Nick Long
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Nicholas Alexander Long is an American songwriter and singer. He is best known as the founder and frontman of indie pop band
Dark Waves Dark Waves is an American indie pop band from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed by frontman Nick Long in 2014. The group has released one self-titled EP ''Dark Waves'' (2014) and plans to release a full album in summer of 2015. D ...
, and for co-writing Machine Gun Kelly's ''
Tickets to My Downfall ''Tickets to My Downfall'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on September 25, 2020, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. The album marks the departure from his established rap sound and beca ...
'' and ''
Mainstream Sellout ''Mainstream Sellout'' is the sixth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly, released on March 25, 2022, through Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. It is his second collaborative project with drummer and producer Travis Barker, ...
'' LP's. Long has also co-written several singles, including
Børns Garrett Clark Borns (born January 7, 1992), better known by his stage name Børns (stylized in all caps), is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Born and raised in Grand Haven, Michigan, Børns began performing in his you ...
' "
Electric Love Electric Love is an electronic dance music festival held annually since 2013. It takes place at the second weekend in July at the Salzburgring in Plainfeld, Austria. Headliners have included Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mik ...
".


Early life

Nicholas Alex Long was born in Santa Barbara. Long started playing guitar when he was 8 years old, and began to play in bands when he was 10 or 11.


Career


Early career

Long first gained attention as guitarist of Santa Barbara punk act Staring Back in 2002, replacing their original guitarist who quit during the band's participation in
Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
. In the mid-2000s, Long fronted the punk group Sicker Than Others. The band released one album, ''Honestly'', and had recorded a second album which went unreleased. The song "Face Away" was included on the soundtrack of
Skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...
, and the band's touring line-up included Versus the World frontman Donald Spence on guitar. Sicker Than Others was active until 2007. From 2008 onward, Long played guitar and fronted post-hardcore band Dead Country, releasing a four-track EP in 2010. A second EP was also released, though has since been removed from streaming services. Long's next band, Wild Heart, was formed in the early 2010s, releasing "The Heartbeat, The Soul" (which would be re-released when Long formed Dark Waves) and "Big Windy Mansion." The band supported Unwritten Law on a single European tour before disbanding.


Dark Waves

Long signed a record deal in 2012, and in 2013 founded Dark Waves, which released a self-titled synth-pop EP in September the following year with
Five Seven Music Five Seven Music is the alternative/indie sub-label under The Eleven Seven Music Group. Five Seven Music launched with Jet's Shaka Rock in 2009 followed by She Wants Revenge's Valleyheart in 2011. The label has rapidly grown since and has al ...
. A single off the EP, "I Don't Wanna Be In Love", was featured in an episode of ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
'' and has been streamed over five million times on
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
.


Songwriting

In 2014, while experiencing challenges with his record label, Long accepted an invitation from friend and collaborator Tommy English to co-write music for
Børns Garrett Clark Borns (born January 7, 1992), better known by his stage name Børns (stylized in all caps), is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Born and raised in Grand Haven, Michigan, Børns began performing in his you ...
. English and Long co-wrote "
Electric Love Electric Love is an electronic dance music festival held annually since 2013. It takes place at the second weekend in July at the Salzburgring in Plainfeld, Austria. Headliners have included Armin van Buuren, Hardwell, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mik ...
" with Garrett Borns and Josh Moran. The song was originally recorded and released as the first single from Børns' 2014 debut EP ''Candy'', and was re-released on his 2015 LP, ''Dopamine''. On February 26, 2017, the song was certified Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. Long co-wrote
King Princess Mikaela Mullaney Straus (born December 19, 1998), known by her stage name King Princess, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Brooklyn, New York. She is signed to Mark Ronson's label Zelig Records, an imprint of Colu ...
' 2018 debut single "
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
", a tribute to the 1952 novel ''
The Price of Salt ''The Price of Salt'' (later republished under the title ''Carol'') is a 1952 romance novel by Patricia Highsmith, first published under the pseudonym "Claire Morgan." Highsmith—known as a suspense writer based on her psychological thriller ...
'' by
Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character T ...
. According to Spotify, Long is credited as a songwriter on the 2022
Blink 182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...
single "
Edging Edging may refer to: * Using an edger gardening tool * Edging (climbing), a climbing technique * Edging (sexual practice), a form of orgasm control * Edging (forging), an open-die forging process that concentrates material for further processing ...
".


Collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly

In 2017, songwriter Jacob "JKash" Kasher, who is married to Long's manager
Jaime Zeluck-Hindlin Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...
, invited Long to a recording session with Colson Baker, known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly. Baker, Long, and
Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...
co-wrote "
I Think I'm Okay "I Think I'm Okay" (stylized as "I Think I'm OKAY") is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly, English musician Yungblud, and American musician Travis Barker. It was released as a single on June 7, 2019, from the former's fourth studio alb ...
", which was recorded by Machine Gun Kelly,
Yungblud Dominic Richard Harrison (born 5 August 1997), known professionally as Yungblud, is an English singer, songwriter and actor. In 2018, he released his debut EP ''Yungblud'', followed by his first full-length album ''21st Century Liability''. In ...
, and
Barker Barker may refer to: Occupations * Barker (occupation), a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events * Barker (coachbuilder), a builder of horse-drawn coaches and later of bodywork for prestige cars * a person who strips tanbar ...
, and released as a single in 2019 from Machine Gun Kelly's fourth studio album, ''
Hotel Diablo ''Hotel Diablo'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on July 5, 2019, via Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. The album was supported by four singles: "Hollywood Whore", " El Diablo", " I Think I'm ...
''. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2020. In 2019, Baker, Barker, and Long began a months-long daily songwriting collaboration, starting with " Bloody Valentine". The songs written during this period became the tracks of Machine Gun Kelly's fifth studio album, ''
Tickets to My Downfall ''Tickets to My Downfall'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on September 25, 2020, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. The album marks the departure from his established rap sound and beca ...
,'' with "Bloody Valentine" serving as the record's first single, followed by "
Concert for Aliens "Concert for Aliens" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by Machine Gun Kelly. It was released as the second single from his fifth studio album '' Tickets to My Downfall''. It peaked at number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ...
" and "
My Ex's Best Friend "My Ex's Best Friend" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly featuring fellow American musician Blackbear. It is the third single off of the former's pop-punk fifth studio album ''Tickets to My Downfall''. ...
". Long is credited as a songwriter on 14 of the album's 16 tracks. The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 all-format albums chart, moving 126,000
album equivalent units The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of songs streamed and songs downloaded equal to one traditional album sale. The album-equivalent unit ...
in its first week, and won Top Rock Album at the 2021
Billboard Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by '' Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of ...
and Alternate-Rock Album of the Year at the
iHeartRadio Music Awards The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a music awards show that celebrates music heard throughout the year across List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia, iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platf ...
. Long can be seen playing guitar and singing backup vocals on Machine Gun Kelly's appearance as musical guest on Saturday Night Live in January 2021. In 2022, Long again collaborated with Baker and Barker to co-produce and co-write Machine Gun Kelly's sixth studio album, ''
Mainstream Sellout ''Mainstream Sellout'' is the sixth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly, released on March 25, 2022, through Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. It is his second collaborative project with drummer and producer Travis Barker, ...
.'' The record debuted at number one on the US all-format ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, the Canadian Albums Chart, and Australia's ARIA charts.


Personal life

Long is engaged to YouTube creator Julia, who goes by handle itsblitzzz, and has appeared in several of her videos. The two had a daughter named Honor on September 16, 2022. Long is sober.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Nick Living people American male singer-songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)