by Jeff Mastroberti
Singer, songwriter, guitarist Nick Bukuvalas and his band pound thud whacked those who were at the Stone Pony from 9 to 10PM Saturday night May 18th. The Nick Bukuvalas band, who were the opening act for the 70's -80's coverband Sauce, and the Philadelphia based Marah, began with a hard rockin cut off Nick's debut CD For the First Time entitled Mr. Lucky. This song showcases Nick's awesome guitar playing as he wailed between verses on his signature Clapton guitar. His playing encouraged the screams of young women, and caught the undivided attention of fans and fellow musicians alike. He followed with the title track, which has a late 50's early 60's rock and roll feel. This got the impressively sized audience dancing and moving in their seats/barstools. He followed with two more from the CD, which has received airplay on college stations such as WRSU and WSIA. The uptempo pop tunes Just One Night and Good Time kept the music and the crowd flowing. New songs included The Dilemma, which touches on the true story of a priest who chose a woman over the church, Workin, a melodically smooth tune with a hook that Nick dedicated to the over 100 hard working people in the audience (most of whom just completed another work week an hour or two before coming out to see Nick's performance), and a memorable song that Nick introduced as " a song I wrote on the 4th of July, about the 4th of July called, The 4th of July.

It is refreshing to hear a guy who knows all facets of his music. On the CD, Nick performs all the guitars, bass, percussion, lead & backing vocals on these songs with only the assistance of drummers Pete Perez and John Falcon on a few songs. His live band consists of Matt Gorsky on keyboard and percussion, Denmark’s own Nicoli Vilstrup on drums, and bassist Dino Duprey. Matt and Dino provide strong backing vocals, especially on Beatles covers such as Paperback Writer with which Nick ended the show. The enthusiastic audience asked for more and aptly received it. Nick gave them Crossroads as done by Eric Clapton and undoubtedly earned the respect of many of those at the impressively renovated Stone Pony. Nick was impressed and honored by the overall reaction that he received. "It was nice to see people who’d never seen us before out there enjoying the music and having a great time” Nick sold a # of CD's and added even more names to his ever growing mailing list. House promoter Kyle Brendle mentioned the welcoming possibility of including Nick and his band as potential headliners in upcoming events at The Stone Pony. This naturally sparked Nick’s interest. Nick described the night as a terrific experience. "Everything was great. The stage, sound, and people all contributed to making it a memorable experience." Nick’s dedication to his craft, his passionate guitar playing, strong songwriting and vocal skills as well as true bandleader qualities, make him a well rounded musician who is interesting and exciting to see.