Press

February 2, 2002
Pacific Students Play the Part in Local Bands (excerpt)
by Justin D. Hebert (staff writer)
[Things in brackets are added by me (Josh) to clarify things for the website]

"...Fresno Pacific [University] is home to several garage bands who make their way through gigs, some hoping to hit the big time. Most of them, however, have found that making music is a reward in itself.
     'Our band has one main purpose: to glorify God," said Josh Nachtigall, the lead singer and guitarist of Six Fingered Man. "After that, we try to make good music with a positive message that targets Christians and non-Christians alike.' [ just for the record, that is not an exact quote from me (Josh)]
     Six Fingered Man is an Emo/Indie Rock band whose influences include Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Dogwood, and many others. They have played a few venues thus far, but hope to release a five-track EP, The Restoration of Things Corruptible, very soon.
     'The music scene in Fresno is difficult,' said Nachtigall, brushing his long hair out of his face. 'It's hard to find a good place to perform, and frustrating when you have music to play, but no venue to perform" [just for the record, I (Josh) didn't use the word 'perform.' It's a paraphrase again...]
     When he's not studying for his pre-med degree, Nachtigall enjoys playing guitar and singing with his band [and long strolls on the beach under starlight with a sly grin on his face sipping a nice refreshing beverage...]. They have played at The Elementz and Rock House and hope to perform at Kuppajoe [soon], all of which are in Fresno. Before Six Fingered Man, he was in a band called second nature.
     'The lead singer from second nature once broke a girl's nose," said Nachtigall. "He was diving off of the stage, and hit her with his elbow [actually it was his knee] by accident.'
     'During our last show, everyone started breaking things, "said Ken Wilkinson, the bassist of Six Fingered Man. 'Ben, our rhythm guitarist, broke a string, Dave, our drummer [actually his name is Derek...] broke his sticks. Nothing turns out the way you plan, though.'
     Wilkinson is a contemporary Christian ministries major. His father is a composer who works for Disney.
     'For me, music is culture,' said Wilkinson. 'I grew up surrounded by it. It was just natural for me to write and play it. I started playing bass when I was 15.'
     During his freshman and sophomore yearsof high school, Wilkinson began to change certain things in his life. He had to leave some things behind if he was going to take his faith seriously.
     'My music is reflective of my walk with God.' said Wilkinson. 'Likewise, all the music I wrote during (those years) is about forgiveness, repentance, and starting over.'
     Benji Akina, an English education major, is Six Fingered Man's rhythm guitarist and shrieker. If you would like more information about Six Fingered Man, you can visit their website at www.geocities.com/sixfingeredband..."


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