NASA People
Nick Kepics is comfortable with who he is. It doesn't bother him that Hollywood only wants him for his music.
While Nick is not busy helping to oversee the technical operations of NASA Langley's major wind tunnel contract or serving as one of two center Omsbudsmen, he finds time to pitch his original music recordings for a variety of potential commercial applications.
Image to left: Nick Kepics poses with his guitar in front of a wind tunnel at NASA Langley. Credit: NASA/Jeff Caplan
Nick plays the guitar, composes his own scores -- varying forms of jazz -- and, when a composition is deemed ready, enjoys getting together with some of his most talented friends and fellow musicians to make it into a recording.
It cost him a modest fee each time, through a special website created for aspiring musicians, but after nearly 300 submissions, one of his original recorded compositions -- "Uma Cobra Louca!," Portuguese for "One Crazy Snake!" -- was selected to be in a major motion picture set to be released nationally next month.
Nick and friends first recorded the song in 2004 and submitted it dozens of times. Now the upbeat Latin tune inspired by a dream about a dying snake's final "dance" is making its national debut.
+ Hear 'Uma Cobra Louca!' (mp3)
"The segment they used runs a minute and 50 seconds -- in a movie, that's an eternity!" exclaimed Nick. "I'll have to watch the movie," he said, almost apologetically, as though it would be impolite to make too much of his success.
"Yes, I was paid to use my music, but I'd rather not say how much. Unless one is an established musician-composer, the pay isn't very much. The main thing, at this point, is getting my music accepted and out there for millions of people to hear and enjoy," explained Nick. "That's exciting."
NASA Langley's own Larry Merrill created the cover art for Nick's sophomore CD, entitled "Rounding the Bend." The scene, also inspired by one of Nick's dreams, is of a guitar-neck road rounding a bend to a bright but unknown future.
Image to right: "Rounding the Bend" cover art. Credit: NASA/Larry Merrill
At the office, Nick has no time for dreaming. As technical area monitor for operations, he uses his creativity to help ensure that Langley's wind tunnel customers are satisfied and that NASA does its part to clearly specify what is wanted of the ROME contract team. Nick describes it as "a lot of collaboration and negotiation."
"He's wearing the right shirt for the job," cracked Chris Alexander, the other half of the government team charged with overseeing ROME operations at Langley, as he pointed to the striped referee-like shirt Nick happened to be wearing the day of the interview.
Nick, along with Vic Delnore, also serves as one of two center Ombudsmen. Together, they serve as a supplemental, confidential and informal channel of communication to raise issues and concerns that an individual believes may affect them or their workplace.
"We're actually able to help, and sometimes the solution is surprisingly simple," said Nick. "Don't hesitate to seek help -- don't keep it bottled up inside," he advised.
Hear more of Nick's music!
+ "Piece Offering" (wav)
+ "Felonius Punk" (wav)
NASA Langley Research Center