Thirty-One by Nicholas Grooms

I remember a brief period of time where I felt like I was on top of the world.

Between 2014-2016 I played the Vans Warped Tour, opened for many of idols, toured with some amazing musicians, worked a long stint with my favorite NFL team, had my music in commercials, a movie, I acquired deal to release a book nationally and through music garnered my dream job of writing for Pro-Wrestling websites and magazines as a journalist.

Somewhere in the midst of all of that I also lost my goddamn mind. All of this pressure, all of this stress, all of this daily routine intertwining with my dreams that were coming true began to take their toll. I finally found out my diagnosis was Bipolar Disorder and anxiety which left me feeling so imbalanced that I had a difficult time meeting goals and deadlines; hell...even more important it prohibited me from acting like myself on most days as I found more solace in being locked away at home than I did touring, writing, creating or doing anything meaningful.

"Thirty-One" is the product of a three year journey and a look back at the last few years and all of their ups and downs. While I once felt like I was on top of the world, I quickly found the world on top of myself, balanced on my frail shoulders that some days, feel unable to carry the weight. In the wake of all of this, I wrote 45 songs or pieces of songs that later became 8 new tracks and 2 tracks I originally recorded in 2016 to be part of an EP that I never released.

Its an ode to getting older, a message of frustration and anger, a chronicle of my daily routines and a roller coaster ride through my mind and imagination which is sometimes comical and other times darker than you could ever believe.

It is okay to live with a mental illness. While some people feel it taboo, I am certainly learning to live with it and manuever around the worst parts of it in an effort to take my life back and do the things that matter most to me in life. This album sounds similar to what goes on in my brain. Sometimes I say horrible things. Sometimes I care about others deeply. Some days I cannot bear to leave the bed. Some day I feel so manic and enthusiastic I want to scream out loud.

Most days, I am myself again and I find solace in writing and music. Please listen to this album. This album was something I have needed to get off my chest for a couple of years and I hope your ears enjoy the journey.

That big dude in dickies and a 59-50.