Nicholas Grooms

Nicholas Grooms is a rapper outta Garden City, Kansas. Not too long ago, he released “Thirty-One”, an album filled with Grooms’ good and bad experiences. We interviewed Grooms about his album, and this is what he had to say:

What’s life like in Garden City, Kansas?

Nicholas Grooms: I am very fortunate to have grown up and lived in such a diverse community. Just today, I saw a chart about the current enrollment at Garden City High School representing over 29 countries and 28 different languages. Not bad for a city of around 30,000. Growing up in Garden City was a unique experience. It’s one of those small towns with very little to do. So creating your own means of entertainment was usually a must.

The people I grew up with all seem to remain close. We all seem to pick up where we left off because we all spent so much time with each other at shows or finding ways to fend off the small-town boredom. In all honesty, I wouldn’t ever change the fact that I grew up there. I am extremely fortunate to have met and befriended so many characters and good people. Garden City is home; always has been and always will be no matter where my life sees me going.

How would you describe your sound?

NG: I heard a quote a long while back from “American Splendor” writer, Harvey Pekar.

“It’s my perspective…gloom and doom.”

I think if there was one way to sum up my music that would be the six words to do it. I am not flashy like a lot of other artists, and most of the time, I don’t look the part. My goal is never to win battles or thrill people with my rhyming speed or complex metaphors. There are so many guys and girls out there who do that stuff far better than I do. So I stick to my strengths. The best I can be is myself and I have always been infatuated with poetry and storytelling. That is what I do best.

My sound is basically my personal issues set to a beat. Sometimes that bores people who are out looking to dance and see someone pop a drunken crowd. But I am perfectly content with doing what I am doing. I think I often find the confidence to say personal things other people wish they could say about themselves. And to me, helping people find strength in just being who they are is far better than making drunk people dance at a random club at 1am on any given weekend.

Tell us about your new album, “Thirty-One”.

NG: It is hard to describe how happy and relieved I am to have this album finished. “Thirty-One” is basically a look into my life between the ages of 30-32, with my 31st year being one of the worst I have ever had in my life. For years, I have had many periods where I felt emotionally unfit when dealing with circumstances and situations. And over the last couple of years I have had to come to grips with the fact that anxiety and bipolar disorder are the reason I have experienced these waves of emotion. I have spent the last few years combating and coming to grips with the fact that this is a very real thing that will occur in my head forever. It’s hard to accept, especially when your bad days feel so dark and bottomless.

Nicholas Grooms is 31

“Thirty-One” was a way to show the mixture of emotions I tend to navigate through. I can wake up for a week straight feeling pretty regular, and then out of nowhere, wake up feeling like I can’t function on day eight. Some parts of the album are sad, some are fun, some are heartfelt, some are cheeky and silly, and some are downright hurtful to even look back on. Much like my mind over the past three years. This album is all over the place but ends with acceptance and the promise to look forward instead of backward.

What was your most-memorable recording moment?

NG: I always have a great time recording with Dustin Ridder at Bulletride Productions. His studio is one of only a couple of reputable places to record out here in Southwest Kansas. And his usual clientele consists of mostly rock and metal bands. As far as I know, I am the only hip-hop artist he records with on a regular basis. I think the fact that I was able to do this album with Ridder is the only reason I was able to get it finished. I have built such a report with him and always trust his opinions. And I know he always has my best interests at heart.

Every hour we spent recording is memorable to me as it was the first time in a long time where I was able to loosen up and have fun without any worry. Plus, he’s always good for nerd talks about MMA, Wrestling, video games, sci-fi and any other dorky thing you can think of. I think most people would find our session exchanges entertaining as I try to describe what I want done on something and he looks at me like I am an idiot for being a musician for so many years without learning any actual lingo or vocabulary. “Make it sound prettier” or “How can we make that part a little more shiny?” are sentences I have said out loud only to be greeted with a patented Dustin Ridder glare.

