"Papa Nick" Lewis has been making musical noise pretty much all his life. Some of it is good, and some of it is damn good. (If we're being honest, some of it is, well, so damn good it will make your head spin.)

Papa Nick has been described as "light-hearted" (mostly by his physician, who prescribed appropriate medication) and "light-headed" (mostly by everyone else--sadly, no medication is available). His performances tend to focus not so much on the deep, meaningful--dare we say existential--conundrums of life as on the qualities of life that make it worth living. (He is writing a song right now, for example, about free beer, two great words that go great together.)

Which is not to say that Papa Nick isn't spiritually minded. Papa Nick calls himself "Papa" Nick because he is, in fact, an ordained member of the clergy. (As a fully ordained minister of Spiritual Humanism, Papa Nick can perform religious ceremonies and rituals, such as weddings and funerals.) Papa Nick's spirituality focuses on the affirming power of happiness, laughter, rational perspective, and--when necessary--beer. Papa Nick's message is simple: "Lighten up, Francis." (It helps to understand Papa Nick's message if you've seen the movie Stripes.)

Are all of Papa Nick's songs jokes? No, only some of them are, but the ones that aren't still tend to focus on the happy rather than the sad. Even so, the occasional gut-wrencher works its way onto the set list. (After all, Papa Nick is a fan of Chris Isaak...)

If you're looking for an entertainer with an upbeat sound, a one-man band who sometimes brings along other people (because nothing says "one-man band" like a guitarist/singer who comes with a percussion section and a harmonica player), give Papa Nick a call. You'll be glad you did. (We know HE will be glad you did...)

And have we mentioned that Papa Nick likes beer?