By Roan Enright ’13 & Charles Louis Dominguez ’14
THE ROUNDUP

Wherever music is playing on campus, Nick Kush ’13 is likely to be nearby.

Having been a part of several projects over the course of his high school career, Kush is one of Brophy’s most recognizable musical performers.

Kush operates mainly as a guitarist and a drummer but is not afraid of venturing outside of these instruments.

Although he had been playing the guitar since the fifth grade, he said he didn’t really focus his energy on music until high school.

“It wasn’t until sophomore year that I started taking it seriously and practicing a lot and enjoying it a lot,” Kush said.

Kush cited the spectacle of live performances as his main musical inspiration.

“I think that my favorite part of music is live performances, both when I play with other people and seeing other bands play live because it’s just like a very special, unique art form,” Kush said. “It’s very intimate when people are making music together live.”

In the past, he has performed with different acts like the Steve and Nick Project consisting of him and Steven Oleksak ’13 and Treefingers, a band inspired by Radiohead.

As a senior, he is currently working with previous Brophy student Matthew McClain.

Combining elements of blues and rock, they debuted their act at the November Fine Arts Extravaganza and hope to perform at the upcoming Battle of the Bands.

“The music I’m making with my partner outside of school, I’m actually pretty proud of,” Kush said.

In Kush’s live performances, he emphasizes the importance of giving his fans a good show.

“When I play live, I’d like the same energy to come out of me, in that it’s something very unique for the time,” Kush said. “It’s not going to be played again ever the same way, and it’s just very honest.”

Other students have noticed Kush’s talents.

“Nick jams with a flow a lot smoother than most,” said Michael Lucero ’13. “I am always pleasantly surprised at his keen ear.  Very few musicians that I know have a natural musical intuition like Nick.”

Kush offered his own insight as to what makes his music different than that of others:

“You can literally do whatever sounds and whatever you want but it’s just the way you arrange them that changes how the listener is affected,” Kush said. “That randomness and kind of painting a picture technique is how I like to take my music.”

Kush is also known as a writer, creating his own original pieces that he uses in his music.

“When I started writing poetry, what kept me going was the freedom that you have and the way that you can kind of throw a lot of different words onto a page and have it evoke something different to whoever