Black sheep

Nubbins guitarist Cole Bourquin describes himself and his bandmates as “black sheep” because of their eclectic music taste.

“It’s a running joke that when we play, we’re not going to please anyone—we’re just going to piss everyone off,” he said recently. “We’re not going to be jazz enough for the jazz guys. We’re not going to be punk enough for the punk guys. We’re not going to be rock enough for the rock guys. … But that to me, is punk rock.”

Bourquin and drummer J.D. Christison—best known for his work in the stylish local band Bazooka Zoo—knew each other growing up in Winnemucca. Bourquin and bassist Alex Breckenridge met through the jazz and improvised music program at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The trio’s band name has a number of associations, but perhaps the most important is Nubbins Sawyer, a character in the 1974 cult classic movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Horror and science fiction movies are important influences on the band, and the mostly instrumental group have been known to play samples from some of their favorite movies during live shows.

And although drummer Christison sings on a few of the group’s newer, more rock-oriented songs, most of their compositions are instrumental. Bourquin and Breckenridge play busy melodies and complex chords that more than compensate for the lack of a vocal line. They auditioned a few dedicated vocalists, but many of the compositions, they say, didn’t leave much room for a vocalist.

“When we tried to put vocals over it, it was like sending a dude out to the sharks,” said Breckenridge.

Nubbins is also the rare band where the bass has more strings than the guitar. Breckenridge plays a seven-string bass, which allows him to alternate among playing bass, rhythm guitar and lead guitar without ever taking his fingers off the same—comically large—fretboard.

The group’s music is a mix of rock and jazz. Some songs veer more toward rock, some more toward jazz. Some of it is easily classifiable as “fusion” and is a recognizable descendent of ’70s records by people like Miles Davis, Tony Williams and John McLaughlin. Other songs fall in line with the polyrhythmic post-rock of bands like Don Caballero and Hella.

There are some odd elements to the group’s music—dissonant chords, unexpected time changes—but those elements are wrapped in a fairly accessible, appealing package. The band members call it “extreme elevator music”—Muzak in an elevator where the cables have been cut.

“I’m the byproduct of punk rock, jazz and Nintendo,” Bourquin said. “The Nintendo came first, and then punk rock changed my life, and then jazz made me a better musician.”

Some of the musical left turns might remind listeners of genre-hoppers like Mr. Bungle or John Zorn. Breckenridge is obsessed with Michael Jackson and Prince. Bourquin cites Fugazi as his biggest influence. And although those influences might not necessarily be audible in the music, they’re present in the group’s DIY ethos, commitment to creative freedom, and work ethic.

“One of the things that I love about playing with these guys is that they never say, ’This doesn’t sound like Nubbins,’” Bourquin said. “We all just love music—all music.”