Franz Nicolay leaves The Hold Steady

Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay has left the band. He announced his departure on his website this morning.

"Five years sounded like a nice round number," he said. "Thanks to everyone that was a part of the experience."


Nicolay's melodic keyboard lines were a key part of The Hold Steady's sound, providing a counterpoint to Tad Kubler's Thin Lizzy-inspired guitar riffs. His energetic stage presence and fantastic mustache were also major elements to the Hold Steady live experience.

It is unknown where The Hold Steady will go from here, but take solice in the fact that they'll probably reunite with Franz for Coachella 2020.

Mix Tape Thursday, 7/23/09

WTMD listeners take over the airwaves with three-to-five song sets on Thursday.

7 a.m. Atara Ziffer

As I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks, I really only have one thought on my mind.

* "Sleeping Lessons," by The Shins
* "Golden Slumbers," by The Beatles
* "Dreams," by The Allman Brothers Band
* "Asleep," by The Smiths
* "Narcolepsy," by Ben Folds Five


9 a.m. Greg Fagula

Oooooos, Aaaaaaaaaahs, and Ladi Das.

* "Love Dog," by TV On The Radio
* "Wake Up," by Arcade Fire
* "Ode to LRC," by Band Of Horses


11 a.m. Christine Catramados

Thanks to WTMD, these are some of the songs I knew all the words to at the 2007 Virgin Fest!

* "Missed The Boat," by Modest Mouse
* "All My Friends," by LCD Soundsystem
* "The Book I Write" by Spoon
* "Summer In The City," by Regina Spektor
* "Back To Black," by Amy Winehouse


1 p.m. Lauren Seserko

These songs are my favorite this summer, and if I was to spend a summer day at a festival, this is what I'd want to hear!

* "Two Weeks," by Grizzly Bear
* "Little Secrets," by Passion Pit
* "I Cut Like A Buffalo," by The Dead Weather
* "French Navy," by Camera Obscura
* "Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked," by Cage The Elephant


4 p.m. Tina Zeller

I'm an avid concert goer but for some reason the stars have not quite aligned for me to attend any of the past Virgin Fests. This year I'm ready and able but without tickets. I love the lineup and one of the featured artists, Public Enemy, takes me back to my college days when I hosted my own weekly radio show.

I remember one occasion in particular when I decidedly became non compliant with our Top 40 dinner hour format. I blared Public Enemy's "Bring The Noise" over the campus airways into the cafeteria much to the dismay of our station manager. I danced around the booth and thrashed my head to the bustin’ rap beat and loved every minute of it.

Luckily, I was able to maintain my DJ status and my friends who were in the cafeteria lauded my little musical stunt- “Bass, how low can you go!” Here are some of my favorite tunes from this year’s Virgin Fest lineup.

* "Bring The Noise," by Public Enemy
* "Mistaken For Strangers," by The National
* "Sequestered in Memphis," by The Hold Steady
* "Surf Wax America," by Weezer
* "No You Girls," by Franz Ferdinand


7 p.m. Will Norris

All of these songs always put me in a great mood. They are all kind of songs that I would never hear on the radio anywhere else (which is why I listen to WTMD). It is rare to find a radio station that I can connect with in today's day and age.

* "Junior" by Widespread Panic
* "Reba," by Phish
* "Codeine," by Trampled By Turtles
* "In The Kitchen," by Umphrey's McGee
* "Girlfriend Is Better," by Talking Heads

Pretenders / Hold Steady Ticket Giveaway

The Pretenders, The Hold Steady and All Mighty Senators play an all-ages show at Sonar on Friday, September 19th.

Tune into the Morning Show from 7 to 10 a.m. Thursday, September 18th, and listen for a song from The Pretenders' new album, Break Up The Concrete. (Listen live at the new WTMD.org.)

Erik will play a new song each hour, and the first listener to call into the station when each song plays (410-704-8936) wins a pair of tickets to the show and a copy of the new album.

Hold Steady Frontman Takes Over WTMD at 4 p.m. Friday, June 27

"Everyone's a critic and most people are DJs," lead singer Craig Finn exclaimed on The Hold Steady's 2004 debut album Almost Killed Me.

Craig has an opportunity to showcase his own DJ skills when he stops by the WTMD studios on Friday afternoon. He'll put together a playlist of personal favorites a few hours before his band takes the stage for an all-ages show at Ram's Head Live in support of their forthcoming album Stay Positive.

Be sure to tune in to 89.7 FM (or listen online) at 4 p.m. Friday, June 27, to hear the voice of The Hold Steady take over the airwaves at WTMD.

In the interim, here's The Hold Steady's "Chips Ahoy!" video from the 2006 album Boys and Girls in America.