Nick Rail was born in Los Angeles, California in 1950. At age six his life changed dramatically when his family moved to far northern California and settled down by a river in the country on the outskirts of Crescent City, deep in the heart of the Redwoods.

In 1959 the elementary school started a band, and Nick took up the cornet. He enjoyed band immensely; his elementary band directors included C. Ben Ziegler, Harold P. Settlemeyer and Lynn Dowdey. In high school he studied under Gene Petrik. He switched to trumpet, and later gained experience on tenor sax, bassoon and flute.

Nick attended college at the University of California at Berkeley and Santa Barbara campuses; he later studied band instrument repair at the Allied School in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. In 1974 he returned to Santa Barbara to work as a repair tech at La Grandeur Music.

Mr. La Grandeur retired in 1984, and the business was sold. The new owner was stimulating, in fact so stimulating that Nick found himself opening up his own store right across the street in 1986. The business began with Nick and one employee working out of a 9 x 13 foot retail space.

Nick Rail Music now has six stores, supplies rental inventory to four other music stores, is a major service center for schools in southern California, has every major band instrument franchise available, and is the largest Yamaha band instrument dealer and the largest Conn-Selmer dealer in the state of California. The company has grown yearly since it opened, and currently has thirty-five employees.

Nick lives in Santa Barbara with his wife Lisa; they have a Welsh terrier puppy named Wallie.