Nikki Meets the Hibachi

Thanks to this article in the Independent for clueing me in to the revival of Nikki Meets the Hibachi. I was only vaguely aware of them when I was in college (I think one of my friends new one of them?), and their acoustic folkish songs are much more to my taste now.

Elaine Tola and John Gillespie teamed up while they were in college at UNC in the late 1980s and played together until 1993, releasing The Bluest Sky and Better Late Than Never during that time. To me, the strongest reference point is old-style Indigo Girls -- a couple of guitars and two strong voices, though this is boy-girl harmonies. Amy Ray actually helped finance an early EP, so there's more than a sonic connection there.

Recently re-formed, Tola and Gillespie added percussionist Arturo Velasquez to the group and recorded new new material, in addition to remastering The Bluest Sky. Both of those should be available this fall.

MP3: "Not Mending"
(unreleased, 2004 recording)
MP3: "The Bluest Sky"
(from The Bluest Sky, Baited Breath 1990. Out of print, but remastered and re-released soon.)
Two more songs available on their web site here.