A Taste:

Foo Fighters, Jeff Buckley, Incubus, Bruce Springsteen

Thomas Ian Nicholas lives quite the life.

From starring in blockbuster films such as the American Pie series to releasing records as a solo artist, Thomas’ talents extend to music and movies. He’s also quite adept at both too. Right now, he’s gearing up to release Without Warning Acoustic, his latest batch of soulful alterna-pop. However, he found some time in between everything to give us an exclusive peek at the tunes that rock his world at home, on tour and on set.

Thomas shared his playlist with us in this exclusive feature. Check out what he’s spinning below and be sure to crank Without Warning Acoustic when it drops May 5th.

Thomas Ian Nicholas’ Playlist:

1. Bruce Springsteen — Magic

“Bruce! Magic, in my opinion, is a combination of all of his styles over the years with a modern flare. The only thing better than listening to the album is seeing him live. If you haven’t seen him live, you haven’t experienced his music.”

2. John Mayer — Continuum

“I’ve dug all of Mayer’s albums. I already knew he was an amazing songwriter and lyricist, but this album showcases his guitar ability. To hold your own with Pino Palladino is something that I can only dream about.”

3. Switchfoot — The Beautiful Letdown

“Switchfoot has been the biggest influence on my sound and style. If you A-and-B all of their albums to mine starting in 1997, you’d realize that I’m almost a Switchfoot tribute band [Laughs].”

4. Foo Fighters — There is Nothing Left to Lose

“Do I really have to justify the FooFighters, no, but why this album? It’s been in my truck since the day I bought it. I pop it in the CD player anytime and I am instantly in a good mood. It’s also a must-have for road trips, especially with the band.”

5. Led Zeppelin — Houses of the Holy

” Led Zeppelin is one of my all time favorite bands since I was 10-years-old, and this was the album that I listened to until the cassette tape wore out. As an adult, I listened to this album until my iPod crashed.”

6. Weezer — Weezer (Red Album)

“Weezer has been writing amazing songs since I was in junior high school. I cover “Say It Ain’t So” in my acoustic concerts sometimes. Their latest album proves that the hits just keep on coming. Now, I cover “Troublemaker” on Rock Band [Laughs].”

7. Chris Cornell — Euphoria Morning

“I’ve tried to write songs like Chris Cornell. I think ‘Without Warning’ is the closest I’ve come, but even that doesn’t hold a candle to his tunes. C’mon, Soundgarden, Audioslave. The common denominator is Cornell, so that’s why I like this album the most.”

8. Jeff Buckley — Grace

“My cousin introduced me to Jeff Buckley’s music one late night in Las Vegas. The sun was just starting to pierce the dark sky, and as the lyric, ‘Love, let me sleep tonight on your couch’ rang out and I was hooked.”

9. Ben Harper — Live from Mars

“I knew Ben Harper’s hits but this was the double disc live album that made me listen. I was working in Vancouver in 2001 when I bought it and I’ve basically carried these discs from car to car since then.”

10. Incubus — Light Grenades

“My friend Kenny Morrison shot an album for Incubus back in the day. Since then I have followed their musical road and this latest album sounds fresh and reminds me of when and why I first dug their tunes.”

—Rick Florino
04.27.09