Nykko was formed in the summer of 1986. Basically, the band was the former Sabre with Darrel
Harris - drums and vocals, Bill Pitts - guitar and vocals, Nate Whorton - bass, keyboards and
vocals and the addition of Brian Cokeley on lead vocals, keyboards and guitar. The quartet
focused more on an intricate vocal sound and less on heavy metal. The band as it was known
lasted just two years (until fall 1988) but was quite active for those years. Brian left the
group in the fall of 1988 to attend the MIT Vocal school in Los Angeles. Darrel, Bill and Nate
continued for a while, but the music was slowly turning off.
The band played often at bars, dances, outdoor festivals and wedding receptions. In 1987, they
played over 50 gigs, that's a lot for a group of guys with "real jobs". Their set lists
were comprised of cover tunes as well as original music. Covers included music by Journey,
Whitesnake, Toto, Van Hagar, John Mellencamp, Bon Jovi
plus all kinds of tunes that most other bands could never consider
trying. All four shared vocal duties, but Brian was clearly the most gifted. The band played
about 12 original songs during their longer shows and recorded a five song EP that was never
released during August 1988. The tracks are "Positude", "Give It Sometime", "When You Were Mine",
"New World" and "It's Too Late Tonite". Only "When You Were Mine" was ever heard, on a
KDUX compilation Homegrown CD in 1995. If enough people asked Bill really nice, he could probably
make some CDs (at a cost of course) of the Nykko EP. However, at this momment, no one
has any such CD, NO ONE.
Nykko had the support of many people - among them are Tim Kirsch, Tammy Kirsch, Tom
Bondurant, Robert Waterbury and Bill Vincamp. It was during the early Nykko days that Nate
had started a lasting friendship with Jay Lisk, a promoter and agent from Olympia. Jay got
the group gigs (well paying ones at that)and life was good.
The group played at Sidney's, the Ebb Tide, J.C. Rascals
and at the Raymond Hotel often. The guys always had a good time, at one place Brian would
make jokes during the sets about a "working girl" in the audience -
we don't know who was better at
entertaining. Brian recalls one particular gig - "I do remember a New Year's Eve out at the
convention center in Ocean Shores where Bill Pitts hit one of the overhanging
roofs at Swanson's with the gear truck on the way out to the beach, then we all got drunk at
the gig, the whole lighting setup fell over, Darrell threw up in his Blazer, and the truck
ran out of gas on the way home because Bill didn't fill the tank like he was supposed to,
even though Nate gave him a twenty.
Everyone passed by Nate in the truck, at about 3:30 AM, and the last guy by was Jay -
he stopped, went to get gas and saved the stranded truck and a P.O.ed Nate.
It sounds more like a "gig from hell," doesn't it??
Bill Pitts is the master of the Gank ProjekT
(check out his link) among lots of other good
stuff. Perhaps, Bill and Nate will do a quailty version of "Rock Theater" someday - wacky,
kooky, nutty adventures in a musical format. Do look at his site, you'll be glad that you did.
Since the end of Nykko, Mr. Pitts has become a recording studio wizzard and a computer guru.
Darrel Harris still rocks the drums, a true veteran muscian. His distinctive high-range lead
and backing vocals have become a Southwest Washington music scene staple. Yeah, all of that and drums too.
Post Nykko information and bands include - ???
After Nykko, Brian attended VIT and graduated "outstanding vocalist" in March of 89, and was
hired on as a vocal instructor there 6 months later. While in L.A., he also
did as much session work as he could get hold of, including a vocal performance on
"Days of our lives," as well as numerous soundtracks, demos, and even a cartoon
theme song. Throughout these sessions, and other performances, Brian ended up working with
some top-notch players, including members of the Commodores, The Tonight Show Orchestra,
Vanilla Fudge, Quiet Riot, and at one time, he was in a band that included
Ash Sood (now Sarah McLachlan's drummer/husband), and Toshi Yanagi (guitarist on the TV show "Vibe", and
also on the Martin Short show)
After returning to the Northwest, Brian continued to do whatever session work he could,
mostly writing & performing commercials and radio ID spots, and he joined Plus Tax -
with Steve Brown, Doug George and Duke Harner. In 1997, he became the keyboard player/
"auxiliary vocalist" for Vanderhoof. They released their debut record in Europe that
same year and toured Europe for 6 weeks that winter, which brings us to the present.
The Vanderhoof "debut" record was just released in the states in June on Nuclear Blast
records (sounds like a label that Kurdt would be on, huh??), and they're recording
a follow up record right now. Check out the site -
http://www.vanderhoofband.com/
For even more information, please check out:
Scott Cokely's Corner at Dudesrock.com: About Brian Cokely
Brian Cokely, Nykko and much more with Scott Cokely on his webpage
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