WA004 - Franz Nicolay interview, Subtext Books (St. Paul, MN, October 17, 2024)

A conversation with the Hold Steady keyboardist about his masterful new study of the modern indie rock musician's life

Last October, I spent an hour discussing Franz Nicolay’s amazing Band People: Life and Work in Popular Music (University of Texas Press) with the author in downtown St. Paul to a gratifyingly large crowd. (I made a couple new friends that night.) I’d asked Franz if he wanted to filter the questions first—he preferred to do it on the fly, as I do also. What follows is an edited version of what transpired over an hour or so on a rainy night.