Editing Nick Didkovsky

{{short description|American musician}}
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Nick Didkovsky
| image               = NickDguitar.png
| caption             = Nick Didkovsky at [[The Stone (music space)|The Stone]]
| image_size          = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| background          = solo_singer
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1958|11|22|df=y}}
| genre               = [[Progressive rock]]
| years_active        = 1984–present
| associated_acts     = Doctor Nerve, Vomit Fist, [[Alice Cooper]]
| website             = {{URL|www.didkovsky.com}}
}}
'''Nick Didkovsky''' (born 22 November 1958) is a [[composer]], [[guitarist]], computer music programmer, and leader of the band Doctor Nerve.<ref name="Dorsch">Dorsch</ref> He is a former student of [[Christian Wolff (composer)|Christian Wolff]], [[Pauline Oliveros]] and [[Gerald Shapiro (composer)|Gerald Shapiro]].<ref name="Dorsch" />

==Career==
Didkovsky formed Doctor Nerve in 1984.<ref>Taylor, Graham "Doctor Nerve" in Buckley, Peter (1999) ''The Rough Guide to Rock'', Rough Guides, {{ISBN|978-1858284576}}, pp. 302-3</ref> He received a master's degree in Computer Music from [[New York University]] in 1987 and went on to develop a [[Java platform|Java]] music [[API]] called [[JMSL]] (Java Music Specification Language).<ref>Didkovsky, Nick & Burk, Philip L. "Java Music Specification Language, an Introduction and Overview", in ''Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference'', Computer Music Association, 2001, p. 123</ref> JMSL is a toolbox for algorithmic composition and performance. JMSL includes JScore, an extensible staff notation editor. JMSL can output music using either [[JavaSound]] or [[JSyn]].<ref>Dean, Roger T. (2009) ''The Oxford Handbook of Computer Music'', OUP USA, {{ISBN|978-0195331615}}, p. 127</ref> He has presented papers on his work at several conferences.<ref name="Dorsch" />

Ensemble activities include founding the [[Black metal|blackened]] [[grindcore]] band [[Vomit Fist]] in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vomit_Fist/3540383352|title=Vomit Fist - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives}}</ref> He was a composing member of the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet for the ten years of the band's tenure, and has also played in [[John Zorn]]'s band.<ref name="Dorsch" /> His Punos Music<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.punosmusic.com |title = Punos Music}}</ref> record label is a harbor for his more extreme musical projects such as "split",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.punosmusic.com/chord/split.html|title=C H O R D / Dylan DiLella - "split"}}</ref> a guitar collaboration with Dylan DiLella of the technical death metal band Pyrrhon<ref>[[Pyrrhon (band)]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=January 2020}}.

His debut solo album was released in 1997 and featured contributions from Frith.<ref>Jurek</ref> His second album, ''Body Parts'', came out of a collaboration with Guigou Chenevier.<ref>Couture</ref>

Didkovsky has composed for or performed on a number of CDs including:
* 1987, Doctor Nerve ''Armed Observation'', Label: Cuneiform, produced by [[Fred Frith]]
* 1988, [[Rascal Reporters]] ''Happy Accidents''
* 1995, Doctor Nerve ''SKIN'', Label: Cuneiform
* 1997
** ''[[Every Screaming Ear]]'', Label: Cuneiform (January 21, 1997)
**''[[Ayaya Moses]]'', with the [[Fred Frith Guitar Quartet]]
** ''Binky Boy''
* 1999, ''[[Upbeat (album)|Upbeat]]'', with the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet<ref>Schultze, Tom "Upbeat" in Bogdanov, Vladimir et al (2002) ''All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz'', Backbeat Books, {{ISBN|978-0879307172}}, p. 443</ref>
* 2000, ''Ereia'', with Doctor Nerve and the Sirius String Quartet
* 2003, ''Bone - uses wrist grab'', with [[Hugh Hopper]] and John Roulat
* 2015, Vomit Fist ''Forgive but Avenge''
* 2017 Alice Cooper ''[[Paranormal (Alice Cooper album)|Paranormal]]''
* 2019, Vomit Fist ''Omnicide''

Didkovsky's music has also been arranged by the [[experimental music]] group [[Electric Kompany]].  He is a co-owner of the "[[$100 Guitar Project|$100 Guitar]]", a guitar which was circulated amongst many musicians (including [[Alex Skolnick]], [[Fred Frith]], and [[Nels Cline]]) for the recording of a concept album about the guitar.<ref>Kozinn, Allan (2013) "[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/arts/music/the-100-guitar-project-releases-a-cd.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&smid=fb-share&adxnnlx=1368854036-GrByP8htPd3X3Vcercf9Ig A Generic Guitar Inspires a Distinctive Project]", ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 2, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2014</ref>

==Solo discography==
*''Now I Do This'' (1982), Punos Music
*''Binky Boy'' (1997), Punos
*''Body Parts'' (2000), Vand'Oeuvre
*''The Bright Lights The Big Time'' (2005), FMR
*''Tube Mouth Bow String'' (2006), Pogus
*''The $100 Guitar Project'' (2013), Bridge
*''Phantom Words'' (2017), Punos

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* Couture, François "[http://www.allmusic.com/album/body-parts-mw0000977989 ''Body Parts'' Review]", [[Allmusic]]. Retrieved August 16, 2014
* Dickenson, J. Andrew: [https://web.archive.org/web/20070313092238/http://urbanguitar.com/main_stage/articles/electric_counterpoint/ "Electric Counterpoint"], ''Urban Guitar'', July 2006
* Dorsch, Jim "[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/nick-didkovsky-mn0000768515/biography Nick Didkovsky Biography]", [[Allmusic]]. Retrieved August 16, 2014
* Jurek, Thom "[http://www.allmusic.com/album/binky-boy-mw0000978213 ''Binky Boy'' Review]", [[Allmusic]]. Retrieved August 16, 2014
* Ross Feller, ''Ice Cream Time: The Raunchy and the Rigorous'' [http://www.dramonline.org/albums/ice-cream-time/notes]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* Rose, Joe, ''A $100 Guitar Makes A 30,000-Mile Odyssey'', [https://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/12/04/166430924/a-100-guitar-makes-a-30-000-mile-odyssey], National Public Radio, 4 December 2012

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.didkovsky.com}}
*[http://www.doctornerve.org/ Doctor Nerve Home Page]
*[http://www.algomusic.com/ JMSL Home Page]
*[http://www.wnyc.org/shows/newsounds/episodes/2007/03/20/ Interview with New Sounds]
*{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r638429|label=Uses Wrist Grab}}
*[http://www.100dollarguitar.com/ Hundred-dollar Guitar Project]

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[[Category:21st-century American classical composers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:American male classical composers]]
[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]]