Nate Nieding has contributed guitar, bass, and vocal work to an array of bands in multiple genres for more than 13 years and did the same for Secret Six.

     While still in high school, Nate was the bassist for Agony & Ecstasy, a four-piece outfit that performed regularly at the renowned Flash’s nightclub. Nate and his fellow classmates recorded a five-song cassette at Magnetic North Studio which they sold at their live shows. Nate left the band before its run was over, but by 1994 he and several other classmates formed the hardcore band Choice. The original line-up (which featured future Secret Six member Chris Youngless on vocals) recorded two demos in the span of one year. Over the next few years, Choice shared the stage with many of the top names of the hardcore genre. After some time with the band, Nate left to pursue other musical interests. The new line-up of Choice performed regularly throughout Ohio, contributed tracks to a number of compilations, and in 1997 recorded a six-song cassette at Spider Studios. After some time, Nate returned to Choice as its second guitarist.

     After nearly six years together, Choice went their separate ways in 1999. By this time, Nate, Chris, and Shane Post (who contributed bass and vocals to Secret Six) and two other musicians formed the grindcore band Hatemail. The group was unique in that, like most bands, it featured a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer, but also two lead vocalists. Hatemail quickly wrote over 20 songs which were recorded for their CD, Hit Me With Bats, released in summer 2000. A number of the tracks were played on local college radio and the band supported the CD with regular live shows. Differing musical and personal interests led Hatemail to give its last performance in June 2003.

     In January 2003, Nate and fellow Secret Six members Aryn Youngless and Jay Youngless, and fellow musician Kate Griffin, spent two days in Nate’s basement recording a 13-song demo of punk-influenced songs released under the group name the F-Bombs. Nate’s former bandmate Chris soon joined the group on bass as Jay left to concentrate on writing for Secret Six. Barrett Close rounded out the new line-up on drums as the band played a flurry of shows before Nate amicably split from the group in September 2004 to pursue other musical interests. In addition to Agony & Ecstasy, Choice, and Hatemail, Nate has at various times been a member of the Venis Outcast, Limb, Novocain, Keepsake, 2 Man Marshmallow Band, and Hounds From Hell.

     In the spring of 2003, Nate was approached by Jay to contribute guitar to a number of songs he intended to record for a CD project (Nate recorded and mixed the demo for Jay’s previous band, Tic). Soon Nate, Jay, and Chris were fleshing out a handful of songs before entering Track_Six_Recording to begin work on what would become Secret Six. Over the next year-and-a-half, Nate and Jay met almost weekly to fine tune the crude demos Jay had recorded at home. Nate became the sounding board for most of Jay’s ideas and helped mold the songs into their final shapes. His energetic fretwork and unending enthusiasm for the project ensured that the rotation of Secret Six musicians never tired of rehearsing the material. In addition to providing nearly all of the electric and acoustic guitars heard on the album, Nate provided bass for four tracks and lead and/or backing vocals for another four. His collaboration with Jay led Nate to co-author two songs—“Tip Your Bartender” and “Charade (In Your World).” Presently, Nate is preparing songs for a CD of his own and is pursuing avenues for expanding his recording interests.