EXCLUSIVE: Berwick musician Nick Coyle joins Cold as new guitarist, will work on upcoming record
A new year brings new opportunities, and local singer/songwriter Nick Coyle is embracing his.
The Berwick native, who was formerly in Lifer, The Drama Club, and Stardog Champion, is the current frontman of Death Valley Dreams and also plays in his own solo project, Electracoustica. Additionally, he composes music for television and film production company Telepictures for shows like “Crimewatch Daily” and “Extra,” along with a new company, Move Music.
His résumé became even more impressive on Jan. 1 when he announced on Facebook that he would be joining gold-selling alternative rock band Cold as their new guitarist. Coyle will leave on Thursday for the West Coast, where he will contribute to their long-awaited new album.
Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Cold has been on hiatus over the last few years, with vocalist Scooter Ward relocating to California last summer after taking some time off to support his family “during sickness,” according to a post he made on Facebook in July. The band signed a deal with Napalm Records in 2015, and with former Evanescence guitarist Terry Balsamo returning to Cold’s ever-shifting lineup in 2016, work on their first album since 2011’s “Superfiction” continued.
“I’ve been friends with Scooter and rest of the guys for like 15 years now, since back in the Lifer days. We toured with them in Lifer and then again when I was in The Drama Club. A few months ago, Scooter hit me up and said he was doing a new Cold record and asked if I wanted to be a part of it… and I said yes,” Coyle told NEPA Scene.
“It’s an awesome opportunity for me to not only get out an create some great new music with some old friends, but also to establish myself as guitarist. Most people know me as a singer, but I’ve been playing guitar for almost 30 years,” he noted with a laugh, “as well as playing other instruments and the writing/production side of things.”
He said he will continue composing for TV as well as working with Death Valley Dreams. The Wilkes-Barre rockers, who were named “Rock/Alt Rock Act of the Year” in the 2016 Steamtown Music Awards, have received national airplay and were featured on the front page of iTunes, making Apple’s recent “Best of 2016 Rock” playlist with their self-produced debut album, “Lust in the Modern World.”
“As far as Death Valley Dreams, we have some good stuff in the works for 2017,” Coyle hinted.
With five full-length albums under his belt, including two that went gold, Ward promised fans that Cold’s next record will be both personal and a return to form.
“I’m going back to writing what I know best. Pure emotion that everyone can feel. Terry Balsamo has come back to Cold and, as you know, him and I have a connection with writing songs that affect people and have been some of the best songs Cold has written,” he posted on the band’s Facebook page five months ago.
“We are documenting everything from beginning to end with this. This film will be a movie showing our comeback, from the time we signed with Napalm to the rise of the new Cold. And for the [first] time, a peek into our real lives. The drama it takes to create a record this intense will be evident once you watch and hear snippets of songs. During a[n] album, there are many emotions a band goes through, and I want this to be the realest thing we’ve ever done.”
He thanked fans for sticking around and, while he hasn’t updated since, it’s safe to say that the album will turn out even better with Coyle on board, who knows a thing or two about making darker music.
“We have big things ahead for Cold this year, and I want you guys to be a major part of the outcome. I love you, Cold Army! I will never leave you guys again. But this was something so dark, tragic, and inspiring to me,” Ward said of his personal time off.
“Sometimes it takes the darkest things to happen in a person’s life for us to create the songs you guys gravitate [to].”
Read more about Death Valley Dreams in our You Should Be Listening To feature, and see photos from the band’s CD release show last year here.