What’s the greatest obstacle you had to overcome?

NG: The bipolar/anxiety effect was almost detrimental to this album. In October of last year, I had a close friend and former roommate pass away very unexpectedly, and I felt a tremendous amount of guilt and sadness because of that. The last few years I have become somewhat of a recluse due to my afflictions and worries. And I often put off calling friends or following through with plans because I couldn’t bear to socialize on certain days. The last two opportunities I had to see him, I put off due to this. I spent a lot of time wondering, “Why him and not me?” He did so much good for the world and made so many people happy.

Nicholas Grooms

I spent October and November in a daze and found that blogging about pro-wrestling with some friends was the only part of the day I felt normal. I had been a writer for wrestling websites on and off over the years. So I reached out to a couple of places and ended up becoming a full-time wrestling writer in the midst of my rut. Staying busy with that has really helped me forge ahead. I owe Dave Reno and David Garlick a great deal of gratitude for helping me get back on track.

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you?

NG: I always think back to my friend Dominic Davi telling me to always listen when people talk and don’t talk over them. Everyone has a story to tell and wants to be heard. And sometimes the best way to make an impression is to just be the person who was willing to listen. Also, if you are seeking answers, don’t be afraid to ask questions. You’d be surprised how far those simple little nuggets of truth will take you. I have also always thrived on being humble; something my parents instilled in me. It is okay to be proud of what you have accomplished, but boasting about it never gets you anywhere with people. Especially in a genre layered with so many unnecessary egos. It helps you weed out the weak from the worthwhile.

Tell us something about you that your world doesn’t know.

NG: I don’t tend to listen to popular artists or watch popular shows. I don’t know why. I can name obscure movies and albums all day long, but I can’t tell you one song that Drake sings or what the plot of “Game of Thrones” is. It would surprise people how little I keep up with the world of pop culture and music these days. If I don’t see a news article or feel enthused to dig deeper on a subject, then I just let it be.

I didn’t watch “Breaking Bad” until the series was over. On the last tour, I did. And someone asked me if I liked “Twenty One Pilots” and I thought it was in reference to a drink at the bar. I slowly learn new things about pop culture at shows and on tour. Mostly from shocked people who act like I have been living in a cave because I can’t name all the Kardashians. Kim is the one with the booty, right? Hahahaha. Whatever, we’ve all seen her tape.

Years from now, when people mention your name—what will they say?

NG: I hope they have positive memories of me. Whether its music, writing or just life in general, and I hope people are able to see that I have always put my entire heart into the things I do. I am extremely human and far from perfect. But at this point in my life, I feel that just being honest about who you are and what you are going through is the biggest and toughest step to take.

So many people choose to kick their flaws under the rug, and instead point out the flaws of others in an effort to take the focus off themselves. I just never want to be that way again because I have done that in the past and it’s such a hollow existence. I hope people say I never kicked them while they were down and that I instead held a hand out in an effort to pick them up. Truthfully, if my niece thinks I am cool, then I feel pretty complete.

Any last words?

NG: I just want to thank everyone for all the love and support. I also want to thank blogs like this one for being so willing to promote independent music. You can check out my music just about anywhere just search Nicholas Grooms or follow me on Twitter @NicholasGrooms.

Listen to Nicholas Grooms – “Thirty-One” album via Spotify. - Bong Mines Entertainment

99 percent of the hip hop/rap I receive for review is club noise passed off as instrumentals, followed by some chauvinist talking about how great he is, how far he’s gotten or how “dope” everyone in the world sees him when they look his direction. Nicholas Grooms or “Grooms” as he is commonly known, does none of those things.

He has created something fresh, something truthful and necessary with his new EP “Valley View”. Upon receiving the album download I was quickly intrigued by the song “Lovely Bones”, a re-telling of Alice Sebold’s famous work through the eyes of the book’s killer rather than the murdered girl looking down from the heavens hoping the case is solved. Instead he speaks through the voice of a man addicted to killing, hiding a monster beyond the flesh and façade of an average Joe living in a quaint suburban environment, leaving me to imagine some of the prominent scenes of the movie’s adaptation as I listened along.

