Music Testimonials
"I reached out to Nick to perform at a client happy hour and he was easy to work with from the very beginning. He was pleasant to work with, professional, and prompt. At the event, his music really set the tone for the evening and made our guests feel comfortable with his laid-back musical stylings and approachable demeanor. We will definitely keep Nick in mind for future events at the hotel!"
Allie Schaitel - Marketing and Promotions Coordinator, HotelRed
"Nick Venturella is one of the most humble and appreciative performers I have worked with. He was quick to communicate with me to make sure I had everything I needed for the show to run smoothly and professionally. He put on an excellent performance and I would highly recommend booking him for your next event."
Gina Davis - Student Government President, Western Technical College
"Nick, you are even better live than your recorded CD’s-which are great! Thanks for playing our open house. I can’t recall a genuine musician, who has a great voice, interacting with the crowd even remotely on the level that you did! You truly made our open house; even more, I greatly appreciate your professionalism and passion! I hope we are fortunate enough to have you play for our school again! Thanks Nick!"
Chad Peterson, Director of Admissions - Globe University - Madison West Campus
“Nick is a pleasure to work with, always easy going and flexible! His music is fun and entertaining, engaging a wide range of listeners! Thank you Nick!"
Missy Keegan - Special Events Coordinator - Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, WI
"Nick is always a pleasure to work with, and he is able to connect well with the audience."
Monique Minkens - Edgewood College, Madison, WI
"We have the absolute most fun when Nick Venturella comes to town to perform at Stumpjack Coffee. Nick has a wonderfully earthy and upbeat musical style, that comes across as very immediate and spontaneous. That impression is a testament to his stage presence and competence, because with over 14 years of performing experience and a half-dozen CD's under his belt the man is as prepared and professional as can be. But that's the old saw isn't it...the people who make it look easy are most often the ones who work the hardest and are the best prepared. And Nick does make it look easy. He's got a great sense of humor and wonderful ability to connect with his audience, and if you check out the pics from last night that I just placed on Flickr you will see an awful lot of smiles and laughs in the house. I defy anyone to not have a good time at a Nick Venturella concert and to not immediately like this guy. This might sound a little corny but Nick is just a heckuva decent guy, without pretense or conceit, and generous with his knowledge and time...a straight arrow, as they say. It's a real pleasure to work with someone of his character and talent. And the music is pretty dang awesome too!"
[a later blog post]
"I just woke up from a long nap on the couch at the Stump...it's been a long couple of weeks and I'm going home now to go to bed early, but I wanted to get this post in and put the pictures on before hitting the hay. We're working on having Nick back sometime this summer and will hopefully post the date in the next day or two...when we do, make sure to mark it on your kitchen calendar and set that night aside...you will be glad you did, guaranteed."
David Smith - Owner - Stumpjack Coffee Company
“I would work with Nick again anytime. He makes it easy for the program coordinators…He also socialized with the audience, which is always a plus….UW-Green Bay would hire him again.”
Brian Jicinsky - University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
"Nick Venturella was VERY easy to work with...I liked that he allowed a student to perform before his act. I liked his personable nature and how he really bonded with the audience. I liked that you could tell that he really enjoyed his music and performing...[It was a] great performance [with] a big turnout for an evening event at Stritch...I would DEFINITELY hire Nick Venturella again."
Jenni Kiekow - Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI
SweetSonic is Nick Venturella's fifth do-it-yourself album, but his music is far from introspective bedroom pop. Venturella constructs full heartland rock anthems with crashing drums, careening guitars, and multiple vocals. Optimistic songs of love pursued, obtained, and lost dominate the proceedings, with Venturella's raw but reassuring voice setting a tone of confidence and urgency.
A.V. Club album review - The Onion
Remember the dancing-in-the-library scene from The Breakfast Club? In one of the movie's most memorable sequences, the detentionees bop and boogie on tables and atop bookshelves with delightful abandon while Karla DeVito's "We Are Not Alone" plays. The opening track of Nick Venturella's SweetSonic, "1,000 Years," makes me want to dance like that every single time I hear it, whether I'm listening in my living room (where I've admittedly given in to the temptation) or on the bus (where uninhibited dancing is frowned upon).
