Now Hear This! Ben Nichols

Ben Nichols

Now Hear This: What Memphis movers and shakers are watching, reading and listening to:

The past few months have been rather interesting time for Lucero singer-songwriter Ben Nichols. In October, the group released its sixth studio album and major label debut 1372 Overton Park. After a big hometown kickoff show at the Levitt Shell, the band hit the road with a horn section on a long tour that drew critical raves and packed houses.

Ben Nichols

Earlier this month, the group made worldwide news when a fossil of a bird from the Cretaceous era was discovered and named Hollanda luceria, partly in the band’s honor. “It’s funny,” says Nichols, “there’s a girl in Los Angeles who’s a paleontologist and she’s on the team that discovered this bird’s fossil. They named it partially after the family that funded the research and partly after us, ’cause she’s a big Lucero fan. That probably got the band more attention than we’ve ever had. It certainly got the name out a little bit.”

As he preps for an upcoming Lucero show at Minglewood Hall and another national tour, Nichols took time to tell us what’s been keeping him entertained lately.

What have you been listening to?

I think because Lucero made such a big record, with a bunch of horns and all the production and huge rock and roll songs, I’ve kind of geared my listening to more softer acoustic based stuff recently.

I’ve been really into a solo record by Chad Price called Smile Sweet Face. He played with a band called Drag the River. They’re from Colorado but they’ve played Memphis a number of times. It’s really stripped down and bare, one of those heartfelt records that I really like.

Also, that Bon Iver record, For Emma, Forever Ago, is really good. I can’t understand a word he’s saying (laughs) but it doesn’t rally matter ’cause the melodies are so nice. It might be kind of hipster music, but I’m a sucker for those melodies.

And just so I’m not listening to all softer music, I did download Van Halen’s Women and Children First. I had it on cassette tape for a long time, but it had to be replaced for the iPod.

What have you been watching?

On the tour, we were all pretty addicted to various HBO television series. We’d gather in main cabin of the bus to watch “The Wire” and — as much as I hate to say it — “True Blood.” Those were kind of the big hits on the road.

What are you reading?

I decided to tackle Shelby Foote’s three-volume “The Civil War: A Narrative.” I’m almost done with the first volume of that. It’s not work at all, it’s really enjoyable to read. It is daunting, but once you get into it, you’re hooked. I look forward to reading it every spare moment I get.

Lucero plays Minglewood Hall on Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. They’re available at the Minglewood box office (1555 Madison Ave.), online at minglewoodhall.com, or by calling 1-866-609-1744.

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