When Nigel Hall departed from The Nth Power last March, the jam scene was in shock. The main question, of course, was why? Why did he leave? Hall addressed those questions and more on The Butz Program on WEMF Radio. Speaking to Michael “The Butz” Butler, a lighthearted chat quickly turned into an exclusive interview about Hall and the band.
We’ll recap some of Hall’s more telling quotes below, but you can listen to the interview, in full, right here.
“First let me just start off by saying that anyone who’s listening right now expecting to hear me talk shit about those guys… it’s not gonna happen, because I still love everyone in that band, immensely. It’s still very much my band.
I will say that the reason, one of the reasons that I left Nth Power was because I felt that what I was bringing to the table, or what I was wanting to do, was not what everyone else wanted to do, and I felt like a democracy quickly turned into a dictatorship.
Ever since I’ve been around, I’ve always been a special guest of somebody’s band… all I’ve ever really wanted in my life is to be a part of a band that was my own, that I had say in. I feel as though I was very proactive in starting that band. I’m not going to sit here and go ‘oh that’s my band,’ it is, and I would be a liar if I said that ‘I did not want to be out on the road with them right now.’ This is two years of my life, two years of our lives, that we sacrificed to make this happen, and all I’m gonna say is everybody, at some point, has something that they want to do.”
The interview continued, when Butler asked Hall what directions made him uncomfortable.
“The business situation had a lot to do with it… there were people brought in that I didn’t feel needed to be there. I felt like we could have done everything that we needed to do on our own, because we’re that good. It was a situation where you get five of the baddest motherfuckers in the world, and it works! That never happens… it was something that I really wanted to make work.
“Some people thought that we needed to bring in outside help, and I wasn’t cool with it. I’m still honestly not cool with it, but it’s totally cool if it’s working for them, then I’m glad. I also didn’t want to be the one to hold this shit up. If they wanted to go and do certain stuff, then cool. I don’t want to be the one to hinder that progress, and I felt like I was.”
Hall then spoke optimistically about the future, saying,
“Hopefully one day we can work this shit out and I’ll go back, but right now I’ve got stuff that I need to do and I’m going to do. It’s really heartbreaking for me, but at the same time… if you really love something, you have to let it go… I still love Nikki, I still love Cassarino, I still love Nate, and I definitely love Weedie. I love everybody that’s in that band.”
The conversation continued on a lighter note, as Hall and Butler even discussed the Top 10 Keyboardists article that Hall wrote for Live for Live Music!
You can catch Nigel Hall at various solo projects and guest spots with other groups, as is his usual M.O. We’re still hoping for an Nth Power reunion, and we’ll be sure to keep everyone apprised on the situation.