"Glad I came to see a REAL Rockstar. Great songs, great band, great 
performance. I Loved it!" 
- Butch Norton, Lucinda Williams drummer, Co-founder of The Eels

Art by Max Hale (age8)

Bio

"...5 Stars. If you are a photographer, multi-media artist, musician 
or songwriter you will appreciate the level of creativity at work in this 
album "Under The Moon". You cannot escape the feeling of raw energy mixed 
with deep emotions. It's crazy cool...it's crazy good! If pop rock/grunge 
music has a voice, then I suppose it should be branded: Nikolitsa." 
- Daniel Abioye, MRU Magazine 

Nikolitsa and the Comrades is fronted by Nikolitsa Boutieros, a multi-media 
artist from New York City. An already acclaimed photographer (who's work has 
appeared in Spin.com, Time Out and various galleries), Nikolitsa has 
photographed industry icons like Nick Cave, Patti Smith and many others. You 
see a vivid, dramatic dance in her photography. Not merely photographs, but 
compositions unlike any other. It is this same captivating vision that she 
injects into her music with Nikolista and the Comrades. 

Nikolitsa has risen above her early life challenges to divert those raw 
experiences towards the passion in her music, and the mysticism of her 
application to the arts. She has blossomed into one of New York's major 
rising talents! 

By blending elements of punk, alternative and grunge into her music, she 
creates a wave of sound that is big, raw, heavy and melodic while remaining 
identifiably hers alone. With grit, savvy and intent, she exudes a peaceful 
but energetic aura with her timeless voice that is only embellished by her 
amusingly honest lyrics. 

One starry skied New York City evening, Nikolitsa found herself wandering 
through record stores in New York searching through new and old cd's. She 
happened upon an interesting and mysterious album that she ended up bringing 
back home with her. That album was called, "Signs of a Vacant Soul" by 
Virgos Merlot. Little did she know it at that time, but that record would 
have a lasting impact on her as an artist and would help with the direction 
of her music in the future. 

That record is still with Nikolitsa to this day, both physically and 
spiritually. Some years later, after first hearing that album and 
then tucking it away, she decided to go back and listen to it again. It 
was then that she realized the person who had produced that record (Brett 
Hestla), would be the one who could understand her art form and the path in 
which she was travelling. He would eventually guide her through the 
recording process and inspire her to travel that path towards the next 
level. 

It took over three years to craft her first recording, "Under the Moon." 
Creating the record was both a welcomed personal struggle to continue 
growing as an artist, and a joy to see through to it's completion. 

During the production of the record, Nikolitsa surrounded herself with 
like-minded spirits to perform on stage what she and Brett Hestla had 
created in the studio. They began playing around New York calling themselves 
the Comrades. 

"My main focus is to capture the truest essence of my material with 
honesty, integrity and heart," says Nikolitsa. This essential mode is 
totally evident during their live shows and is found in it's entirety in 
"Under The Moon," their debut recording. 

"Nikolitsa & The Comrades debut album "Under The Moon" is darkly intriguing 
punk grunge, frank and in-your-face rock "n" roll. Produced by Brett Hestla, 
this album features eleven bristling songs penned by the artist. Backed by 
some fired-up musicianship, Nikolitsa's distinctive, biting alto is thick 
and brooding, and together they create a black-veiled androgynous spectre. 
"Hold Me In Love" has a retro-Blondie drive and seduction, and her vocal 
dynamics and catchy refrain in "Elephant" sticks with a listener. "Look 
Pretty" is down-right cathartic: "Shut your mouth, shut your mouth/Look 
pretty/Look pretty, baby/Just look pretty." This recording has glimmers of 
Bowie and tons of caffeine-infused energy. 
- Janet Goodman, Music News Nashville