The Badinovs

Bio:

The Badinovs are formed from the ashtrays of 2 prominent original pop-rock groups from the Twin Cities - Smart Alex, and Swing Set. Heading the outfit are best friends and writers/guitarists/vocalists Pat Olberding & Mike Nilles (aka Nicco Badinov). Joining these front-men are: drummer Jeffry Becker (front-man of perennially lovely pop group, Lovers Under Pressure), Doug Salmela, a bassist who knows over a 1000 songs and Bill Kelm with his 10-finger symphony orchestra on keys. Pat & Mike were co-founders of one of, if not the first of St Paul's all original "pop/punk" outfits, Smart Alex. That group saw such upstarts as The Replacements and Husker Du as opening acts for them. Tommy Stinson, of The Replacements was quoted as calling them his favorite local band from that late 70s era. Smart Alex released only one single, the 45 "Chitter Chat"/"Tonight", which has long been a sought-after record collectors treasure, and recently sold on eBay for a jaw-dropping $763.00! Musically there was a fondness for the looseness of the Faces but with the creativeness of Lennon-McCartney which continues to be part of the style of The Badinovs. The Badinovs like to walk the tight-rope act of writing and performing complex, clever pop-rock that is both ear catching, edgy and fun. Having two distinct songwriters (like that little group from Liverpool) brings a diversity of sound and competitiveness to the group which keeps the band from succumbing to the sameness of many others. Mike's and Pat's songs portray lyrical themes from asking absolution from a deceased father to a fantasy conversation between Jesus and Mohamed. Guitar sounds range from shimmery acoustic, to ringy pop to chunky chord crashes. Jeff's long songwriting resume' becomes evident in his faultless, intuitive feel for song structure in his new role as a drummer. Doug's endless energy emits thru his bass playing which propels the band always upward and forward. Bill fills out the tunes remarkably with a plethora of keyboard arrangements. Melody, harmony, engaging rhythms and heart-felt passion. Serious music by a band that doesn't take itself too seriously. These are the elements that we feel are essential to making great music. These are the elements that make up the musical exploits of The Badinovs. The Badinovs have just finished their 1st album "Fess Up" after lengthy recording and mixing sessions with Kent Peterson producing in St Paul MN. 15 totally engaging, diverse tunes with a unifying sound, with no filler!

Member Since:

March 14, 2008

Members:

Patrick Olberding, Mike Nilles (Nicco Badinov), Jeffry Becker, Douglas Salmela, Bill Kelm

Influences:

As an influence, certainly The Beatles hover high over all others in our book and left a profound affect on both Mike & Pat creatively as young lads. Thereafter, any group that has the melodic and creative capacity to try to approach their standard. That being said, there are other great bands and artists we've loved to listen to...from The Who to Dean Martin from The Kinks to Wilco, Frank Sinatra to The Trash Can Sinatras, Henry Mancini to Rufus Wainwright, Neil Young to Neil Finn, Dwight Yoakam to The Pogues, The Go-betweens to The Buzzcocks, Burt Bacharach to The Waterboys, The Blue Nile to Johnnny Cash, Nils Lofgren to Bowie, The Faces to the dBs and so on.

Sounds Like:

A modern day amalgam of British rock meeting "Americana", and all the space in-between, similar to other bands with two inventive, harmonizing writers such as The Go-Betweens, The dBs and of course, The Beatles.

Record Label:

Unsigned