Nash's music is a complex blend of
progressive rock,
new wave,
new age, and
punk rock, using electric mandolins, violins, drum machines, and a variety of effects and sonic devices. He wrote, played, and produced most of the material on his solo albums by himself, though he also worked with producers
Daniel Lanois,
Steve Hillage, and
Bill Nelson.
First group Before working as a solo artist, Nash recorded an unreleased song called "Slasher" with a group called Breathless, which also included his (and FM's) future producer,
Michael Waite on bass guitar. The song appeared on a "various artists" promotional album titled
Concept (after the Toronto-based management company, Concept 376; this was one of a series of such albums), but was not issued to the public in any form. The promo album does not list the group's personnel, or even a songwriting credit, but Nash is clearly heard singing a song, beginning with the lyrics "Hear the children of the night" (though this was a completely different song from his later work, "Children of the Night"), and playing electric violin. The song also featured a complex organ solo not in Nash's usual style (nor that of Cameron Hawkins, his bandmate in FM).
First solo career and film work Nash's first solo performance and live presentation of music to film occurred when he played his soundtrack to
Luis Buñuel's silent film
Un chien andalou (1929) at The Original 99 Cent Roxy Theatre in
Toronto on March 17, 1975.
Silent film composition He also composed music for other classic silent films including
Nosferatu (1922) and
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). When performing soundtracks, Nash would appear on stage beside the screen (using his own projection screen when a full theatre screen is not available), the same format he used when performing concerts. He also composed scores for modern Canadian films
Roadkill (1990) and
Highway 61 (1991), both directed by
Bruce McDonald. His other movie score and soundtrack work included the short film "
A Trip Around Lake Ontario (1985), The Kidnapping of the President (1980),
Black Pearls (1989), and
Blood and Donuts (1995). During this time, Nash made his first appearance on record, on David Pritchard's solo album
Nocturnal Earthworm Stew (1976), with a short solo track titled "Nash Metropolitan" (named after
Nash Metropolitan), and on an improvised piece with Pritchard and drummer
Martin Deller (with whom he would later work in FM). He also appeared on the live TV-Ontario program
Nightmusic (before its change in format, where it became
Nightmusic Concert); in this incarnation, the show was a televised version of an FM radio show hosted by disc jockey
Reiner Schwarz, and had not previously featured a live performer. Nash claimed he was both the first and last musical artist to appear on the show.
Work with FM After working as a solo artist for a year, Nash formed the group
FM in 1976, initially as a duo with
Cameron Hawkins; drummer
Martin Deller was added later. The group began recording in July 1976, though no performances in its duo format were issued at the time. However, they did appear on television and in live concerts, beginning in November 1976. In 1977, with Deller added to the group, they recorded the album
Black Noise, which received a gold record award. It was listed as one of the "Top 50 Prog Rock Albums" by Rolling Stone magazine. By the end of 1977, Nash had left FM, and resumed his solo career starting with another television appearance on
Nightmusic Concert on February 28, 1978. Also in 1979, Nash thanked Toronto radio station
CFNY-FM for their support of his music, by playing electric violin on the station's theme song, which was recorded by various disc jockeys of the station in a strange blend of new wave and country music. It was released as "Working on the Radio" by the 102.1 Band, as a single on
Ready Records. The B-side has an extended version with a longer solo by Nash, who is not credited on the cover. Nash's solo career up to this point had only a small cult following, due to his working exclusively as an instrumentalist. His next record, a 1980 single featuring a cover version of
Jan and Dean's "
Dead Man's Curve" with vocals, propelled him to greater public recognition. The B-side, "Swing Shift (Souixante-Neuf)" also featured vocals, and was co-composed with lyricist Toby Dammit, with whom Nash further collaborated over the next few years. Music videos were made for both songs. Nash also played on three songs by Toronto group Drastic Measures for their self-titled album, including violins on their signature tune, a cover version of the children's song, "
The Teddy Bears' Picnic". Nash's label, Cut-throat Records, later issued a single by the group, the only other artist to appear on his label, although Nash was not involved in its recording. Nash's later soundtrack album for
Highway 61 includes tracks by Tony Malone, the lead singer for Drastic Measures. Nash was invited by
Gary Numan to tour the UK as his support act in 1980 and 1981, and subsequently played on Numan's 1981 LP
Dance. He also toured Europe with
The Tubes. He was signed to the
Dindisc label and in 1981, he released the album
Children of the Night in Europe, also released in Canada shortly after. Several British singles were also issued. These records appeared on the Dindisc / Cut-throat label in Europe and on Virgin / Dindisc / Cut-throat in Canada.
