Craig Nicholls

At 47 years old, Craig Nicholls has this physical status:

Craig Robert Nicholls (born 31 August 1977) is an Australian musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Australian alternative rock band The Vines, of which he is the only mainstay member.

Early life

Nicholls was born in Sydney. Terry Nicholls, his father, was a member of The Vynes, a 1960s band. He later worked as an accountant for Sony Music Australia. Nicholls has two brothers, Matt, an older sister Tara who is a solicitor, and Jessica, a younger sister. During his youth, Nicholls' father taught him how to play guitar. He spent his spare time listening to The Beatles, painting works, and skateboarding. "I grew up a loner," he said. I've never been socialized. I stayed at home and listened to music all day. "Music has entered a mystical world."

Nicholls attended Marist College Penshurst until he dropped out of high school in Year 10. He studied painting at an art school for six months in order to learn about painting. He supported his aspiration to be a guitarist by working at a McDonald's in Hurstville. He met future bandmates bass guitarist Patrick Matthews and drummer David Oliffe in the same venue. Nicholls invited his schoolmate Ryan Griffiths to join on guitar to form a quartet named Rishikesh. Rishikesh, the band's name from the city in India where the Beatles had attended an ashram, was shared by Nicholls. The name "Rishi Chasms" would be misprinted in early gigs and newspapers, so Nicholls decided to change it to The Vines, a nod to his father's organisation.

Personal life

Nicholls had a reputation as an erratic performer by 2002. On Late Show With David Letterman, The Vines performed "Get Free" in August, with Nicholls chastising Hamish Rosser's drum kit. After Nicholls destroyed the stage during a rehearsal, they were unable to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in December. His behavior was described as "a sign of anxiety and mental exhaustion."

The Vines performed at a promotional show for Triple M radio in May 2004, where Nicholls bleated at the audience and asked that they not talk during the band's performance. "Why the fuck are you laughing?" the man yelled as he heard a joking? You're just a bunch of sheep.

Can you go baa?"

An official photographer, Janie Barrett, snapped a photo of Nicholls, who reportedly kicked out at her after crashing her camera. As a result, Matthews left the stage and resigned on the spot, eventually joining Youth Group. He will not appear with The Vines again for another 14 years. Triple M also refused to air the group's music from being broadcast by their station. Further shows on their Australian, United States, and European tours were cancelled to promote their second album, Winning Days.At Balmain Local Court in Sydney, Matt Kelly, his brother Matt and his boss and friend Andy Kelly, were charged with assault and malicious harm in November 2004. It was revealed that Nicholls had Asperger Syndrome at ten minutes of the hearing. Tony Bateman, a road crew veteran who felt there was something physically different with Nicholls, and gathered details about Asperger Syndrome, which he handed over to Kelly, had suspicions of his illness. After seeing Nicholls and his family in August, autism spectrum disorders specialist Professor Tony Attwood confirmed the diagnosis. All charges against Nicholls were dismissed on the condition that he seek urgent care.

Nicholls yelled "I'm free!"

As I left the courthouse, I was given a red carpet. He had been receiving medical care and therapy for six months, but had reduced his intake of fast food and cannabis. In subsequent interviews, he talked about his illness.

The Vines cancelled shows in Australia and Japan in November 2008 as Nicholls' mental condition had worsened over the previous month, and he needed more assistance. Nicholls was arrested on October 13, 2012 at his Sydney home on suspicion of assaulting his parents and injuring a responding police officer who refused to arrest. He appeared before a judge at Sutherland Local Court on October 17, 2012, the date of which was set in the trial date of 14 November. "two counts of domestic assault, assault occasioning real bodily harm, stalking, and resisting arrest are among the allegations.

Nicholls revealed in a 2014 Rolling Stone Australia article that he had returned to the family house in 2013 after receiving "medical intervention." He spoke about his mental stability: :

Nicholls admitted that he takes care of his illness by not socializing much, and that "I'm just following my instincts so... that's alright." During the same interview, he revealed that he shun 21st-century technology, such as smartphones and computers, because he prefers to minimize his obligations to live "like a child." Music has "actually been the thing that saved me," Nicholls said.

Source

Music career

Before The Vines started performing live shows, Nicholls had never written anything. Performer appearances included playing for backyard barbecues and a regular spot on a local radio station. They gathered a following in Sydney and then got Capitol Records to announce them. Since starting writing songs, he loved it and continued to write more; the writing was a good outlet for him. "Factory," the band's debut album, became NME's Single of the Week in November 2001, Nicholls wrote "Factory," the band's first single. The Vines received the 'Best Breakthrough Artist - Single' award at the ARIA Music Awards in 2002, which was also written by Nicholls. He was named 'Breakthrough Songwriter Award' at the APRA Awards in 2003.

Griffiths, Heald, and Rosser all left their roles in the band, and Nicholls returned with new band members for the unveiling of the Vines' independently released sixth album Wicked Nature, describing it as a "comeback" by Darren Levin of the Faster Louder online music website. Tim John (bass) and Lachy West (drums) of the band The Griswolds appeared on the album, which was also produced by Nicholls. "It's not the most comfortable thing [to talk about]...it's just a shame that it didn't work out" Nicholls said in August 2014, "It's not the most convenient thing [to talk about]...

Several of Nicholls' paintings have been used in Vines' albums "Highly Evolved," "Western Days" and singles "Outtathaway." At the 2002 ARIA Awards, Nicholls' work on Highly Evolved was nominated for "Best Cover Art."

Source