Dynamic duo

Nicholson and Rousseau sign with 80 One Records

By Lane Robbins, contributing writer
Posted on November 5, 2007

In a world full of categories and titles, few dare to break the rules. The musical duo known as Nicholson & Rousseau is one of those brave few. The newest addition to 80 One Records, JMU’s student-run label, combines styles, techniques and entertaining personalities to create a sound that is hard to categorize.

“We haven’t been able to classify ourselves, and that makes us happy,” said senior Asher Nicholson.

According to their MySpace page, Nicholson and sophomore Will Rousseau are a “folk/pop” duo, although their multi-layered guitar sound and powerful harmonies take them far beyond those labels.

“We play guitar finger-style, as opposed to strumming, which is a lot harder,” Nicholson said. “Our style is pretty unique, so we’ll see if it catches on.”

Their sound is a pleasing combination of traditional and contemporary music.

“He’s folk; I’m pop,” Rousseau said. “Our different styles really compliment each other.”

It’s no secret why the two mesh so well together – they’re related. As cousins growing up in Richmond, Nicholson and Rousseau both had an interest in music. Nicholson played the saxophone for seven years and began teaching himself how to play the guitar at 16. Rousseau sang in middle and high school and taught himself guitar at 14.

The two did not need professional music lessons to get to where they are today. They began playing together for fun while Rousseau was a senior in high school. When he discovered he would be attending JMU the next fall with Nicholson, the two started playing seriously.

They decided to concentrate on their music even more this semester, and signed a one-year contract with 80 One Records this past Friday.

“Signing means a lot to us because it allows us to focus on writing and fine-tuning our music, and it will also help us get heard,” Rousseau said.

The two are especially determined to reawaken the simple acoustic guitar sound.

“Acoustic got lost in indie rock,” Rousseau said. “We want to bring it back.”

They plan to do this through writing songs that have stories behind them and performing them in a way that pays homage to their influences like Jim Croce, James Taylor and Simon & Garfunkle.

“There’s just something about a really simple song,” Rousseau said.

“Lyrics are really important to us,” Nicholson said.

The two have a unique song-writing method: they don’t have one.

“It usually goes like this: one of us will say, ‘Hey, I wrote something I really like. Come over and we’ll work on it,’” Rousseau said.

“Sometimes it turns out to be really good,” Nicholson said.

The two have been busy recording their upcoming album, which wraps up this month and is due to be released in January.

Visit their MySpace page, myspace.com/nandr, to learn more about their music. Nicholson & Rousseau will also be playing Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. at the Delta Chi Jimmy V benefit concert. Expect more shows to come next semester.