Nick David was one excited man.

For though the blues singer/harmonica player had already spent decades plying his trade in the Northeast as part of the groups including Mr. Nick & the Dirty Tricks and Queen City Kings, his new band—dubbed “The Wicked Lo-Down” (likely as a subtle nod to the favorite stereotypical adjective of the Boston area), had him juiced.

That’s because he was now paired him with Texas blues slinger Paul Size on lead guitar. Jeffrey Berg (guitar), Brad Hallen (bass) and Nick Toscano (drums) completed the lineup. Among them, the members have toured and recorded with scores of acts both world famous and little known.

The Wicked Lo-Down were prepared by take the industry by the throat. But this was early 2020. And a little thing called the COVID came around, giving the quintet—and the entire world—something to really sing the blues about. It was weird.

“Well, weird is a kind word!” David laughs over Zoom from his home. “It was awful. We got this killer thing going and then…nothing. We couldn’t take over the world because the world had shut down. So, it took a long time to get the ball rolling again.”
It did roll a bit and the group were able to put out their debut album, the independently released We Hot in 2022. But they’ve now hooked up with burgeoning blues rock Nederland, Texas-based label Gulf Coast Records, helmed by blues singer/guitarist Mike Zito for their new effort, Out of Line.

“Mike and Gulf Coast have really been able to put some muscle behind this. And it really excited me about the label to have someone who’s an active artist running it. And an active artist now as opposed to, say, 30 years ago,” David continues. “He understands all of the pitfalls and problems that he would run into himself. I can’t tell you how incredible it has been.”
David says that Zito gave the group “complete and total musical freedom,” basically telling them to turn in the master of Out of Line when it was done to their satisfaction. “He had total faith and trust in us,” David says. “And that is pretty rare.”

The material on Out of Line certainly represents the breadth of blues, with a more rock sound than We Hot. “We weren’t trying to reinvent anything. We just wanted to extrapolate on what we had done,” David offers. “We stretched out a little bit more on this one. It’s our point of view.”
From traditional shuffles (“Bogeyman,” “The Wildest One (Lester’s Boogie),” “You Don’t Know Me”) to rock (“Kill Me or Keep Me,” “Action Woman,” the title track which features a cameo by Zito), to slow burners (“If I”), Springsteen/Fabulous Thunderbirds territory (“Dime Store Darling”) and even forays into psychedelia (“Put Up with You”) and an instrumental (“Vanna Be”). "The Wildest One" is a tribute to the late blues singer/harmonica player Lester Butler.

All are originals, and most written by David and/or Size. David says Size’s Lone Star State influence melded perfectly with the rest of the band’s more Northwest R&B leanings.

“Paul grew up on Stevie and Jimmie Ray Vaughan and Anson Funderburgh and Mike Morgan, so he has that Texas sound. Just steeped in it. It’s a guitar-driven band.” David says. “The other four of us have been playing in the Northeast for the last 30, 40 years. It’s like Roomful of Blues, Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, and Sugar Ray and the Bluetones.”
David says there’s no “normal” way that he and Size collaborate, though a lot of songs will begin with a guitar lick, which becomes a progression, which leads to mood and then lyrics.

As a harmonica player, David says he found inspiration in harp men like Little Walter, James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, George “Harmonica” Smith and Sonny Boy Williamson II. But above them all stands Buddy Guy’s frequent touring and recording partner, Junior Wells.

“He really hit a spot for me. I had a band with Brad Hallen and "Monster Mike" Welch and Jason Corbiere—who’s Jimmie Vaughan’s drummer now. It was called the Hoodoo Men, and we did everything on that Junior Wells [1965] album Hoodoo Man. That was the basis of our sound.”
Of the record’s two covers, Hound Dog Taylor’s “I Just Can’t Make It” is one of the more blistering tracks. But the award for Most Transformative goes to “Toxic.” Yes, the same “Toxic” that was a massive worldwide hit way back in 2004 for…Britney Spears.

David says that when he first brought the idea of covering the pop hit to the band, they were sure he was joking. And he was met with—as he says—“incredulity” at the concept.

“No one wanted to do it! They thought I was out of my fucking mind!” David laughs. “I had heard it one day and it has this weird, minor progression, like ‘Change It’ by Stevie Ray Vaughan. That clicked with me.”

David had in mind for this something like the alternative band Cake’s take on Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” what he calls a “completely different, kitschy, cool” take on the disco smash. After Size took the challenge to adapt it and sent David his initial instrumental take, the singer was excited because it was “exactly” what he had heard in his head.

“I think it worked out pretty well!” he sums up. “Of course, now the guys sort of [needle] me. Like they want to know if we’re going to do ‘Straight Up’ by Paula Abdul next!”

For more in the Wicked Lo-Down, visit WickedLD.com