Otherwhere is my brain child. Otherwhere is how I see the world, and the worlds I see, and perhaps the worlds others see and experience. The idea behind Otherwhere is pretty simple actually; it is an expression of imagination, hopefully prompting consideration.. interpretation. Or, maybe simply in the hope of causing a smile, a tear, or a scowl. Reaction. It exists as an outlet to express ideas.. to entertain… to provoke thought.

After many years of playing in bands, running sound (FOH, monitors, LD) for bands, touring the club circuit of the United States, and working in studios, I rolled a 0 with my trusty 20-sider; a critical miss that changed my life. From this swirling miasma rose Otherwhere. Yes, cliché as it may be, music saved my life. Otherwhere provides a vehicle for uncompromising, self-indulgent expression through music for me. It is an eclectic mix of various musical stylings and genres, predominantly drawing from classic Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, a little Heavy Metal, and Soundtrack Composers. Yes, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, (early) Rush, and Queen are an extremely short list of early influences. Greater still, though, were various Concept and Story albums; Tommy, The Wall, Welcome To My Nightmare, Operation: Mindcrime, and Them-Conspiracy, to name but a few. In addition to drawing influences and inspiration from music, movie soundtracks and authors.. such as Clive Barker, Roger Zelazny, Robert Jordan, J. R. R. Tolkein, (and so many others).. contribute quite heavily as well.

Otherwhere is stories told with music.

Nikki K

Music has always been a significant part of my life. From early years filled with classical music, jazz, and popular AM music, to teen years of discovering KISS.. Led Zeppelin.. Rush.. Pink Floyd.. Alice Cooper… Yes… As such, I suppose I will begin with Xmas just prior to turning four years old.

I started out as a self-taught piano player (although not very good) at age 5. My father was, and still is, a jazz musician, and my Godfather, Vern Miller, plays in The Remains (who toured with The Beatles during their final US Tour, including Shea Stadium). My father’s friends, also mostly musicians, were around as well. I cannot recall living in a house without a piano. Fast forward a bit; I will leave personal hardships aside. After listening to KISS: Destroyer in 1976, my attention turned to guitar. Yes, Ace Frehley was my very first guitar hero. My first guitar was a nylon string acoustic that my father bought me for my 13th birthday. While it would be a year and a half before a friend would lend me an Ibanez Iceman (a Midnight Olive IC400), and introduce me to Rush (All The World’s A Stage and 2112), I was hooked. Age 15; new town, new school (again), and a new friend. He had an early 70′s ebony Les Paul Custom, and I fell in love with that guitar (I remain a “Les Paul Girl today.. mostly). While a used Les Paul Custom could be found for about five hundred dollars back then, that was still out of my price range. Thanks to a loan of one hundred dollars from my Dad, I was finally was able to buy my first electric guitar, a Les Paul copy (Lark brand). Soon after, my father would once again loan me some money, and I bought my first real amp: a Music Man half stack (I had previously used an old stereo with a speaker my Dad had built in college). I proceeded to play in various local bands, and those first years included tons of cover songs.. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, etc.

Time passes, and after being exposed to recording studios (as well as horrible sound at live gigs), I decided to learn about life on the other side of the board.

Tons of touring, once again on both sides of the board, and life throws a curve ball: A motorcycle accident (on my Yamaha R1). I awoke after four days in coma to discover that I would be a paraplegic (a T6 Complete) for life. With extra time on my hands, I decided to fulfill a dream. The rest is, well… yet to come.