Ribsys Nickel Since 1997

   Ribsys Nickel officially started out as a trio in 1997 playing their first show as “Ribsys Nickel” at the grand opening of Westside Gas Station (formally “Herco” Gas Station) on the corner of Palm and Mission Street. The original lineup was Jesse Corona on guitar & vocals, Ian Smith on bass & vocals and Mario Martinez on the drums.

The Story

    In 1996 Corona and Martinez first got together at Martinez’s Palm Street house in the winter of 96. Corona was working on his own original project after leaving popular local Rap/Rock band Code 3 in late 1995 after being with Code 3 since 1991. Martinez was an active drummer in the local heavy metal scene since the early 80’s. They kept running into each other at U-Save Liquors always talking about music and each others bands through the years. Finally the timing was right for them to start something together. During the early days at the Palm Street house rehearsals they had a hard time finding a bass player to mesh with. After a few month of trying out different bass players Corona ran into Ian Smith at U-Save Liquors also. Smith already had a reputation around town as being a great bass player. Corona and Smith were friends at Santa Cruz High and both grew up on the Westside of Santa Cruz and had many mutual friends. Smith just ended his time playing bass for local band The Skeptics and prior with his band The Juicers a popular underground late 80’s early 90’s progressive funk jazz rock instrumental band. Like with Mario Martinez, the timing was right for them to start something together. From their first rehearsal together they all knew they had something special. Smith was the perfect addition they were looking for. Smith could sing and write songs to add to the songs Corona had already written. Within months they had enough original songs to start playing shows. After their first show this trio would go on to record a demo and play a few more shows and parties with playing the back room of the Catalyst main stage being the highlight.

The Change

In the fall of 1997 The Nickel made a lineup change. By this time both Corona and Smith knew they needed a front man to handle lead vocals. Now it was Jason “Willz” Williams on vocals and Davy Boyd on drums. Corona started playing music in his first bands with Boyd (Hard Up, Sister Morbid and Corrupted Youth) before Corona joined Code 3. Corona always had his eye on Willz for years. He knew Williams had the talent and charisma for being a front man. Corona, Willz and Boyd tried putting together a metal/punk band a few years before but couldn’t find the right bass player. So now the timing was right to put it together. Now Ribsys Nickel was a 4 piece band. This lineup would go on and play a few more shows and parties but would end up stalling in the early spring of 1998.

Ian Babcock

In the summer of 1998 Ian Babcock would join the band on Bass. Corona was friends with Babcock for years. Babcock was like a big brother to Corona, Willz and Boyd. Babcock finally added stability and experience to what Ribsys Nickel needed. Corona’s older brother Martin and Babcock started a popular Santa Cruz mid 80’s earlier 90’s band called The URJ in Corona’s Rankin street garage that heavily influenced and motivated Corona to start playing live music. With Babcock on bass, the band started rolling playing shows, parties and recorded music for the next 3 years that would formed the band to their identity of today. Without Babcock’s direction and positive influence the band could have easily faded. During this time the four friends who grew up in Santa Cruz’s Westside banded together to let their stories and music be heard. With songs illustrating the colorful events that took place everyday in the famed Westside, the band quickly gained a loyal following by playing house parties and bringing near havoc to every event they played. In no time, it seemed there was a buzz around the area, and people wanted to hear more. During this time saxophonist Randy Grimes help with live shows.

  With a five song demo cassette tape and a ten song live CD circulating the Santa Cruz underground, and playing regularly at the Catalyst the band decided to give their growing audience something substantial to chew on. They met local music producer, Joel Steven, and took their songs into Octagon Records to make their first full-length studio debut self-titled CD. The goal was to capture the energy of their live shows on the recordings. The line up in these recording sessions was Willz, Corona, Babcock and Boyd. During these next few months of the recording process they learned the business side of the music industry by Ted Welty ( Iguana Jive, Locomotive Breath, T. Rollin Trio, Spun) and Steven. With Steven and Welty guiding the band more professionally, The Nickel was ready to be heard.