They wanted more of my time than I was willing to give. We started to work on new songs that I didn’t really feel that strongly about. It seemed like a good enough time as any to make a clean break. The reality of it was then, and now, I had other stuff going on. It later became that way because it turned into a such a big deal. When they first asked me to join the band, I did on the understanding that at that time it wasn’t going to be my number one priority. Yeah, it was never a relationship that was built to last. But, based on some of your official comments, this sounds like it was a long time coming. Well, the big news this is that you left the Hold Steady.

I am pleased to present the Spectrum Culture interview with Franz Nicolay. Nicolay took some time out of relaxing in his new Brooklyn home during a short break from his hectic tour schedule to talk to me about his decision to leave the Hold Steady, what’s next and an idea for a pretty interesting collaboration with some other artists that also went solo. While Nicolay’s interests outside the popular rock band include solo touring, writing stories and collaborating with other bands, many fans were surprised at his decision to go out on his own. Multi-instrumentalist (and sometime Spectrum Culture contributor) Franz Nicolay left the Hold Steady last week.

Franz nicolay