Nim Vind
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Nim Vind (born Chris Kirkham) is a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
solo musician/artist and songwriter, who has also played in Mr. Underhill and The Vincent Black Shadow. He describes his sound as "Music for Outsiders". His music has no specific genre but is sometimes referred to as
horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by t ...
. Nim Vind has been compared to the Misfits
Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. It consists of Mike Ness (vocals, guitar), Jonny Wickersham (guitar), Brent Harding (bass), David Hidalgo Jr. (drums), and David Kalish (keyboards). Emerg ...
and
Volbeat Volbeat are a Danish Rock music, rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll and Heavy metal music, heavy metal. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Michael Poulsen, drummer Jon Lars ...
in the press. He often mentions
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
as a major influence. He has released three albums: ''The Fashion of Fear'' (2005) on Fiendforce Records and Nv Music, ''The Stillness Illness'' (2009) on Silverdust Records and Soulfood Distro/Nv Music, and ''Saturday Night Seance Songs'' on House of Vind with Allegro USA distro. ''Seance'' features mixes from Jay Ruston and producer
Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...
. ''Saturday Night Seance Songs'' was "Album of the Year" in ''Rue Morgue'' magazine. Nim Vind was managed by
Jon Zazula Jonathan Zazula (March 16, 1952 – February 1, 2022), also known as Jonny Z, was an American music industry executive who was the owner of New Jersey's Rock'n Roll Heaven record store and founder of record label Megaforce Records. Zazula's reco ...
and also Eric Gardner – Panacea Entertainment.


"Nim Vind" meaning

Nim Vind is a made up name out of a combination of sounds and symbols. Specifically it is to be thought of as a character's name. A definition of "Nim Vind" is freedom by insanity. "Nim" borrows symbolism from the acronym for the
National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primar ...
or N.I.M.H. "Vind" borrows symbolism from the word "vindication", representing justification against denial or censure. The strange name is meant to sound alien or somewhat Extra-Terrestrial representing being outside the norm. Another definition is "aNIMal VINDication".


Career and recordings as Nim Vind

Chris Kirkham recorded the first Nim Vind album ''The Fashion of Fear'' and signed with Germany's Fiendforce Records in 2005. He completed tour cycles in Europe in 2005, 2006, 2007. He released his second album "Stillness Illness" in 2009 with Silverdust Records Europe and played on the "Pain Stage" at the Sold Out
Summer Breeze Open Air Summer Breeze Open Air is an annual German heavy metal music festival. It was first held in 1997. The festival had been held in Abtsgmünd until 2006 when it was moved to its new location of Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria. The festival draws around 40,00 ...
festival in Germany. 2009 included club touring with Creepshow, Blitzkid, a second appearance with New Model Army, SNFU and more. 2010 and 2011 saw more European club touring including a tour with American band Filter, and second appearance at the Wave-Gottik-Treffen at Work 2 with the Misfits in Leipzig, Germany. Touring in America in 2013 included
Tiger Army Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studi ...
's October Flame Festival Anaheim USA,
Steel Panther Steel Panther is an American comedic glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by lead singer Michael Starr, the band formed in 2000 as Metal Shop and was also known as Metal Skool before adopting the name Steel Panther in 2008. The ...
at
House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers''. The ...
in Hollywood and more. In 2014 Nim released the "Saturday Night Seance Songs" album''. ''"Astronomicon" was premiered worldwide by
Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...
Magazine. The track "Master Spider" was premiered worldwide by BloodDisgusting.com, a horror entertainment website. The album was named "Album of the Year" by
Rue Morgue Magazine ''Rue Morgue'' is a multinational magazine devoted to coverage of horror fiction. Its content comprises news, reviews, commentary, interviews, and event coverage. Its journalistic span encompasses films, books, comic books, video games, and ot ...
, a worldwide print horror entertainment magazine. Touring for ''Saturday Night Seance Songs'' included a Halloween tour with
Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the New wave music, new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two st ...
, Canadian dates with Green Jelly, Doyle from Misfits, European dates with 69 Eyes, European dates with goth legends
Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion ...
, and Multiple European club tours going through to 2017. Nim did a Europe festival run including his second appearance at Summer Breeze in 2016. In 2017 he made his third appearance at The
Wave Gotik Treffen The (WGT; German for "Wave Gothic Meeting") is an annual world festival for "dark" music and " dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (gothic rock, EBM, industrial, noise, darkwave, neo-folk, neo- ...
and released an official video for "Renegades of the End Times". It was shot in Canada and Los Angeles USA. In 2017 Nim performed in Russia for the first time, visiting Moscow and St.Petersburg during a European club touring. The "War of the Worlds" video included tour footage from Russia and Europe. A fan video for "That Girl" was posted as a tribute to power girls of horror movies. 2018 Nim completed a full North American Tour with
Michale Graves Michael Emanuel (born March 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Michale Graves, is an American singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist for the 1990s re-incarnation of the horror punk band Misfits from 1995 to 2000, leaving briefly ...
and
Argyle Goolsby Argyle Goolsby (born Steve Matthews; September 15, 1978) is an American musician, best known for being the lead vocalist, bassist and co-founder of horror punk band Blitzkid (1997–present). When Blitzkid disbanded in 2012, Goolsby pursued a ...
. In August 2018, Nim Vind collaborated with writer/director Jeff Frumess to produce a video for the song "Fear O Fear." The video features scenes from Frumess' feature length Gothic-Thriller, Romeo's Distress. In 2019 Nim released "White Magic", a tribute combining David Bowie's songs Magic Dance" and Dead Man Walking. The single "Sagittarius" was released in 2019, inspired by the Black Hole of
Sagittarius A* Sagittarius A*, abbreviated as Sgr A* ( ), is the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center of the Milky Way. Viewed from Earth, it is located near the border of the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius, about 5.6° south o ...
. The accompanying video was shot in Canada and edited by LA Photographer Michelle Xstar.