Truth be told, at least half the tunes on the CD have that very same effect. The Waukesha native’s fifth release finds him discarding some of the pretensions that weighed down earlier releases and channeling his inner BoDeans’ hometown, he also shares their penchant for the ridiculously infectious pop song, especially the half penned by Kurt Neumann. "Everybody Knows" is a "Closer to Free"-style head-bopper, while "What Will Be Will Be" has the syncopated percussion of their "Texas Ride Song."
While Venturella occasionally trips on a clunky lyric, e.g. "You’re feeling watched because I’m looking at you" (from "Everybody Knows") or "Going out getting ready / meeting the guys for something heavy" ("Inside My Head"), he never quite falls, balancing them with almost too-clever one-liners like "Out at the club, I’m drinking for love" (also from the latter). Sure, it’s a song about hooking up ("Looking for more than simply a score / But today just won’t be the day") but it comes off as sincere instead of sleazy.
The cubicle-dweller’s complaint of working for a living, "So I Go," details the familiar cycle of work-party-sleep-work: "So I go to the movies / where I can loose myself behind those doors / To the bar where I can drink myself / Right down to the floor / Back to work again / So I can pay for it all." It has the same charming familiarity as the Bottle Rockets’ "Gotta Get Up."
Fortunately, Venturella’s strategy of interspersing the dance parties with the reflective ballads and mid-tempo strummers gives you a chance to catch your breath. The best of these is probably "These Days," which recalls the barefoot folk of Toad the Wet Sproket’s Glenn Phillips, as does the optimistic closer "You and Me Against the World." It is remarkable that the record invites comparisons to major-label artists since, as with all his previous releases, he did everything himself, from the songwriting to the artwork (appropriately enough, a Dum-Dum lollipop entwined in the strings of a guitar). When he notes, "I’m happy with this album because of what I was able to accomplish in spite of my limitations, which included using only two microphones, a digital mixer, MIDI controller and Apple’s GarageBand music software," he’s not bragging. It seems he’s even impressed himself.
Kiki Schueler, Rick's Cafe, Aug. issue - Reviews of Nick Venturella's 2006 Sweetsonic album
"I reached out to Nick to perform at a client happy hour and he was easy to work with from the very beginning. He was pleasant to work with, professional, and prompt. At the event, his music really set the tone for the evening and made our guests feel comfortable with his laid-back musical stylings and approachable demeanor. We will definitely keep Nick in mind for future events at the hotel!"
Allie Schaitel - Marketing and Promotions Coordinator, HotelRed
"Nick Venturella is one of the most humble and appreciative performers I have worked with. He was quick to communicate with me to make sure I had everything I needed for the show to run smoothly and professionally. He put on an excellent performance and I would highly recommend booking him for your next event."
Gina Davis - Student Government President, Western Technical College
"Nick, you are even better live than your recorded CD’s-which are great! Thanks for playing our open house. I can’t recall a genuine musician, who has a great voice, interacting with the crowd even remotely on the level that you did! You truly made our open house; even more, I greatly appreciate your professionalism and passion! I hope we are fortunate enough to have you play for our school again! Thanks Nick!"
Chad Peterson, Director of Admissions - Globe University - Madison West Campus
“Nick is a pleasure to work with, always easy going and flexible! His music is fun and entertaining, engaging a wide range of listeners! Thank you Nick!"
Missy Keegan - Special Events Coordinator - Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, WI
"Nick is always a pleasure to work with, and he is able to connect well with the audience."
Monique Minkens - Edgewood College, Madison, WI
"We have the absolute most fun when Nick Venturella comes to town to perform at Stumpjack Coffee. Nick has a wonderfully earthy and upbeat musical style, that comes across as very immediate and spontaneous. That impression is a testament to his stage presence and competence, because with over 14 years of performing experience and a half-dozen CD's under his belt the man is as prepared and professional as can be. But that's the old saw isn't it...the people who make it look easy are most often the ones who work the hardest and are the best prepared. And Nick does make it look easy. He's got a great sense of humor and wonderful ability to connect with his audience, and if you check out the pics from last night that I just placed on Flickr you will see an awful lot of smiles and laughs in the house. I defy anyone to not have a good time at a Nick Venturella concert and to not immediately like this guy. This might sound a little corny but Nick is just a heckuva decent guy, without pretense or conceit, and generous with his knowledge and time...a straight arrow, as they say. It's a real pleasure to work with someone of his character and talent. And the music is pretty dang awesome too!"
