Niklas Almqvist

Last updated
Nicholaus Arson
The Hives mg 6421.jpg
Nicholaus with The Hives at the Eurockéennes of 2007
Background information
Birth nameNiklas Almqvist
Also known as
  • Nicholaus Arson
  • Randy Fitzsimmons [1]
Born26 January 1977 (1977-01-26) (age 48)
Säter, Dalarna, Sweden
Genres
Occupations
Instruments
Years active1989–present
Labels
Website The Hives

Niklas Almqvist (born 26 January 1977), better known by his stage name Nicholaus Arson, is the lead guitarist and backup vocalist of the Swedish garage rock band The Hives, of which his brother Howlin' Pelle is the lead singer.

Contents

Career

Niklas Almqvist. Made in America. September 2012. Philadelphia. Niklas Almqvist-September 2012.jpg
Niklas Almqvist. Made in America. September 2012. Philadelphia.

Arson and his brother Per (Howlin' Pelle, lead singer) formed the band in 1993, and, according to a biography about the band, attracted the attention of promoter/manager/songwriter Randy Fitzsimmons (possibly a fictional character), who propelled the band to fame.

It was revealed in NME that Randy Fitzsimmons is a registered pseudonym belonging to Arson. [1] This has led many to believe that Randy Fitzsimmons is in fact a myth, and that it is Arson who writes the songs. Arson and the rest of the band deny this and insist on the existence of Randy Fitzsimmons as the band's songwriter. [2]

Musical equipment

Almqvist onstage in 2012, playing a Telecaster The Hives - Malmofestivalen 2012 (7889933470).jpg
Almqvist onstage in 2012, playing a Telecaster

Nicholaus uses almost exclusively Fender Telecaster, Esquire or Telecaster Deluxe style guitars (though he is seen playing a Danelectro in the Hate to Say I Told You So video). He also plays "The Arsonette" a custom built guitar by Sundberg Guitars, with tone chambers and a Firebird style midsection to give it a short, dead tone with little to no sustain. His guitars often reflect the outfits of the band with different combos of black and white finishes and pickguards. Along with Vigilante Carlstroem and Dr. Matt Destruction, Arson uses white Hiwatt amplifiers.

Although he doesn't rely on effects, he uses an Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, a Boss AW-3 auto wah, a Boss DD-3 digital delay and a Prunes & Custard Harmonic Generator-Intermodulator for certain songs or sounds. [3]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hives</span> Swedish rock band

The Hives are a Swedish rock band formed in Fagersta in 1993. After gaining traction in Sweden through the 1990s, they rose to worldwide prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. The band's line-up—consisting of Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (vocals), Nicholaus Arson, Vigilante Carlstroem, Dr. Matt Destruction (bass), and Chris Dangerous (drums)—remained unchanged from 1993 until 2013, when Matt Destruction retired for health reasons and was replaced by The Johan and Only, the former Randy bassist.

<i>Veni Vidi Vicious</i> 2000 studio album by The Hives

Veni Vidi Vicious is the second studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives. The album was released on 10 April 2000 through Burning Heart and Epitaph. It was later re-released on 30 April 2002 through Sire and Gearhead. The Japanese release included several extra tracks and other bonus features. The album's title is a play on words which refers to the sentence written by Julius Caesar after conquering Asia Minor in 47 B.C.: "Veni, vidi, vici." The album received universal acclaim from music critics, earning an average critic score of 84/100 on Metacritic.

<i>Tyrannosaurus Hives</i> 2004 studio album by the Hives

Tyrannosaurus Hives is the third studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives, released on 19 July 2004 through Polydor Records internationally and Interscope Records in the United States. As of 2006 the album has sold 176,000 copies in United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelle Almqvist</span> Swedish singer and songwriter (born 1978)

Per "Pelle" Almqvist, also known as Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer of garage rock band The Hives.

<i>Barely Legal</i> (album) 1997 studio album by the Hives

Barely Legal is the debut studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives, released on 22 September 1997 through Burning Heart Records. The album's second track, "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T", had a video produced, but it was not commercially released until it was included as an extra on some pressings of Your New Favourite Band. The band later recorded an EP by the same name. The album sleeve features three quotations from fake newspaper reviews. These quotations are originally from British newspapers referring to the Aldous Huxley novel Brave New World.