With that track Grooms spoke through a character, but as the short EP rolls forward, he delves into his own personal bag of tricks with 3 more deeply soulful tracks, showing Grooms delicately re-living his past in both good and bad representations, and foreshadowing his ultimate demise in the EP’s finale “Valley View” as he gives very clear instructions to where he wants to be laid to rest when life is all said and done.

"..when i die spread my ashes over "Valley View" making reference to the name of the cemetery in Grooms's hometown.

The track is worthy of both the praise I am giving it and the goosebumps it gave me. To hear music made in this manner is refreshing, and while many other artists uncomfortably wade into a sea of darkness full of their own stress, insecurities and fuck ups; Grooms seems to bathe in it, as if it is a way to cleanse himself of all the negativity that he has bottled up inside, speaking to others in the most honest way possible.

On top of that? This album is free, you can download right now. Solid effort from an artist I hope to hear more from. - Austin Beiman

Nicholas Grooms is a rapper outta garden City, Kansas. Not too long ago, he released a new album, entitled, “Thirty-One”. The 10-track project is a testament to the ups and downs that Grooms faced in life.

At one point in time, Grooms opened at the Vans Warped Tour, worked with his favorite NFL team, and had his music in commercials and a movie. He even acquired a book deal, and wrote for pro-wrestling websites and magazines.

But, during all of that, Grooms was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and anxiety. This had him feeling imbalanced, and he had a difficult time meeting his goals and deadlines. During this troubling time, he created “Thirty-One”, an album that reflected what he had been through in life.

“Thirty-One” is the product of a three-year journey and a look back at the last few years and all my ups and downs. While I once felt like I was on top of the world, I quickly found the world on top of myself, balanced on my frail shoulders. Some days, I felt unable to carry the weight. In the wake of all of this, I wrote 45 songs or pieces of songs that later became 8 new tracks and 2 tracks I originally recorded in 2016 to be part of an EP that I never released.

“It’s an ode to getting older, a message of frustration and anger, a chronicle of my daily routines and a roller coaster ride through my mind and imagination which is sometimes comical and other times darker than you could ever believe.”

Dealing with bipolar disorder

“It’s okay to live with a mental illness. While some people feel it taboo, I am certainly learning to live with it and maneuver around the worst parts of it to take my life back and do the things that matter most to me in life. This album sounds like what goes on in my brain. Sometimes I say horrible things. Sometimes I care about others deeply. Some days I cannot bear to leave the bed. Some days, I feel so manic and enthusiastic I want to scream out loud.”

“Most days, I am myself again and I find solace in writing and music. Please listen to this album. This album was something I have needed to get off my chest for a couple of years and I hope your ears enjoy the journey.”

Listen to Grooms’ “Thirty-One” via Spotify.

Tag us on Twitter and let us know how you feel about Grooms “Thirty-One” album. Also, check out our “Dope or Not?” music video showcase. Vote for this month’s dopest artist. Expect to hear hip-hop, R&B, etc. The video with the most votes will move on to the next showcase. - Bong Mines Entertainment Blog

Nicholas Grooms - Thirty-One (nicholasgrooms.bandcamp.com)
I remember a brief period of time where I felt like I was on top of the world.

Between 2014-2016 I played the Vans Warped Tour, opened for many of idols, toured with some amazing musicians, worked a long stint with my favorite NFL team, had my music in commercials, a movie, I acquired deal to release a book nationally and through music garnered my dream job of writing for Pro-Wrestling websites and magazines as a journalist.

