn’t say it’s going to be a folk record, I think it’s just going to be a storytelling, songwriting thing.

What made you decide to add “The Northern Wind” and not just go by Nick Santino?

The Northern Wind is something I’ve had in my iPhone notes for four years. Actually, three years maybe. I remember we were on the All Time Low tour in 2010, I think? And I wrote it one day. We were doing a drive and it just came to my head, I wrote it, and I was like “If I ever do a solo thing, I’m going to name it that.” And I think it gives people something to remember. You can forget peoples names all the time, but if you have something like that, like The Northern Wind, you can be like, “What’s that kids name? Michael something… and The Northern Wind!” You know what I mean? It doesn’t matter if you remember the Nick Santino part, as long as you get the The Northern Wind thing. And it always gives room if I were to expand to a band, they could be my Northern Wind. I think it’s just a bunch of things. It could be whatever anyone thinks it is. I’m a northern boy, it could be anything.

DECEMBER 19- As a 22 year old, the idea of going to Chain Reaction makes my head hurt. For those that aren’t familiar with the venue in Anaheim, it’s one of few all ages venues in Southern California, which means lots and lots of teenagers and no alcohol for the older kids.

The set up in the small club makes it difficult to hear anything happening on stage if you’re standing on the sides. Needless to say, it’s one of my least favorite venues, but I’m glad I decided to suck it up for Nick Santino & The Northern Wind and This Century for the Up Close and Personal Tour.

After an excruciating amount of opening acts, there were literally five of them (another reason I hate this venue), Nick Santino finally hit the stage. Nick was the lead singer of A Rocket to the Moon before the band decided to part ways in early 2013. Nick’s solo venture is a complete change of pace from A Rocket to the Moon, going from pop rock to a more folky-country sound. This was clear from the very beginning of his set, which started with “Story You Should Tell.” The Nashville inspired sound came right through with not only the music, but also the lyrics as he stood on stage with just his guitar.

Nick has an ease on stage, which made his set that much more enjoyable to watch, even with all the “slow sad songs” (his words, not mine) he performed. Nick told stories before many of the songs to explain where they came from or what they’re about. He had the crowd laughing between every song, often by making fun of himself, or friends in bands which the crowd recognized. Before singing “Too Good,” he warned the crowd, “keep your best friend as your best friend, don’t try to do anything.” The song, a sad and beautiful ballad, kept a theme present in many of Nick’s songs: heartbreak. Even more beautiful and sad was “Goddamn,” which Nick prefaced with, “this song is about not getting the hint and not knowing when to move on. I guess that makes me sound kinda crazy.” His honesty onstage, while talking and singing, made his music vulnerable, and believable. In a time where musicians often take the entertainer route rather than be a musician, Nick Santino’s music and ability to stand alone without the smoke and mirrors is refreshing.

Nick brought former bandmates Eric Halvorsen and Andrew Cook on stage to sing a fan favorite, “Baby Blue Eyes,” from A Rocket to The Moon’s debut album. The crowd was clearly excited for the mini-reunion. Although the genre of music may be different for Nick Santino & The Northern Wind, the romantic lyrics were clearly written by the same guy. Nick has easily created a style of songwriting unique to himself, and which will only continue to mature as his career takes off — and I’m sure that it will. Nick also had more uptempo songs, that were obviously influenced by Johnny Cash, like “Miss Virginia” and “Never Coming Back.”

After Nick’s set, headliners This Century followed. The four member band was down to three, with keyboardist Alex Silverman’s absence. Lead singer Joel Kanitz addressed this after a fan shouted, “Where’s Alex?” with, “Sick, sorry this is kind of a last minute acoustic thing.” Joining Joel on stage was drummer Ryan Gose, who played keyboard for the song “Running in Circles,” and Sean Silverman on guitar. Their “last minute acoustic thing” was good for the band, as the acoustic sound impressed me much more than their recorded album. The band played songs from both their albums, but with a majority from their May 2013 release, “Biography of Heartbreak.” Yep, the night continued with more songs about unrequited love and heartbreak. The girls in the front row sang along every word to every song, including a slowed down version of “Tip Toe.”

