Artist Glimpse - Nick Marinac
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Nick Marinac is a photographer, media artist, and singer-songwriter. As co-founder of Adaptive Media, he’s worked with icons like Simple Plan, Marianas Trench, and Faber Drive—but his music reveals a more personal, poetic side. Whether behind the lens or with a guitar in hand, Nick brings real heart to everything he creates. I’m excited to dive into the stories that shape his sound.
ROB AGUIAR - Your journey with Adaptive Media has taken you from local shows to global stages. You’ve worked with some of the biggest names in music. What have you learned from those collaborations that you now bring into your own artistic process?
NICK MARINAC - I've been insanely lucky to have some amazing opportunities to work with some incredible names, and I can't thank those around me enough for the ability to share my love of content creation and visual arts. It's been truly unique to see the industry from this “lens,” so to speak. I've been able to understand how certain artists execute and perform, as well as write and storytell in their own way.
The biggest takeaway, I think, is that everyone's completely different. Everyone has a different approach and style, and embracing what makes you happy and challenges you is what generates that energy and heat to create something cool that can reach people.
RA - Who are some of your biggest musical influences, and how would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before?
NM -I love all types of music—which I know is pretty cliché—but to pin it down, I'm an old-school pop-punk emo kid at heart. I grew up on bands like A Day to Remember, My Chemical Romance, Manchester Orchestra, Third Eye Blind, Taking Back Sunday, and tons more from all over the rock/pop/punk/metal spaces. I still have a huge place in my heart for the old classics my parents raised me on as well, like Supertramp and Genesis, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Zeppelin.
For my own music sound, I've taken that love for high-energy pop punk and adapted it to my own 2000s rock style. If you enjoy some Blink-182 or Sum 41, hopefully you'll enjoy bouncing around to a few of my tracks.
RA - You have performed two unreleased songs about anxiety at some of your gigs. You shared that one of them was written after getting some awful news. I’m always drawn to the vulnerability that artists bring to their lyrics. Tell me about You Heard It Here First.
NM - My family has gone through a tough year. Last Christmas, we were faced with a difficult medical circumstance, and we had some things taken away from us through this process that have been challenging to mentally face.
“You Heard It Here First” was kind of my version of climbing to the highest tower of your mind and screaming to the world—just manifesting positivity through negativity. It’s about saying that even though getting news like that hurts, you still want it all, and you’ll still do everything you can to achieve your dreams.
RA - What about Wake Up Happy? From the song title alone, it offers up a tone of hope. Perhaps like the promise of a light at the end of the tunnel, even when you’ve described it as a song about anxiety. What was your intention with this one? What do you hope the listener pulls from it?
NM - The first lyric is “my mind’s racing, just getting points for participation,” which reflects the anxiety I think we all experience. Constantly overthinking in a fast-paced digital world. We’ve all got so much going on with family and careers that we get caught up in the racket and forget to reset our mental cycle and simply tell ourselves to be happy. This song was a message to myself—to put away the anxious BS we endure nightly and focus on being happy, starting with waking up happy. Hang out with the dog for a while, go for a jog or walk, and use that first bit of the day to get mentally stoked on what’s ahead.
RA - Your media visuals tell rich stories—does songwriting tap into that same imagery and emotion? Do you picture the mood first, or let the music shape it?
NM - To me, songwriting—and writing in general—has always been about letting my thoughts pour out. My lyrics often read like conversations spoken to someone, filled with words I don’t or wouldn’t say daily. It helps me explore parts of my mind I rarely share or feel too vulnerable to express. But when I hide those thoughts in prose and melody, I connect with the message more and start to make sense of the emotions I’m throwing at the page.
RA - If you could collaborate with any artist - past or present - who would it be and what do you think you’d create together considering what you and Adaptive can offer up?
NM - Oh geez, there are countless artists I could name, and honestly, we’ve been lucky to work with some of our bucket list ones already. Musically, I’d say Dave Grohl. I’ll never forget hearing him tell the story of writing “My Hero” alone in his room at 18, then playing it acoustically in front of 80,000 silent fans. That kind of raw power and emotion is exactly what I aim to capture in my own music.
“I’m very lucky to get to do this type of thing for work, and even more lucky to get to play music with my friends and share my stories with others.”
RA - Looking ahead, do you see yourself leaning more into the Adaptive Media path, or are you feeling pulled toward the singer-songwriter journey? What direction feels most true to you right now?
NM - I'm open to any and all opportunities and experiences that come in following both career paths. I'm very lucky to get to do this type of thing for work, and even more lucky to get to play music with my friends and share my stories with others.
RA - Nick, thanks for sharing your music and your story—it’s clear you create with real heart, both behind the lens and behind the mic. It's your way of seeing, feeling, and translating the world.
I’ll be listening, watching, and rooting for whatever comes next. Keep creating, keep feeling, and keep showing up.
NM - Thank you, Rob! I absolutely love the platform and opportunity Glimpse gives us artists. Keep up the great work—I'm excited for the many events coming up!
Connect with Nick on Instagram.
