Nick Curran Abides by Ronnie's Rules; Ronnie Dawson, Jimmie Vaughan And His Dad Were Rocker's Mentors

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - The Texas garage rocker Nick Curran's new platter 'Reform School Girl' (out today on Eclecto Groove) - "an early candidate for Best Record of 2010" (Huffington Post) - shows the influence of his three mentors: his dad Mike Curran, Rockabilly Hall of Famer Ronnie Dawson and four-time Grammy� winner Jimmie Vaughan. Growing up in Maine, Nick got started young, playing drums in his dad's band The Upsetters, then became guitarist and singer for Mike Curran and the Tremors. "He taught me to be disciplined about my guitar playing," Nick, now admired for his chops, says appreciatively.

Ronnie Dawson, known as "The Blonde Bomber," was a Texan whose Maine-based guitarist could no longer tour, and Curran, then 19, recalls that he jumped at the chance and stayed on the road with him for years. "Ronnie (who passed away in 2003, at age 64) taught me a lot about how to do things the right way," Curran says.

"These were Ronnie's rules," Curran says:

"1. Always mix it up and don't get pigeonholed to one thing. Just put all your influences into your music and it will work as long as you sound like you!

"2. You gotta ALWAYS put on the best show you can for the audience no matter the situation. If you're happy, mad or sad, if there are 10 or 10,000 people there.

"3. You always gotta look better than the crowd so you stand out from the audience members."

"Those are three things I always live by," Curran sums up. And then the whooping shouter gets uncharacteristically quiet. "Ronnie was such a cool guy. I really miss him."

The legendary Jimmie Vaughan, of Fabulous Thunderbirds and Vaughan Brothers fame, who calls Curran "just a total ass-kicker," is his current mentor. Vaughan, Curran enthuses, is "a great guy and definitely a great influence to me on many levels." The two have recorded and toured together, and Vaughan guested on Curran's 'Dr. Velvet' album, which garnered the 2004 W.C. Handy Award for "Best New Artist Debut."