Judging from the crowd, Nick and This Century’s music caters to a younger demographic. It’s clear why the bands chose a place like Chain Reaction to perform, but the entire time it seemed that the show would have been better suited for a place like The Mint, where you could enjoy the music while having some drinks and dinner.

Check out the pictures from the show below:

Photography by Rosemary Vega

[See image gallery at hollywoodtimessquare.com]

The popular pop-punk band, The Maine stormed through the House of Blues in Anaheim on Friday with one mission –entertain the hell out of audiences–and that they did.

The show was only the second stop on the band’s national 8123 tour, but the energy was already in full swing.

Even before The Maine made it to the stage, the crowd grooved along with opening acts Brighten, This Century, and A Rocket to Moon.  Each band had fans in the audience, making the night a pleasurable experience for everyone.

Although, the night was a little bittersweet for Rocket to the Moon fans since this is the final tour they will be performing together.  It was definitely a little sad for me because I wasn’t familiar with their music before the concert and they won me over right away. During the show I overheard someone saying “I like them, why is this their last tour?” The group played some of their signature songs like “Dakota” and “Like We Used To”–which was featured on an episode of “Teen Mom.”  They closed their set with a bouncing rendition of “Mr. Right.” Maybe, I’m crazy, but the chorus to this song reminds me of the George Harrison song “Got My Mind Set on You.” It was a great lead into The Maine’s set.

The crowd went absolutely bonkers when The Maine finally hit the stage, it was almost like being at a boy band concert…almost.  They opened with “Love & Drugs,” from their latest album “Forever Halloween.” It was a good first choice since “Love & Drugs,” is one of the few songs off the new album that is reminiscent of the group’s classic pop-punk sound. The audience was very into it and most knew all the words even though the album just came out three days ago (albeit the song was released a month ago…it’s still impressive).

The group did a good job of switching back and forth from their newer songs to the older stuff. No matter which The Maine album is your favorite, they played something you liked. My personal fave was “Happy,” the hooks are extremely catchy and John O’Callaghan’s voice sounded impeccable. Of course, not everything is all fun and bright tunes in The Maine’s world; they also performed the emotional ballad “These Four Words.” Everyone got a little emo for this one. The lights were turned down and O’Callaghan hid behind the piano. It was just his voice and his sadness. The song was extremely powerful and it was easy to spot a couple of fans crying.

The sadness didn’t last long though, O’Callaghan quickly reminded everyone why The Maine shows are so much fun. He interacted with the crowd and gave them pep talks. He actually started a monologue with, “this is me being your dad right now.” He was also looking out for everyone asking, “Hey can I get you anything? What can I get you?” The security guards proceeded to bring people in the front rows bottled waters after he said that. It was cute to see how much O’Callaghan loves his fans.

Sadly, the night couldn’t go on forever and the group closed out the night with “We’ll All Be.” They surprised the audience by bringing up all the opening acts to perform with them. It was clear to see how much the bands like and respect each other by how much fun they were having on stage.

All in all, if you’re a fan of The Maine, this is a show worth catching. The tour gets bonus points for bringing in very talented openers. Even if you’ve never heard of any of the opening acts before, you are sure to go home wanting to know more about them.

The 8123 tour is going on throughout the summer with the last stop in Austin, TX on July 20.

Set List:

1. Love & Drugs
2. Misery
3. Inside of You
4. We All Roll Along
5. Into Your Arms
6. Right Girl
7. Happy
8. Some Days
9. Kennedy Curse
10. Heroine
11. These Four Words
12. Whoever She Is
13. Identify
14. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cover)
15. Count Em 1, 2, 3
16. Like We Did
17. We’ll All Be…

Contact reporter Frances Vega and follow her twitter.

Photography by Rosemary Vega
[See image gallery at hollywoodtimessquare.com]