While Noah Dane, 31, has been making music for nearly twenty years, his journey into the world of music began long before he could even grasp drumsticks firmly in his hands.
Growing up in a household filled with creativity, Dane was surrounded with music. His father, a drummer himself, instilled in him a love for beats, while his three older brothers, all musicians in their own right, surrounded him with melodies and harmonies. It was an environment filled with inspiration, where Dane's passion for music took root and flourished.
When he was eight years old his dad bought him his first drum kit. As Dane became older, he found a platform for his newfound talent within his childhood church.
It was there, amidst the hallowed halls resonating with prayer and praise, that he first showcased his musical talent.
Dane shares his gratitude for everyone who supported him in the start of his career. “I couldn't do any of it without the help from so many people,” Dane says. He crowdfunded $12,000 to make his first album Favorite Son.
While Dane says that he specializes in playing the drums, he also enjoys playing other instruments. “My line that I usually give people when they ask me what I play is that I really play drums, but I can fake it on a bunch of stuff,” Dane says.
Dane looks forward to releasing his upcoming album, Favorite Son, a collection of songs that he has been working on for a while. He got the opportunity to play the guitar and drums and a plethora of other instruments on the songs and shares his enthusiasm with how it turned out.
“I made this record a while ago but it’s about a lot of things; such as growing up and losing my brother, and then being diagnosed with my autoimmune disease,” Dane says. He has gone through a lot of life altering events the last decade and turns to his music to speak about it all.
He initially released his first single, There Goes, in 2019 as a way to help promote his full length album.
Dane went on an unexpected five year break after the release of his single, There Goes, dealing with an autoimmune disease that severely impacted his health. “I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that my health has gotten in the way a lot the last five years. I’ve struggled but I’ve been doing a lot better recently. Even if I got sick, you know, if I flared up tomorrow, I think I just realized how relieved I would be to put this record out,” Dane shares with excitement.
Dane is releasing his third single May 10th; a song that highlights how we lash out at the people we love the most when we’re afraid. It was created with someone dear to his heart, Forrest Dunn, a trombonist who brought beautiful melancholy magic to the track.
Dane in his spare time is an audio engineer. He got the opportunity to intern for Stephen Price, who Dane refers to as his “sound dad.” Price and him made the record together. However Dane had more than one close friend aid in the creation of his album. His friend Tori, from the band Victoria Victoria is also featured on a few tracks.
Some of the songs varied as far as where they were recorded. From Dane’s cramped apartment to Price’s beautiful studio in High Point, North Carolina, the record varies in atmospheric sound. “When I first made the record, I was kind of self conscious about the ones that I produced myself,” Dane says.
However with age and time, Dane now looks back on those songs that he made on his own with fondness. “I kind of love them. They’re like colors and textures and I just feel my expression through music,” Dane says.
Dane says his music falls under the genre of Indie Rock / Alternative, or more specifically, Neo Folk. Growing up in North Carolina, he frequently attended bluegrass jams in barns as a little boy, developing his love for acoustic guitars. More recently, he has developed a love for synthesizers and drum machines which are present in his upcoming single as well as his full-length album.
Dane decided to leave North Carolina and move to Reno, Nevada six years ago when his then girlfriend, now wife, got a job offer she couldn’t refuse. Excited for a new adventure, they embraced the Biggest Little City with open arms and fell in love with the high desert country. “Reno is a wonderfully odd place,” Dane shares with a laugh.
Here Dane got to follow another one of his passions, acting. He shares one of his proudest moments, saying he acted in the film Get Away, a campy horror film available on Amazon Prime.
Another notable accomplishment was with his close friend Manuel Crosby, who had a film show at Sundance a few years ago that Dane, Crosby and their friend Kevin Kentera made a music score for during COVID.
On Sundance’s website, Dane recalls reading a list of names, crediting composers for the films.
“And then I read my name. I read the names of some people that I would just poop my pants to meet in real life that I respect so much. Like Questlove and the Dessner brothers from the band National. Just a lot of my favorite producers and artists,” Dane shares, saying that seeing his name only a few commas away from Questlove was surreal.
“I’m very grateful for anybody that takes the time to listen to my music,” Dane says, expressing gratitude to those that connect with his sound. He looks forward to the release of his upcoming single, Dookie Dog, May 10th.