With six albums under his belt and a music range including jazz, funk and R&B, Athens musician Nik Gruber has loved playing music most of his life.
A native of Omaha, Neb., educated in Iowa, Gruber moved to Athens last summer and is working on developing his solo act.
Gruber said that his appreciation of music began before he could even remember.
My dad played guitar when I was growing up and he listened to a lot of blues and jazz
and other slightly offbeat artists like Steely Dan Gruber said.
Gruber began performing as a guitarist himself at the age of 16 before going to the University of Iowa for college.
Iowa City is a strong music town like Athens. There isn't a lot outside of it but there are a decent number of clubs in town. Because it is a college town
(many different) forms of music are there
including reggae/afro-beat
Gruber said.
When completing graduate school, Gruber wrote a compilation of songs that he used as his masters thesis. He performed these songs with a collection of his friends that became the band Friends With Benefits.
We were the house band for three years at the Iowa City Jazz Festival and just decided to keep doing it G? I was spoiled to have a band that would play all my music
no questions asked
Gruber said.
In May of 2006, Gruber started to play in the funk and R&B band New Beat Society with other previous University of Iowa classmates.
New Beat Society was the most successful group I've been in and the biggest touring band I've been in as well
Gruber said.
When he and his wife moved to Athens this year, Gruber was forced to leave New Beat Society.
They decided to hang it up after I left
Gruber said. But I'll probably still work with those people G? it's hard to sever those great musical connections.
Now that he is without a band, Gruber is trying to perfect his solo act and mastering the finer details of performing alone, like playing rhythm and bass on his guitar at the same time.
In a way it's really liberating because there is no rehearsal
and I have a studio in my home
