The Obelisk Questionnaire: Nicholas Turner of Nothing is Real
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Nicholas Turner of Nothing is Real
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Creating music has always been the purest form of expression for me. Playing guitar was something I felt I could go beyond what words could say and just let go and let whatever energies or forces guide me to play the next part of the song. I lost sight of the importance of music in my life for a while as my life had become taken over by drugs and creating music became a side thought. When I finally was ready get sober I knew that music was the one thing I truly loved in life and I dove headfirst back into it. Going through rehab I wrote a ton of songs on a shitty acoustic guitar most of which became the material for the first Nothing is Real album GIVE ME YOUR ENERGY. I define what I do as a snapshot of where I am emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, as I try to create on a daily basis. Every album is a snapshot of where I am in life and also a connection to forces beyond the self. And as this connects with anyone who listens to it (and relates to it), it becomes on an even higher metaphysical level drawing them through any other personal experiences they have had.
Describe your first musical memory.
First concert was Stone Temple Pilots at age six or seven which was incredible to feel the full force, energy, and VOLUME of a first rock show. One of my first memories creating music was a babysitter we had had a boyfriend who was a DJ and he let my sister and I go crazy on his giant keyboard setup and record a song. We essentially just found various sound effects and smashed the keyboard haphazardly creating an abomination he aptly named “Apocalypse.” I can’t say my method of making music has changed much since.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Any experience that is improvisational in nature in which all members playing get fully lost in the trance of the music takes over. The first album I recorded was completely improvised live on acid with a drummer and bassist friend with one mic hung in the middle of the garage. That was a truly special memory as we created some incredible music and locked in as a cohesive unit. The most recent Nothing Is Real album was completely improvised with my good friend Jeremiah on drums. We went to some amazing spaces musically and I just chopped up all of the jams into specific songs based on the progression of the music.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
When I got sober I had to challenge all of the beliefs I held about myself, my beliefs, and the world itself. I was so angry and full of fear and had created this self fulfilling prophecy and story about myself that enabled me to continue to be destructive to myself and others. With questioning what I believed, who I was, and who I wanted to be I was able to unpeel the bullshit that was no longer serving me and go back to the person I really am. This is a theme I like to touch on in my music as well.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
It leads to wherever you want it to! I think as artists we should always be pushing ourselves to try new things, take risks, learn new genres and techniques. Sometimes we will fail and sometimes we will succeed, but to remain stagnant doing the exact same thing is akin to a creative death. I have thrown myself neck deep into all genres of extreme metal while retaining my vital elements of jazz, psychedelic, and avant garde. Black, death, doom, grind, dissonant, war, I’ve definitely done it all and I love learning from these genres and injecting my own weirdness into it. Who knows, 20 years from now I could be doing acoustic singer songwriter stuff or darkwave synth. Wherever the music takes me.
How do you define success?
To me, success can only be an internal thing. We can get signed to the labels, get the tours, get the album release, but still be unsatisfied internally. To me success means knowing your true identity and accepting it and being okay with who you are and your place in this world. I used to feel I needed to put out albums every month or two, that I had an insatiable urge to create and see the effect of the album released into the world. I now feel I have found my true voice, style, and message as a musician and songwriter and that I can slow down and just enjoy creating each project with every ounce of my being put into it. I can now release myself from how the album does upon release. I don’t care about the sales or youtube views because I know internally if I achieved my final vision for the album or not.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I have seen a lot of horrible things from my years using heroin and committing crimes, going to jails and prisons. I also saw my father die in front of me at a very young age. However, I don’t wish I hadn’t seen any of this because it’s made me the man I am today. If I could go back and change things I wouldn’t change a thing.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I would like to create a synth based album either ambient or darkwave. I have a lot of synth ambient sections in the upcoming Nothing Is Real album but I’d like to create one with less emphasis on guitar and more on synth and atmosphere.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
I believe the function of art is to create its own universe and beckon each viewer/listener into it and have their own experience. For the artist I believe art is to be the fullest expression of self and their vision, but as for its overall effect it is to create an emotional or spiritual experience for all viewing or listening to it. The effect of art or music can be astounding, can help people get through incredibly tough times, or finally help them feel they are not alone because someone else feels this way also. If I didn’t have music, I don’t know if I would be alive today.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
My girlfriend and I are going to dress up in expensive suits and dresses for our anniversary. All black, sinister expensive wardrobes and go to an incredible restaurant. We never dress up and this is all done in good fun. I love being absurd with her and laughing and creating new memories.
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