Franz Nicolay was voted #1 accordion player in punk rock by Dying Scene in 2012. As far as we’re concerned, that still holds true.
Franz is an New Hampshire-born-and-raised musician and writer. He is best known for playing the accordion and piano in The World/Inferno Friendship Society and keyboards in The Hold Steady from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2016 onwards. He is also notable for founding Anti-Social Music, a composer/performer collective based in New York City, and for performing in the Balkan jazz quartet Guignol.
Franzy has also written two books: The Humorless Ladies of Border Control, about DIY touring in the former Communist world (2016); and his first novel, Someone Should Pay For Your Pain, in 2021.