Somewhere in the midst of all of that I also lost my goddamn mind. All of this pressure, all of this stress, all of this daily routine intertwining with my dreams that were coming true began to take their toll. I finally found out my diagnosis was Bipolar Disorder and anxiety which left me feeling so imbalanced that I had a difficult time meeting goals and deadlines; hell...even more important it prohibited me from acting like myself on most days as I found more solace in being locked away at home than I did touring, writing, creating or doing anything meaningful.

"Thirty-One" is the product of a three year journey and a look back at the last few years and all of their ups and downs. While I once felt like I was on top of the world, I quickly found the world on top of myself, balanced on my frail shoulders that some days, feel unable to carry the weight. In the wake of all of this, I wrote 45 songs or pieces of songs that later became 8 new tracks and 2 tracks I originally recorded in 2016 to be part of an EP that I never released.

Its an ode to getting older, a message of frustration and anger, a chronicle of my daily routines and a roller coaster ride through my mind and imagination which is sometimes comical and other times darker than you could ever believe.

It is okay to live with a mental illness. While some people feel it taboo, I am certainly learning to live with it and manuever around the worst parts of it in an effort to take my life back and do the things that matter most to me in life. This album sounds similar to what goes on in my brain. Sometimes I say horrible things. Sometimes I care about others deeply. Some days I cannot bear to leave the bed. Some day I feel so manic and enthusiastic I want to scream out loud.

Most days, I am myself again and I find solace in writing and music. Please listen to this album. This album was something I have needed to get off my chest for a couple of years and I hope your ears enjoy the journey.creditsreleased August 15, 2017

Words/Arrangements: Nicholas Grooms

Beats/Productions: Life and Death, Sinima, Jakob Widows, Maulskull.

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered: Dustin Ridder @ Bulletride Productions

Cover art: Bread Nugent - worldwide.hiphop

Grooms & Katie is composed of two hard-working poets with the ultimate DIY ethic. Born out of Garden City, Kansas, the big dude in Dickies, known as Nicholas Grooms, began his music career with punk rock roots. Having performed with bands around the Midwest including Parallels, Grooms found his niche in the hip hop world in 2013 after becoming one of 160 finalists as well as a featured artist in the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands via the Vans Warped Tour. Since then, Grooms has gone on to collaborate with artists including but not limited to Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids), JT Woodruff (Hawthorne Heights), Mark Rose (Spitalfield), and MC Lars. In August 2013 Grooms released a track in partnership with the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs titled “Tradition (Hail to the Chiefs),” which appeared on the NFL Network, Fox News, Sports Illustrated, Associated Press, and more. It was crowned “Song of the Week” during the infamous “Raiders Week” upon the annual Oakland and Kansas City Rivalry.

Around this time, Grooms began working with the beautiful Katie Wheatcroft, also known as the girl with the MJ tattoo. The result became a rich and elegant pop rock and R&B fusion, propelling the pair to a higher realm of spreading love through music. - Hellhound Music

Addicts, it’s fun when the Kansas City Chiefs are winning. Chiefs fans aren’t upset, or grumpy and really cool things like new songs by local artists are released, complete with YouTube videos. This kind of stuff wasn’t happening last year when the Chiefs were only 1-7 by this point in the season. I think it’s safe to say we won’t be hearing in songs about how good the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are any time soon. But there are plenty of artists singing the praises of the Chiefs.

Last week, Andrew Kulha posted a video remixing the famous — and beloved — Warchant of the Chiefs, the “Tomahawk Chop.” This week, I present to you “Tradition: Hail to the Chiefs.” This is a completely original song by local Kansas City hip hop artist Nicholas Grooms. The song caputres the pulse of the Chiefs fan base, and the video is awesome, showing the tailgating atmosphere that accompanies every home game at Arrowhead. I also love that he gives a shout out to the original “Red and Yellow” artist, Irv da Phenom, who performs the themesong to AA Radio. - Arrowhead Addict

When Nicholas Grooms was a child, he told his mother he wanted to play for the Kansas City Chiefs.

He would watch games on television with his grandfather and aunt, who instilled in him an intense fandom.

