Cynthia: Ernie and I met NICK at a Halloween party. He was still living in Decatur at the Staley mansion—a big old house divided into apartments. Of course there was the big stack of records in front of the stereo. And the one right in front was the Soft Boys and Ernie and I were like, OHHHH you guys know about that too. I remember sitting on the landing with the beautiful stained glass and talking with him and just being like, ‘Oh my God we found somebody, you know, you just connect with. And it was immediate. Nick was always a little more reserved and shy but still, there was an immediate connection.
Ernie, Nick and I all ended up working at Record Service together, and I guess that’s when we really bonded. Nick and Ernie would have crossword puzzle races to see who could do it fastest. Pretty even! Nick’s a smart guy, but Ernie has the crossword puzzle mind.
Nick knew a lot of different kinds of music and we meshed really well. When we worked together, he’d play stuff that was new to me and I’d play stuff back at him as a friendly sorta competition.
Nick was so good at mutual respect. I think that’s one of the reasons he was so good at being friends with women. If you’re a woman working in a record store, going to see bands, the guys don’t think you know anything. Nick had this instinctive respect for people. It’s different now that we’re all older, but back then — you know —it wasn’t that common. He was really special in that regard.
The first time we saw the b lovers there was no question. We adored them. The guitar sound and Nick’s voice—like Ian Hunter’s—it always would go right through me.
Ernie: He could get a lot of heartbreak in that voice. Even for just a moment in a song. And those guys just meshed so well together. You could talk to them about a band like Big Star before that became all the rage You could have a real deep conversation with them about it. They got it back then.
Cynthia: Nick was naturally charismatic, something you can’t define. I’m not sure he ever knew that about himself. And he kept getting better and better at his art. I don’t think there was an end to that. He was so smart and he was such a curious person, so interested in everything. It just led him to keep growing. I loved all those guys, of course, but Nick, he was the heart of it, the one that would get to your heart, he was just so special.
One of the things that held him back a bit was that he didn’t want to put up with the BS of the star thing, but the more he played, the more confident he got. His lyrics, his singing, it all just got better and better. It must have been such a great inner journey for him.
Even when he played with Peter Holsapple last fall at our Sandwich Life House Concert, just him and his guitar. God he was beautiful, such a self assurance and confidence. When he came and played he just stuck to the song and melody. He could have gone anywhere with his talent. I just think he didn’t that he wanted to put up with the bullshit that goes with it.
I remember him, years ago, getting so irate about an interview with David Lee Roth about how it’s just getting the girls and doing your stuff, and Nick was like that’s NOT what it is, that is NOT what rock and roll is!! Music was so pure for him.
Ernie: That last summer before we left for Chicago, we started playing together. Mark Enloe let us play together. I’m not sure how serious it was. We got together a few times, trying to make a cross between Neil Young and Husker Du. He was really forgiving of me. And it was really exciting, really fun for me. Bad timing because Cynthia and I up and moved.
If he thought you were in it for the right reasons he would do anything for you.
Cynthia: It’s not like we constantly talked about Nick, but enough, and in such a way, our kids just absorbed that we loved Nick. We went to a party and Owen was probably 13 or 14, and Nick said, ‘Hey Owen!’ And Owen was all “Hey, that was Nick Rudd!”
Nick was so nice to Owen. He gave him an amp and a pedal. I just love that connection, that circle.
Ernie: I’d love for Nick’s stuff to be heard everywhere. There are so many great things in CU, but Nick was on another level. Something special, the one you really want to tell the world about.