Fiona Noakes Band

Meet the Fiona Noakes Band, headed by, you guessed it, Fiona Noakes. Noakes is joined by lead guitarist/back-up vocalist Cliff Chamberlain, drummer/back-up vocalist Danae Tsikouras, bassist Ben L’Ecuyer, and guitarist Seedus. Dedicated to creating a music video for all of their songs, the Fiona Noakes Band has allowed Noakes to combine her passions of writing, acting, and making music together. Through their music, the band wants listeners to be proud of who they are and to embrace all of life’s struggles—the ups and the downs: “This is my apology for being me; I’m so sorry there’s no glory here for you,” an excerpt from their song, “My Apology,” seems self-loathing, but it is sung with an upbeat melody, and when listened with the video, it takes a whole new meaning. Take a listen to the full song here and continue reading Gadfly Online’s interview with Noakes to learn more about the band.

Gadfly Online: Can you provide us with some background? Where are you from? What made you pursue a career in music?

Fiona Noakes: I was born in Toronto but moved to Ottawa when I was around 3-4 years old. Songwriting has always been in my bones from a young age: I remember coming up with songs in my head since I was a wee lass, but I never took the time to write them down. I also grew up in a pretty musical household (parents always had music playing at home), so music has always just been there throughout my life. I was grateful to have had my parents put me in classical piano lessons when I was eight. I also took music classes throughout high school and got my first guitar towards the end of high school. From there I started coming up with songs on guitar and got together with a high school friend, my former band mate, Tim Trant, to work on the songs together. I’ve always had a passion for performing (acting in film and theatre), and writing music was second nature to me, so it felt like a natural progression to try and pursue it on another level and to fuse both worlds of acting and music together.

GO: How would you characterize your music? Do you fit into a stock genre or create a fusion of genres?

FN: Our music is characterized differently based off of people’s definitions of the different musical genres. We usually use a few genres to describe our sound: indie alternative folk rock. I think also each band member (lead guitarist/back-up vocalist Cliff Chamberlain, drummer/back-up vocalist Danae Tsikouras, bassist Ben L’Ecuyer, and our most recently joined member on rhythm, guitar Seedus) brings a certain style/influence into the band based on the type of music they listen to/were influenced by, which is quite a wide range of genres including rock, country, ambient, metal, punk, etc.

GO: Who would you cite as your musical influence?

FN: I have quite a few musical influences. Tegan and Sara are my biggest influence; I also love Emily Haines, Metric, Mother Mother, The Pretty Reckless, the Kooks, Placebo, KT Tunstall, and Sarah McLachlan. In high school, I listened to a lot of Blink-182 and Eminem.

GO: What project are you promoting right now? How does this fit into your overall career arc?

FN: We are currently promoting our latest album, released this fall, called Fury of the Sea and our music video for our song, “Fury of the Sea.”

This album fits in our overall career arc, as it’s a reflection of us growing individually and together as a band. Since we had already been together for sometime when recording this album, you can hear more of a solidified sound and style shining through on this album. This is also our first full-length album we have recorded together.

GO: What do you hope to communicate to listeners through your music? What does music mean to you?

FN: As a band we hope to connect with listeners on a personal level through our music—for them to be able to relate to a song and realize that they are not alone in the world, in their personal experiences, and in their struggles.

For me personally, music is like therapy. When I write songs it is cathartic—it is my creative outlet. Listening to music is such a sensory experience—it evokes so much emotion, excitement, and nostalgia.

GO: What can we expect from you in the future?

FM: Fiona Noakes Band is trying to grow and reach audiences all over, including, but not limited to galaxies far far away. We are looking forward to playing in new cities and sharing our music with new audiences. We’re also super passionate about making music videos for our songs and have been shooting quite a few music videos lately. Expect our music video for “Ghost of The Abyss,” which is the continuation of the “Fury of the Sea” music video, to be released in the early new year, followed by the video for “The Dawdle and Your Stare.” We’ll be making videos for the majority of the songs off our CD.

GO: Whom is your music geared towards? How is it impacting them? In other words, why should we listen to your music and message?

FN: I don’t think our music is necessarily geared towards any particular demographic, but a lot of the songs do touch on personal struggles everyone has gone through at some point in their life (identity issues, struggling with the pressure to conform, heartbreak, relationship with society, etc.). Our message is to be proud of who you are and to embrace all of life’s struggles—the ups and the downs.

GO: Is there any particular song from the album you would like to talk about—the inspiration or story behind it, etc.? Feel free to choose multiple songs to talk about.

FN: Good question. Hmm…I think to really sum up the album more or less, it’s talking about a person who struggles with being different, with their own personal struggle to conform but also talking about love and how that person yearns to have that partner in life that accepts them for who they are—the good, the bad, and the ugly, and to be with them throughout their lifelong journey.

- See more at: http://www.gadflyonline.com/home/index.php/fiona-noakes-band/#sthash.tWDoST7s.dpuf - GadFly - By CHANHONG LUU on Dec 03 2014

A track called Misunderstood inevitably runs the risk of being cast off as whiny and adolescent, but Fiona Noakes Band pulls it off. The video is anxiety-ridden yet understated; it’s a grown-up version of teenage angst. This indie alternative rock video begins with a light bulb illuminating a dim room and fades into Fiona Noakes singing about insecurity, a longing for acceptance and a yearning to be understood.

Cutaways from Naokes and her band reveal a man and a woman standing face to face with only the light bulb separating them. As they peel off layers of their clothes, hand-written words are revealed on their skin. These words range from introvert and nerd to terrified and self-harm; they become increasingly more personal as the video goes on. In the end we see that the band members also have words on their skin; in fact, they all have the same word: misunderstood.

