David Nichtern is a songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and composer for film and television. A four-time Emmy award-winner and two-time Grammy-nominated composer, he is widely known for his classic song, “Midnight at the Oasis”. We caught up to discuss his successful career and his latest recording “Pandemoonia”
David Nichtern, Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. It’s an honor! Congratulations on your career to date. For readers who are unfamiliar with your background, how did you get into the music industry?
I started playing guitar when I was eight years old. In high school I fell in love with folk music and in particular bluegrass. In addition I had a strong attraction to jazz, particularly John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and that transition from bebop to more poly modal long-form pieces like Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”.
I also found that I had a strong fascination with Japanese classical music like gagaku and koto. I think there was already a Buddhist vibe surfacing in my consciousness. (It’s ironic because 50 years later I frequently teach Buddhism in Japan.)
In high school I had a variety of bands, and when I went to Columbia college, I started a rock band with my childhood friend Christopher Guest, called Voltaire’s Nose – we played at fraternity parties and gatherings around the campus.
I graduated from Columbia in 1968 with an English major. I had intended to become a doctor like my father, but I was not really so interested or good at some of the prerequisites such as organic chemistry, zoology etc.
So when I graduated from college I actually had no idea of how I would earn a living and support myself. At exactly that time my mother was producing a Broadway show called Jimmy Shine starring Dustin Hoffman and Cleavon Little. The music was composed by John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful which was a huge pop group at that time. My uncle Irv was the piano player and music director.
So you I guess you could say there was some nepotism involved, but I did get an audition with John Sebastian and he hired me for the gig! That was my first professional engagement as a musician, and after that I never really looked back. “Have guitar will travel” became my motto.
Your mother was Broadway producer Claire Nichtern, the first female Tony award winner. This must-have influenced your career choices, but did you ever seriously consider exploring other professions and industries?
I think I may have covered some of these questions. As said, I did consider being a doctor and I do currently have a thriving second career as a Buddhist teacher. I have also been an entrepreneur and business person for most of my adult life as well – much of that activity centering around the entertainment biz, publishing, production, running record labels and tech.
You’re widely known for the classic song, “Midnight at the Oasis”. When you wrote it, did you ever think at the time, it was going to be such a memorable and covered track?
This is perhaps an oft-told story.
I was playing around New York City as a singer-songwriter and I started to also be a guitarist, producer and band leader for Maria Muldaur.
One fine evening I found myself on a waterbed with a wonderful companion. We were snacking on middle eastern delights such as grape leaves, hummus, falafel, etc. it was very evocative! I picked up her Martin guitar and wrote the hook and the bulk of that song in 15 – 20 minutes – fleshed it out and finished it on a road trip the following week.
I was playing it in my sets around Greenwich Village and such. Soon after, I started working intensively with Maria and we had the opportunity to go out to LA to begin work on her first solo album. At a rehearsal, I played the song for producers Lenny Waronker and Joe Boyd. They dug it and we recorded with some great LA musicians. I played acoustic guitar and arranged the rhythm section. Amos Garrett – Maria’s guitarist from her previous records with Geoff Muldaur – played that famous solo!
Warner Bros. picked it out as the first single and stayed with it for a while until it caught on – big time. That was a thrill. It was nominated for 2 Grammys that year. You can still see Gladys Knight singing it in the Song of the Year category.
and Paul Simon and John Lennon nominating it for record of the year – what a thrill!
You’ve collaborated with a wide range of artists including Jerry Garcia, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Christopher Guest, Lana Del Rey, Brand New Heavies, Maria Muldaur, The McGarrigles, Patti LuPone, David Bromberg, Dr. John, Sultan Khan and Krishna Das and so many more. Can you share at least one collaborative project that has truly impacted your appreciation of music and approach to working in the industry?
Many many great moments.
If I have to pick two, off the top of my head:
- Playing in the Great American Music Band – with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Taj Mahal, and Richard Greene – opening a Grateful Dead concert for 100,000 people in the Bay Area.
- Producing Stevie Wonder playing harmonica overdubs on my song “Birds Fly South When Winter Comes” on a Maria Muldaur album. He gave that harmonica to my son Ethan who was 2 years old at the time. We still have it.
David, you’re a four-time Emmy award-winner and two-time Grammy-nominated composer. Of your many wells deserved accolades, which achievement are you most proud of, and why?
- Being Ethan’s father, because he is a great human being and a wonderful Dharma teacher.
- Writing the score for Christopher Guest’s The Big Picture and the album we made together with CJ Vanston as The Beyman Bros – “Memories of Summer as a Child”
- 4 Emmys for scoring daytime TV classics “One Life to Live ” and “As The World Turns” – written hundreds of hours of top quality scores with a great team of co-composers and New York’s finest musicians. Serious craft polishing.
Please tell us more about your ensemble “The Dharma Moon Orchestra’ and your new project titled “Pandemoonia”
For the past two years I have been mostly holed up in my house in East Hampton, NY. In the previous seven or eight years I had travelled extensively – playing music and teaching Buddhism all over the world. Now, as for so many of us, my travel options had been severely limited by the onset of COVID-19.
Perhaps as a coping mechanism, but also as a way to dig deep and keep creative juices and connectivity flowing, I launched two projects that I could work on from home – both of which arose organically from the focus and passions of my lifetime.
Please use this link for the full download on the project!
https://davidnichtern.com/pandemoonia/
You’re famously known as a Buddhist teacher. Please tell us how you and why you embraced Buddhism and its teachings?
I met my teacher Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in Boston in the winter of 1970 . At the time I was studying at Berklee College of Music and also studying yoga at the East-West Yoga Center on Marlborough Street in Boston.
Rinpoche came and led a Buddhist workshop, intriguingly entitled “Work, Sex & Money” – talking about the integration of spiritual practice and everyday life. I went on to study with him for the next 17 years. I have studied and taught Tibetan Buddhism for 50 years – and the motif of mixing these profound teachings with contemporary living has been my own project – leading to my own recent book
Creativity, Spirituality & Making a Buck. For a deeper look at my personal journey with Buddhism check it out.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1614294984/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1652150694&sr=8-3
What other projects are you currently working on?
We are getting ready to perform Pandemoonia live. Our first gig on June 14th:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/320325521257
Be there or be square. More to come!
Also touring some with Krishna Das and teaching Buddhism extensively online around the world.
Where can our readers find out more about you and your projects?
- https://davidnichtern.com
- https://www.dharmamoon.com
- https://www.instagram.com/david_nichtern/
- https://www.instagram.com/dharmamoonofficial
Images and links courtesy of David Nichtern
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