Early years and success: 1990–1996 The Nixons were founded in
Oklahoma City by singer and guitarist Zac Maloy, guitarist Jesse Davis, bassist Ricky Brooks, and drummer Tye Robison. According to Maloy, the band's name has no political meaning: "'The Nixons' was short, sweet and I always tell people it had an 'x' in the middle so it looked cool on t-shirts and stickers. That's about it."{{cite web|url=https://www.sflmusic.com/the-nixons/|title=The Nixons|author=Smerilson Carson, Lori
Subsequent albums and disbanding: 1997–2000 The band replaced Ricky Brooks with Ricky Wolking and released
The Nixons in June 1997 on MCA/Universal. The record featured three singles: "The Fall", "Miss USA", and "Baton Rouge". It eventually peaked at No. 188 on the
Billboard 200. They departed MCA Records following the release of the self-titled album. Consistent gigging ensured a strong cult audience for 1998's
Scrapbook EP (featuring b-sides, live and acoustic performances, including covers of
Elton John's
"Rocket Man" and
Cheap Trick's "Heaven Tonight"), which saw the band return to Rainmaker. Their third full-length album,
Latest Thing, was released by
Koch in early 2000. It featured songs co-written by
Marti Frederiksen and
Jack Blades of
Night Ranger fame. Davis and Humphrey left the band after the album release. The band continued touring, replacing them with Scott Bush and
Ray Luzier (of
Korn and
Army of Anyone fame), respectively. However, when the tour supporting the album concluded, they quietly disbanded.
Huver and solo projects: 2001–2016 Davis, Brooks, and Humphrey reformed in early 2001 as Huver, with a new lead singer, Garin Murdock. The band gigged heavily and reportedly signed a recording contract with Epic Records, but broke up in mid-2002 after independently releasing one EP. John Humphrey went on to play drums in the band
Seether. Zac Maloy released several albums as a solo artist, and later relocated to Nashville to work as a songwriter and producer with artists including
Carrie Underwood,
Skillet,
Our Lady Peace,
Halestorm,
Hanson,
Chris Daughtry,
David Cook, and
Bowling for Soup. Jesse Davis formed roots rock band 4 Points West in 2002, which released an EP titled
Lonesome Demise..., and a full-length album,
Insomnia Suite. Davis played in Anchor the Girl and released music produced by Grammy-nominated musician
Wes Sharon. Ricky Wolking went on to play bass for the rock band
Edgewater and later recorded a solo album as Honky Mofo. Original drummer Robison is a co-owner of January Sound Studio in Dallas, and has worked as a producer/engineer with
Drowning Pool,
Cas Haley, and
Dennis DeYoung.
Reforming and new music: 2017–present In January 2017, the band announced two reunion shows with the classic
Foma lineup (Maloy, Davis, Brooks, and Humphrey), playing in their native Oklahoma and also as part of the
KDGE "The Edge" Edgefest 25th Anniversary lineup in Frisco, Texas. At the same time, the band launched official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter social media pages. In June 2017, a newly recorded song titled "Song of the Year" was released on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. The band released the brand new
Song of the Year EP along with the re-release of their debut album,
Halo, on vinyl for the first time, newly remastered by original producer Kerry Crafton. Both albums were supported by touring in late 2017. In October 2018, they performed in Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Houston, TX as part of the lineup of
Buzzfest festival. Jaxon Humphrey, son of drummer John, performed with the band during these shows, as his father had prior commitments with Seether. In 2019, the band entered the studio and re-recorded three of their fan favorites: "Wire", "Baton Rouge", and "Sister", each with the year 2020 added to the title to distinguish them from the original recordings. In addition to the three newly re-recorded songs, the band also recorded new music. "Crutch" was released digitally on July 2, 2019, and "Favorite Lies" was released on November 15, 2019. Both new songs received positive reviews throughout US radio markets and were noted as "a reminder that rock music was still alive". After touring in late 2018 and throughout 2019, including with rock band
Sponge, the Nixons released the three previously re-recorded songs on April 22, 2020, and also officially announced the forthcoming issue of a new EP, titled
Sonic Boom. This was released digitally on May 22, 2020, and contained all new music recorded since the band's reunion. ==Band members==