Nick Wheeler

unreferenced|date=November 2006Infobox musical artist

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Name = Nick Wheeler
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Nickolas Don Wheeler
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1982|3|20
Died =
Origin =
Instrument = Guitar, Keyboards, Banjo, Sitar
Genre = Alternative rock, Power pop
Occupation =
Years_active = 1998–present
Label =
Associated_acts = The All-American Rejects
URL =
Notable_instruments =

Nickolas Don Wheeler (born March 20, 1982), better known as Nick Wheeler is the lead guitarist, co-founder and backing vocalist for The All-American Rejects.

Biography

Wheeler's musical career was first inspired through his own sister's music collection such as Queen and Def Leppard. He first started to play the guitar when he was seven. [http://www.aversion.com/bands/interviews.cfm?f_id=178]

When he was a teenager, he was invited to play with his band at a party where Tyson Ritter was the bouncer. Ritter, seeing that Wheeler's band didn't have a bassist, joined them, starting a close friendship with Wheeler, although Ritter had never played a bass guitar in his life. The two traveled to New York City to record their first album. Later, they added Mike Kennerty and Chris Gaylor to their live show. Their first album, for which Nick played drums and guitar, released many hits such as "Swing, Swing", "Time Stands Still" and "The Last Song". After a one and a half year hiatus, they released their second album, called "Move Along", this time with Interscope Records instead of Doghouse Records, which released their first self-titled album. The CD sold much better than the first album, with Top 20 hit, "Move Along" and Top 10 hits, "It Ends Tonight" and "Dirty Little Secret".

He took one semester at Oklahoma State University and then dropped out.

He has many tattoos including the "Queen crest" on his upper left arm and a Muppets tattoo on his upper right arm. He also has the Def Leppard Hysteria album cover triangle on his right shoulder/back and a Bon Jovi tattoo on his left shoulder/back. He has a Smashing Pumpkins tattoo and a tattoo of the Gibson Firebird logo on his right inner arm. [http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/All-American%20Rejects_%20Nick%20Whe/] All four members of the All-American Rejects, as well as the touring crew, have the AAR logo on their upper right breast.

In 2006, Wheeler and his bandmates embarked on two tours: the Black Clouds and Underdogs Tour with Fall Out Boy and their headlining tour called Tournado.

Though he did not appear in the video, he played guitar for the song "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)," which featured frontmen Gabe Saporta (Cobra Starship), William Beckett (The Academy Is...), Travis McCoy (Gym Class Heroes), and Maja Ivarsson (The Sounds).

In 2007, Wheeler and Ritter played an acoustic version of "It's My Life" alongside Bon Jovi on MTV Unplugged: Bon Jovi. [http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1563135&vid=158094] .

On April 5, 2008, Wheeler and his bandmates, along with Paramore, headlined Bamboozle Left in Irvine, CA.

Equipment

He owns many guitars, both electric and acoustic. His main guitar is his Vintage Sunburst Gibson Firebird V. He is seen with a Firebird in all the videos except for "It Ends Tonight", in which he uses a Gibson ES-335. Also in "The Last Song", he is seen with a Classic White Gibson Firebird. He also owns a cherry Gibson Firebird VII.

Nick's choice in amps nowadays is a Vox AC30 for his dirty sound and for his clean tone he usually uses a Roland JC-120, but sometimes a Fender Bassman as well.

He uses a Big Muff (New York one) for his distortion. On their Kyte channel it is seen that he has a Lovetone Big Cheese for a song on the 3rd Album.

References

External links

* [http://www.allamericanrejects.com The All-American Rejects Official Website]