<i>Oh Lord! When? How?</i> 1996 EP by The Hives

Oh Lord! When? How? is the first official release from The Hives. It was released in 1996 on the Sidekicks label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones</span> 2005 single by The Hives

"Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones" is the second single from the album Tyrannosaurus Hives by The Hives. Released as an Enhanced CD with B-side tracks in 2005, "Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones" was considered a hit for The Hives, and appeared on several compilations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Offender (song)</span> 2001 single by the Hives

"Main Offender" is a song from The Hives' second album, Veni Vidi Vicious, as the fourth track. It was released again on the compilation Your New Favourite Band. Nicholaus Arson notes the song as a favorite.

<i>A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T</i> 1998 EP by The Hives

A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T is an EP by Swedish band The Hives, released in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Throw It on Me</span> 2007 promotional single by Timbaland featuring The Hives

"Throw It on Me" is a song by American record producer, songwriter, and rapper Timbaland featuring Swedish rock band The Hives. The song was released only in Australia on August 4, 2007, as a promotional single from Timbaland's second studio album Shock Value.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Neil</span> Scottish musician

Simon Alexander Neil is a Scottish singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for rock band Biffy Clyro. In 2003, Neil formed the side project Marmaduke Duke with JP Reid, releasing two studio album's The Magnificent Duke (2005) and Duke Pandemonium (2009). Another side project fronted by Neil, Empire State Bastard, released their debut studio album Rivers of Heresy in September 2023, reaching number three in Scotland, forty six in the United Kingdom, number three on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Charts and sixty-nine in Germany.

<i>A Killer Among Us</i> (EP) 1998 EP (Split EP) by The Hives and The Pricks

A Killer Among Us is a split EP from Swedish bands The Hives and The Pricks, released in 1998 on the Hard-On Records label.

<i>The Black and White Album</i> 2007 studio album by the Hives

The Black and White Album is the fourth studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives, released on 8 October 2007 through A&M/Octone and Polydor Records. The Hives recorded 20 to 30 songs for this album from which they finally chose the best. Other tracks were produced by Jacknife Lee and Dennis Herring. Sessions were held with Timbaland, with whom the band produced the song "Throw It On Me", but took place too late for any of the resulting tracks to be on the album. They hoped to use these songs as B-sides. It is the band's longest album and the only one over the length of 32 minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattias Bernwall</span> Swedish musician

Mattias Bernwall, better known by his stage name Dr. Matt Destruction, is a Swedish former bassist for garage rock band The Hives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Grahn</span> Swedish drummer

Christian Grahn, known professionally by his stage name Chris Dangerous, is the drummer of Swedish rock band, The Hives.

<i>Tarred and Feathered</i> (EP) 2010 EP by The Hives

Tarred and Feathered is a vinyl-only EP by Swedish band the Hives, released in 2010 on the No Fun AB label. Recorded live-to-tape, it consists of three cover songs from bands that have influenced the Hives.

<i>Lex Hives</i> 2012 studio album by the Hives

Lex Hives is the fifth studio album by Swedish rock band the Hives, released on 1 June 2012 through Disques Hives, Universal Music, and Columbia Records. It was self-produced by the Hives and mixed by Andrew Scheps, with two additional tracks mixed by Dave Sardy and Joe Zook. The deluxe version features bonus tracks produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. It became the last album from the band to feature bassist Dr. Matt Destruction as he left for health reasons in late 2013 and was replaced by Randy bassist Johan Gustafsson, who adopted the stage name "The Johan and Only."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go Right Ahead</span> 2012 single by The Hives

"Go Right Ahead" is a song by Swedish rock band the Hives, released as a single in 2012. It is the first single taken from their fifth full-length album Lex Hives and is the second listed track from that album. "Go Right Ahead" was released on 3 April 2012 through digital download platforms such as iTunes and Spotify. It was also released as a limited edition 7" vinyl for Record Store Day on 21 April 2012, however, it was available for purchase at the Zia Records tent during the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 15 April where they were signing records for fans. A live recording of the track was featured on the Adult Swim Singles Program 2012

<i>The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons</i> 2023 studio album by The Hives

The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons is the sixth studio album by Swedish rock band The Hives, released on 11 August 2023 through the band's Disques Hives label. The album marks the first studio release in over 11 years, since 2012's Lex Hives, marking the longest gap between two Hives albums.

References

  1. 1 2 "You Randy Devil!". NME. 13 February 2002. Retrieved 10 February 2018. Randy Fitzsimmons, ... is none other than – Nicholaus himself
  2. ↑ Bradshaw, Paul (2024-01-02). "Stage Times: The Hives". Ticketmaster UK. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  3. ↑ "Nicholaus Arson's Equipboard". Equipboard. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.