The Nod

The Nod was an American Indie-Rock band from Madison, Wisconsin, formed in 2008 at the University of Wisconsin. Their debut EP, Shoddy Heart, earned the band live TV appearances on Urban Theater and WBUW TV, as well as opening appearances for national touring acts OK GO, Cage the Elephant and Third Eye Blind. To this date the band has released three studio albums: Shoddy Heart (2009), Easy, Maverick (2010) and Tomorrow Compadre (2011). Their music is distributed by independent record label Yes Please Records - a label created by singer Brett Newski to produce Nod albums.

After playing countless shows in support of Shoddy Heart, drummer Alex Murrell and lead guitarist Marc Zazzaro left the band to pursue professional work opportunities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Leaving the group in between drummers, singer/songwriter Brett Newski and bassist Eric Maloney recorded The Nod’s first full-length album “Easy, Maverick” by renting out a basement under a late night liquor store. “Easy Maverick” earned the band positive press, including reviews in the Wisconsin State Journal and New York City’s Zeitgeist Report noting the album as “contagiously melodic and intellectual." Newski played drums on the album before replacement Nathan Devroy was found.

After the “Easy, Maverick” era, the band remained a three-piece with drummer Charlie Lynch, playing harder-driving indie rock that had been compared to early Weezer, Cake, or a “grittier version of Phoenix.”

In June 2011, The Nod announced they would be parting ways after playing out a string of US dates. The band’s final LP “Tomorrow Compadre” was released the day of the band’s farewell show at the Memorial Union Terrace in Madison, WI. The band's entire discography remains available as “pay what you want” on Bandcamp. After the breakup, Maloney would go on to pursue law at the University of Minnesota while Newski would continue his path as a writer/musician. He is set to release a folk/rock solo album titled “In Between Exits.”