Now, at 28, the Garden City native who resides in Dodge City is living his dream of playing for the Chiefs - without pads and a uniform.

Grooms wrote a song for his favorite team called “Tradition (Hail to the Chiefs).” Since its release in early September, the song has reached more than 10,000 plays and 2,000 downloads.

“It’s just so crazy,” Grooms said. “I’m from Garden City - a guy who has played local shows. To have this kind of attention is nuts.”

Grooms and Jacob Gill will be at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 13 during the Raiders game to shoot a music video for the song. Grooms also plans to perform at a tailgate party before the game in parking lot A, in an effort to energize the crowd.

“It’s an attempt for the Chiefs fans to reclaim the crowd noise record,” he said. “It’s trying to be the loudest stadium in the NFL.”

Embracing tradition


Being a Chiefs fan is like being part of a really big family, Grooms said.

“I’ve never been to a place like Arrowhead,” he said. “Every time I go, even during preseason games, it’s like when I met my girlfriend. It takes my breath away.”

At games, he will high-five people he’s never met. A few times when the team scored a touchdown, he has caught himself with his arm around a man he never met.


It’d be awkward and uncomfortable in any other situation - but not at a Chiefs game.

“They’re so good to one another,” he said.

Grooms’ song “Blacklist Kansas” pays homage to Kansas teams like the Kansas Jayhawks, Kansas State Wildcats and Wichita State Shockers. It gained steam when Wichita State made it to the Final Four in the 2013 NCAA basketball tournament.

Ty “X-Factor” Rowton, a man known as a Kansas City Chiefs superfan who set a Guinness World Record by watching 70 straight hours of football, encouraged Grooms to write a song for the team he’s most passionate about.


Grooms has not yet performed the song live. That will change this month - but the Chiefs had one request: Remove a line that references former General Manager Scott Pioli.

Hail to the Chiefs

Three former Chiefs players plan to make an appearance in the music video, which will be shot at Arrowhead Stadium and various other Chiefs-related locations.


The video will include Kendall Gammon, who played from 2000 to 2006; Casey Wiegmann, who played from 2001 to 2007 and again in 2010 and 2011; and Eddie Kennison, who played from 2002 to 2006.

Gammon has been a force in promoting the song and the video to the Chiefs organization, Grooms said.

“Kendall Gammon has gone out of his way to pump the song to the Chiefs,” he said. “He wants the Chiefs to help make it go viral.”

The music video, which will be shot by Gill, will be filmed throughout the weekend of the game against the Oakland Raiders. The pep rally will be an added bonus to the video.


“It will be even better,” he said.

Donations from Grooms’ song have been pouring in, which is helping to cover costs for the video. The video does not yet have a release date.

He hopes it will get people’s attention so they’ll check out more of his music. Although he’s excited about the song, Grooms doesn’t want to be a one-hit wonder.


“I hope I’m not the Kansas City Chiefs rapper forever,” he said.



***




Want to hear “Tradition (Hail to the Chiefs)”?

Check it out online at nicholasgrooms.bandcamp.com - The Hutchinson News

G.C. native Grooms earns spotlight through music competition.

By ANGIE HAFLICH

ahaflich@gctelegram.com

A dream recently came true for Garden City native Nicholas Grooms.

The 28-year-old hip-hop artist was one of only four acts chosen to perform at a regional venue of the 2013 Vans Warped Tour, which consists of 40 venues nationwide. Grooms said he owes much of the achievement to friends and family from Garden City

“Every person I ever met at shows, or every person I went to school with -- teachers, family, friends -- just everybody kind of came out of the woodwork and was like, ‘Hey, we’re rooting for you. We really want you to do this.’ And for it to actually happen was insane,” Grooms said.

The Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands competition draws thousands of regional musicians from Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas to compete for a spot on the tour. To try to win a spot, Grooms first had to create the most “buzz” on the profile he created for the website, www.battleofthebands.com, which includes MP3 files of his songs. His Buzz Rating was determined by the number of fans who voted for him, liked him on Facebook, and tweeted about him. During that initial process, Grooms said there were around 1,000 other acts. After completing the Buzz Rating portion of the contest, the field was narrowed down to Grooms and 99 other entrants. From that group, industry professionals chose the final four acts, one of which was Grooms, to perform at the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Bonner Springs on July 23.

“I’m really, really proud I won because when I was looking through it, it just seemed so hopeless because it was just all bands,” he said. “There were quite a few hip-hop artists, but I think a lot of them were, I don’t want to say stereotypical, but they kind of put off that ‘get money, go to the clubs, smoke weed’ (vibe).”

This is not a category that Grooms will allow himself to ever fall into.


“I’m not that kind of rapper. I mean, I can’t be anything other than myself, and I think putting anything like that into your music, if it’s not who you are, it’s just fake, it’s plastic. I can’t run around and act like I have money. The thing is, most of the rappers during the contest who rapped about money -- I have more money than they do -- but it’s because I have a full-time job,” he said and then laughed.

Grooms works at the Ramada Inn in Mountain Home, Ark., doing front desk work, maintenance and customer service, among other things.

Grooms said he has dreamed about getting a spot on the tour since he was 14, and that he spent much of that time helping with the tour any way he could.

“Anything to be involved in the tour when I was growing up, I did,” he said.

When he received the news that he won, he reacted calmly at first, but later, in private, he cried tears of joy.

Grooms remains down to earth about his music and his recent successes, one of which came on the heels of the Wichita State Shockers men’s basketball team making the NCAA’s Final Four.

“I’ve gotten a lot of love from players on the Wichita State Shockers team and the Kansas City Chiefs for my song, ‘Blacklist Kansas,’” he said. “It’s basically just a song about anytime I go anywhere else, people always say stuff like, ‘You’re from Kansas. Where’s Dorothy,’ and ‘There are just a bunch of hicks there.’”


Those kinds of comments prompted Grooms to write the song, in which he defends the state.

“The song just happened to come out about the time the Shockers made the Final Four. There is a line in there about the Shockers, so on the Internet, the buzz for it just went crazy at that time. That’s kind of how I was able to launch everything, was just on the back of that song,” he said.

Formerly a member of Garden City metal bands, such as The Girl Fight and The Answer is Never, Grooms began doing hip-hop after his last band split up.

“I always had a love for poetry and stuff. I started getting into underground hip-hop music, (about five or six years ago) and I kind of just started using my poetry background and moving it to hip-hop, and slowly but surely, I got better and better and better, and this year, everything’s just kind of blown up,” he said.

Grooms’ mother, Vita Perez, still lives in Garden City, and his father, Douglas Grooms, lives in Arkansas. He said both his parents have always been supportive of his music.

“They were always on me about school, but they never grounded me from my bands or stopped me from playing music. I think they knew that would be like ripping my heart out,” he said.

Perez said her son has come a long way and that she enjoys listening to his music.


“He has always been good with words, and when he puts it to music, it’s great,” she said. “It’s something he has always wanted, and he seems to get better and better.”

Grooms gives a lot of the credit for his recent success to his friend, Chad Weston of Garden City.

“He’s the one who said, ‘Dude, you need to step up and really do this because you have a lot of good things to say,’” Grooms said. “He just kind of stayed with me and helped me get better, overall. I owe this dude everything that’s happened this year.”

Grooms is still in the running to win several other prizes being awarded through the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands contest.

“The tour is over, but we’re still in a battle for $50,000. We’re still battling for other prizes, like recording equipment, sponsorship or more tour time,” he said. “And a little birdy has told me I might be back in the tour next year.”

To hear Grooms’ music, visit www.battleofthebands/com/u/nicholasgrooms, or soundcloud.com/nicholasgrooms. - The Garden City Telegram