Video released in 2015
Directed, shot, and edited by: Josh O’Connor (Arms Race Productions)
Produced by: Fiona Noakes, Amy Jones, Bluesfest School of Music and Art
Video consultant: Tash Allen
Production assistant: Shannon Hodgins
Make-up artist: Vanessa Dunleavy
Cast in Alphabetical order:
Cliff Chamberlain, Francko Edge, Amy Jones, Ben L’Ecuyer, Fiona Noakes, Danae Tsikouras
Lyrics by: Fiona Noakes
Music and arrangements by: Fiona Noakes, Cliff Chamberlain, Ben L’Ecuyer, Danae Tsikouas
Vocals: Fiona Noakes
Guitar: Cliff Chamberlain
Bass VI: Ben L’Ecuyer
Drums and back-up vocals: Danae Tsikouras
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by: Dean Hadjichristou (Addictive Sound Studios)
Song produced by: Fiona Noakes Band & Dean Hadjichristou (Addictive Sound Studios)
Special thanks to Bluesfest School of Music and Art, Kelly Symes, Spectrasonic, and Jess Veysey - FDRMX - February 2nd 2015

Fiona Noakes Band‘s music video for “Fury of the Sea” begins with a body washed up on shore. The body wakes up and it turns out to be the lead singer, Fiona Noakes. She looks utterly confused, wondering where she is. We are then introduced by two mysterious men wearing black masks. These men are interesting figures lurking in the water. With the help of special effects, these creeps look distorted, making rapid body movements as they crawl and examine another body by the shore. Many characters appear and soon, Noakes is reunited with her other bandmates. Aside from the plot, the viewers can enjoy some close ups of water hitting the rocks by the shore and the sunlight beaming through the leaves. Let us not forget the important part: the music. The indie/alternative track consists of a unique mixture of blues-y guitar chords and folk rhythms. “Fury of the Sea” will satisfy your hunger for that high-energy, yet simple fusion of blues, acoustic, indie, and folk sounds.

Video Directed by Emily Shanley, Walkway Pictures
Shot and Edited by Derek Price, Say Ten Productions
Lyrics by Fiona Noakes
Music and Arrangements by Fiona Noakes, Cliff Chamberlain, Ben L’Ecuyer, Danae Tsikouras
Song Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Dean Hadjichristou, AddictiveSound Studios
Song Produced by Fiona Noakes Band and Dean Hadjichristou - FDRMX - November 21st 2014

Recorded on the Chris Top Program - http://www.spreaker.com/user/christop/fiona-noakes-on-the-chris-top-program

Canadian singer songwriter Fiona Noakes is a fresh face to Ottawa’s music scene. For the past five years Fiona has been writing her own songs and honing her distinct style – a unique blend of alternating manic guitars and indie folk rhythms. Fiona’s lyrics catalogue an honest life of love, loss, and side trips. With a versatile background in acting and a voice to rival the likes of Bif Naked and Tegan and Sara, Fiona has grown from performing open mic nights to crowds of cheering fans at Ottawa’s Big Money Shot Contest.

Cliff Chamberlain joined Fiona in the band as lead guitarist and backup vocalist. Cliff’s experience playing for blues, rock and country bands provides the band with a diverse range in rock driven riffs that complement Fiona’s high-energy performances.

Danae Tsikouras is the drummer and backup singer for the band. A master at her craft, Danae brings indispensable rhythm and rock beats to the group.

Benoit L’Ecuyer is the bassist and last addition to the Fiona Noakes band. Also known as a musical chameleon Benoit is easily able to adapt to anything musically set before him.

They dare you to check out their next show! - The Chris Top Program - September 28th 2014

Curve previews the latest to come from Fiona Noakes BandOn the eve of Fiona Noakes Band setting to release their latest album Fury of the Sea, Curve has been lucky enough to sample some tracks. Fronted by Fiona Noakes and accompanied by Cliff Chamberlain (lead guitar), Danae Tsikouras (drums) and Benoit L’Ecuyer (bass), this band sets out to take you on a journey through love, loss and other things on the side.The first sampling from this album is the catchy "Misunderstood". It opens with a guitar introduction that is as familiar to you as the introduction to the Indigo Girls' "Pendalum Swinger". Quickly though it takes you on its own path where Noakes and the band deliver a solid pop-folk track.Slowly the haunting sound of the guitar winds you through the verses of "Your Stare" with the smoky vocal line leading into a change of beat for the chorus. The track is mellow and hints at flavours still to come on the album. Title track "Fury of the Sea" has a strong instrumental line with the percussion melding nicely with an upbeat guitar and bass while Noakes' vocals tie it all in.Closing out this preview is "Billy Davis House". This track has that recognisable sound of a mid-nineties indie ballad. It would fit nicely as the soundtrack to a classic montage scene fit for a "But I’m a Cheerleader" or "Empire Records"- esque angst driven teen drama.Whilst there is a heavy folk influence to their sound, that draws from greats that have come before them, this four-piece Ottawa, Canada based band have managed in this small snippet of tracks to forge their own way.

To follow visit:
fionanoakes.com
reverbnation.com/fionanoakes
facebook.com/FionaNoakesBand
twitter.com/FionaNoakes
youtube.com/user/FionaNoakes

Source: lotl.com/Reviews/Curve-Previews-the-Latest-to-come-from-Fiona-Noakes-Band-124/ - Jessica Liley - Curve Mag - September 15th 2014