[a later blog post]
"I just woke up from a long nap on the couch at the Stump...it's been a long couple of weeks and I'm going home now to go to bed early, but I wanted to get this post in and put the pictures on before hitting the hay. We're working on having Nick back sometime this summer and will hopefully post the date in the next day or two...when we do, make sure to mark it on your kitchen calendar and set that night aside...you will be glad you did, guaranteed."
David Smith - Owner - Stumpjack Coffee Company
“I would work with Nick again anytime. He makes it easy for the program coordinators…He also socialized with the audience, which is always a plus….UW-Green Bay would hire him again.”
Brian Jicinsky - University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
"Nick Venturella was VERY easy to work with...I liked that he allowed a student to perform before his act. I liked his personable nature and how he really bonded with the audience. I liked that you could tell that he really enjoyed his music and performing...[It was a] great performance [with] a big turnout for an evening event at Stritch...I would DEFINITELY hire Nick Venturella again."
Jenni Kiekow - Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI
SweetSonic is Nick Venturella's fifth do-it-yourself album, but his music is far from introspective bedroom pop. Venturella constructs full heartland rock anthems with crashing drums, careening guitars, and multiple vocals. Optimistic songs of love pursued, obtained, and lost dominate the proceedings, with Venturella's raw but reassuring voice setting a tone of confidence and urgency.
A.V. Club album review - The Onion
Remember the dancing-in-the-library scene from The Breakfast Club? In one of the movie's most memorable sequences, the detentionees bop and boogie on tables and atop bookshelves with delightful abandon while Karla DeVito's "We Are Not Alone" plays. The opening track of Nick Venturella's SweetSonic, "1,000 Years," makes me want to dance like that every single time I hear it, whether I'm listening in my living room (where I've admittedly given in to the temptation) or on the bus (where uninhibited dancing is frowned upon).
Truth be told, at least half the tunes on the CD have that very same effect. The Waukesha native’s fifth release finds him discarding some of the pretensions that weighed down earlier releases and channeling his inner BoDeans’ hometown, he also shares their penchant for the ridiculously infectious pop song, especially the half penned by Kurt Neumann. "Everybody Knows" is a "Closer to Free"-style head-bopper, while "What Will Be Will Be" has the syncopated percussion of their "Texas Ride Song."
While Venturella occasionally trips on a clunky lyric, e.g. "You’re feeling watched because I’m looking at you" (from "Everybody Knows") or "Going out getting ready / meeting the guys for something heavy" ("Inside My Head"), he never quite falls, balancing them with almost too-clever one-liners like "Out at the club, I’m drinking for love" (also from the latter). Sure, it’s a song about hooking up ("Looking for more than simply a score / But today just won’t be the day") but it comes off as sincere instead of sleazy.
The cubicle-dweller’s complaint of working for a living, "So I Go," details the familiar cycle of work-party-sleep-work: "So I go to the movies / where I can loose myself behind those doors / To the bar where I can drink myself / Right down to the floor / Back to work again / So I can pay for it all." It has the same charming familiarity as the Bottle Rockets’ "Gotta Get Up."
Fortunately, Venturella’s strategy of interspersing the dance parties with the reflective ballads and mid-tempo strummers gives you a chance to catch your breath. The best of these is probably "These Days," which recalls the barefoot folk of Toad the Wet Sproket’s Glenn Phillips, as does the optimistic closer "You and Me Against the World." It is remarkable that the record invites comparisons to major-label artists since, as with all his previous releases, he did everything himself, from the songwriting to the artwork (appropriately enough, a Dum-Dum lollipop entwined in the strings of a guitar). When he notes, "I’m happy with this album because of what I was able to accomplish in spite of my limitations, which included using only two microphones, a digital mixer, MIDI controller and Apple’s GarageBand music software," he’s not bragging. It seems he’s even impressed himself.
Kiki Schueler, Rick's Cafe, Aug. issue - Reviews of Nick Venturella's 2006 Sweetsonic album