Previous band: Mr. Underhill

Chris Kirkham a.k.a. Nim Vind started his first band called Mr. Underhill. The idea for the sound of the band was to mix the dark art of
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
with the catchy melodies and angst of the Misfits. It originally featured Nim Vind and two other players, but Nim's real life brothers Robbie and Anthony would both soon join. There are three Mr.Underhill EPs that were only sold at shows and speciality stores. The first was "Vamp", which leaned towards the
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
/Bowie side of their sound. That was followed shortly after by the third EP "Phantasm Drive-In", which leaned more in a
Misfits MiSFiTS was the acronym for the ''Minnesota Society for Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy''. This organization has now changed its name to GPS, an acronym for Geek Partnership Society. It was founded in 1999 and was the parent non-profit org ...
direction and was the beginning of Nim and his brothers finding their sound. Mr.Underhill gained a strong
cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
thanks largely to word of mouth and websites like the original
Mp3.com MP3.com was a website operated by Paramount Global publishing tabloid-style news items about digital music and artists, songs, services, and technologies. It is better known for its original incarnation as a legal, free music-sharing service, ...
in which they were a prominently featured band. They were especially known for their eccentric outfits made up of giant black hair, long black coats and smeared black make-up, as well as their underground hit "Phantasm Drive-In". Mr.Underhill ended and two bands were formed being Nim Vind (Chris's band) and The Vincent Black Shadow (Rob's). A 3rd album of lost material was recorded but never released. However, as of Dec 25th 2013 it was restored, remixed, and released as "Nim Vind and Mr.Underhill - The World through X-ray Eyes.


The Vincent Black Shadow

Rob's band The Vincent Black Shadow incorporated the brothers and enjoyed success at major American radio with the single "Metro". TVBS, as it is referred to by fans, was managed by Jonny Z who signed Metallica, and completed back to back full summers of "The Vans Warped Tour", Joan Jett dates including sold-out shows at
Irving Plaza Irving Plaza (known through sponsorship as Irving Plaza, powered by Verizon 5G and formerly known as the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza) is a ballroom-style music venue located within the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York ...
NY, a sold out Euro tour with
Kosheen Kosheen are an Anglo-Welsh electronic music group based in Bristol. The group consist of singer-songwriter Sian Evans, songwriter-producer Ron Mcelroy and drummer Mitchell Glover. The name Kosheen derives from the name of a North American Apac ...
, a sold out Euro tour with fellow Canadian band Silverstein as well as live performances on
Much Music Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
,
FUSE TV Fuse is an American television channel owned by Fuse Media, LLC, that was originally launched in 1994 as MuchMusic USA, a localized version of the Canadian cable channel MuchMusic, owned by CHUM Limited which was also the parent company of City ...
USA and others.


Discography


Studio albums


Singles


Official video singles


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nim Vind Canadian rock music groups Horror punk groups Musical groups from Vancouver Musical groups established in 2005 2005 establishments in British Columbia