Nick Didkovsky (born 22 November 1958) is a composer, guitarist, computer music programmer, and leader of the band Doctor Nerve.Dorsch He is a former student of Christian Wolff, Pauline Oliveros and Gerald Shapiro.
Career Didkovsky formed Doctor Nerve in 1984.Taylor, Graham "Doctor Nerve" in Buckley, Peter (1999) The Rough Guide to Rock, Rough Guides, , pp. 302-3 He received a master's degree in Computer Music from New York University in 1987 and went on to develop a Java music API called JMSL (Java Music Specification Language).Didkovsky, Nick & Burk, Philip L. "Java Music Specification Language, an Introduction and Overview", in Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference, Computer Music Association, 2001, p. 123 JMSL is a toolbox for algorithmic composition and performance. JMSL includes JScore, an extensible staff notation editor. JMSL can output music using either JavaSound or JSyn.Dean, Roger T. (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Computer Music, OUP USA, , p. 127 He has presented papers on his work at several conferences.
Ensemble activities include founding the blackened grindcore band Vomit Fist in 2013. He was a composing member of the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet for the ten years of the band's tenure, and has also played in John Zorn's band. His Punos Music record label is a harbor for his more extreme musical projects such as "split", a guitar collaboration with Dylan DiLella of the technical death metal band PyrrhonPyrrhon (band).
His debut solo album was released in 1997 and featured contributions from Frith.Jurek His second album, Body Parts, came out of a collaboration with Guigou Chenevier.Couture
Didkovsky has composed for or performed on a number of CDs including: 1987, Doctor Nerve Armed Observation, Label: Cuneiform, produced by Fred Frith 1988, Rascal Reporters Happy Accidents 1995, Doctor Nerve SKIN, Label: Cuneiform 1997 Every Screaming Ear, Label: Cuneiform (January 21, 1997) Ayaya Moses, with the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet Binky Boy 1999, Upbeat, with the Fred Frith Guitar QuartetSchultze, Tom "Upbeat" in Bogdanov, Vladimir et al (2002) All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz, Backbeat Books, , p. 443 2000, Ereia, with Doctor Nerve and the Sirius String Quartet 2003, Bone - uses wrist grab, with Hugh Hopper and John Roulat 2015, Vomit Fist Forgive but Avenge 2017 Alice Cooper Paranormal 2019, Vomit Fist Omnicide
Didkovsky's music has also been arranged by the experimental music group Electric Kompany. He is a co-owner of the "$100 Guitar", a guitar which was circulated amongst many musicians (including Alex Skolnick, Fred Frith, and Nels Cline) for the recording of a concept album about the guitar.Kozinn, Allan (2013) "A Generic Guitar Inspires a Distinctive Project", The New York Times, April 2, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2014
Solo discography Now I Do This (1982), Punos Music Binky Boy (1997), Punos Body Parts (2000), Vand'Oeuvre The Bright Lights The Big Time (2005), FMR Tube Mouth Bow String (2006), Pogus The $100 Guitar Project (2013), Bridge Phantom Words (2017), Punos
Notes
Sources Couture, François "Body Parts Review", Allmusic. Retrieved August 16, 2014 Dickenson, J. Andrew: "Electric Counterpoint", Urban Guitar, July 2006 Dorsch, Jim "Nick Didkovsky Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved August 16, 2014 Jurek, Thom "Binky Boy Review", Allmusic. Retrieved August 16, 2014 Ross Feller, Ice Cream Time: The Raunchy and the Rigorous Rose, Joe, A $100 Guitar Makes A 30,000-Mile Odyssey, , National Public Radio, 4 December 2012
External links
Doctor Nerve Home Page JMSL Home Page Interview with New Sounds
Hundred-dollar Guitar Project