Mid 1980s Returning to
Toronto in spring 1981, Nash released an instrumental "mini-album"
Decomposing (1981), which purported to be playable at any speed, with song timings on the label quoting three lengths, depending on whether the record is played at 33, 45, or 78 RPM. However, songs from this record also appeared on compilation albums and singles, where they always play as heard when
Decomposing is played at 45 rpm. The EP was reissued on vinyl, CD and download in 2017 by Toronto label Artoffact Records, with the CD and download containing the four songs as they sound at 45, 33 and 78 RPM, in that order. In 1981,
Iggy Pop name-checked Nash during the fade-out on the song
Eggs on Plate singing "Hey Nash the Slash, why did you leave your sticker on the ceiling of my forty-two dollar and fifty cent motel suite?!" A year later, Nash got a call from Iggy who invited him to be his opening act on tour. Nash's next album was
And You Thought You Were Normal (1982). This included the track "Dance After Curfew" produced by
Daniel Lanois prior to his association with
Brian Eno. The single became a surprise club and radio hit in Poland, which was then still behind the
iron curtain, where curfews and restrictions on
western culture were imposed by the government of the time. A 12-inch single featuring a remixed and extended version of the song was issued in the USA on
PVC Records. Nash's next project was an album of American rock classics titled
American Band-ages. Nash enlisted the help of his former FM collaborators Cameron Hawkins (keyboards) and Martin Deller (drums), and the album was released in 1984. The album was aimed at the US market, but due to distribution and management problems, including a change in record labels (to
MCA, after
Quality Records folded in 1985), it never got the exposure Nash thought it deserved. In the same year, Nash released a compilation album (with most tracks remixed) titled
The Million Year Picnic on
Ralph Records in the United States, the label which was home to
The Residents. While working on
American Band-ages in 1983, he proposed to promote it with a double bill tour with his former band FM. But Ben Mink, Nash's replacement, had left the band that year; therefore, Nash rejoined the group, staying with them from 1983 to 1989 (followed by a reunion tour from 1994 to 1996), and retaining the idea of a double bill by performing solo as the opening act. With Nash, FM released further albums:
Con-Test (1985),
Tonight (1987), and
RetroActive (1995). In 1985, Nash sued
PepsiCo for using his likeness in commercials without permission; PepsiCo subsequently settled out of court, pulling the commercial from broadcast and paying Nash's legal fees.
1990–2011 After the break-up of FM in 1989, Nash embarked on a series of film soundtrack projects, and revived his Cut-throat label in 1991 to issue these on CD, and has also used it to re-issue his earlier records. New albums of songs with vocals have also been released on the label:
Thrash (1999) and
In-A-Gadda-Da-Nash (2008), the latter consisting entirely of cover versions. During 1992–1993, Nash the Slash collaborated with the electronic music artist
Plexus to create a series of visually intense live shows called Psychedelitron. They performed Psychedelitron live between 1993 and 1995. In 1993, the show was performed only at Stratenger's in Toronto, Canada, every third Saturday of the month from March to October. The performed two sets, each a mix of Nash the Slash and
Plexus songs. Later, in 1994 and 1995, they took the show to other venues, including the grand opening of the Toronto Public Library at 239 College Street to commemorate the inclusion of the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy in this library location. Psychedelitron used intense visuals, including a refinement of Nash's psychedelic projector lighting, strategically placed pin lights to increase the perception of the stage size, strobe lights, fog and indirect and silhouette lighting. The techniques used during Psychedelitron, and their subsequent refinement during the reign of the shows became an important visual aspect to Nash's later shows. Psychedelitron was also used as way to re-define Nash's shows both visually and musically. In 1998, Nash performed as part of Toronto's
Pride Week, publicly acknowledging that he was gay. During 2004 and 2005, he was again working with Robert Vanderhorst, under the name
Two Artists, on the project
View From the Gallery, including issues #2–7 of
Savage Henry. Nash also provided original music on a CD for Howarth's graphic novel
The Simultaneous Man. Nash continued to tour, mostly in his native Ontario, but occasionally elsewhere, including a 2008 tour of the UK, which resulted in a live CD/DVD. 2011 saw Nash release his first ever compilation album,
The Reckless Use of Electricity.
2012 Nash announced his retirement via his website on November 6, 2012, stating he was "rolling up the bandages" and shutting down his official website on December 31. ==Death==