the hum / By Bob Doran

The Core

The Nucleus returns, plus Missing Link’s Got Soul, The Country Pretenders and a new Splinter Cell CD The Nucleus returns, plus Missing Link’s Got Soul, The Country Pretenders and a new Splinter Cell CD

(Jan. 26, 2012)  In physics, the protons and neutrons at the core of an atom form the nucleus. In cellular biology, the nucleus is where you find DNA, the cell’s genetic material. In Humboldt, The Nucleus is a long-lived rock/funk/psychedelic jamband with guitarist Piet Dalmolen, bassist Steve Webb and drummer Pete Ciotti at the core. As noted on the band’s Facebook and Bandcamp pages, The Nucleus counts “over 500 shows, 11 years, seven national tours, seven CDs” and “still counting” on the CDs.

The three musicians all grew up in small towns around Ithaca, NY. Ciotti related the trio’s history 10 years ago when the band released its first CD. “We were all like best friends since we were in high school,” he told me. “Back in New York we just jammed together — we never had a band — we just played in the basement.”

The Nucleus PHOTO BY BOB DORAN

GALLERY >

When Dalmolen came west to study music at HSU, Webb and Ciotti followed and they ended up living together in a house in Arcata. There was a spare room for their instruments — jamming recommenced. That resulted in a band called All in the Family, which eventually evolved into Nucleus. (The name was eventually changed to The Nucleus to avoid confusion with the British jazz-rock band.)

Back in the day Dalmolen described the Nucleus sound as “a hybrid going down the middle of rock and groove jazz. We pump it up, and we play a lot of three or four chord songs and sing our asses off; that feels totally like rock ‘n’ roll to me.” And that’s pretty much been the story all along. They’ve gone through a few fourth members, worked with various saxophonists and keyboard players, some for longer than others, but the rock trio core has remained the same.

The band hasn’t played out much of late. There are now wives and kids in the picture, other work, and distance: Webb is living and working in Ventura, Dalmolen runs Universal Balance Recording Studio, Ciotti runs a couple of pizza parlors and the Jambalaya, and Piet and Pete both play in the Petty tribute band Full Moon Fever. But to me, they’ve always been Arcata’s top jamband, and this weekend The Nuke is back — full force — for a two-night run Friday and Saturday at the Jambalaya (of course) with old friends Brian Swizlo and Lenny Pettinelli adding a dual keyboard component.

“Steve flies in tomorrow,” said Dalmolen, calling from his studio on Tuesday. “We’re excited to be together again playing a lot of songs from different periods. It will be fun to mix it all together, spread the music over two nights and add the two keyboards for flavor.”

Opening for them on successive nights: bluesy jammers Children of the Sun (Friday) and the indescribable Strix Vega (Saturday), who, after reading about Wu Tang’s many aliases last week, tell me they feel like they need some nick names. Any suggestions?

Now established as a monthly “event,” Missing Link’s Got Soul returns to Humboldt Brews Thursday, this time with six, count ‘em, six DJs spinning soulful vinyl. In between pulling espresso shots at Café Brio, M.L. Matt explained that this one’s a “birthday fandango” since his DJ/record store partner Adam and King Maxwell both have birthiversaries coming up. Cake? Maybe. But mostly variations on sweet soul vinyl: I’m told DJ Mantease just got a new shipment of Peruvian cumbia discs to share (yes, they are soul, says Matt emphatically) and DJ Jaymorg will be back. When Matt noted that the latest soul spinner added to the mix will be none other than DJ Red, a woman at the end of the coffee bar expressed delight. Like many (myself included) she’s been dancing to Red’s records for years.

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