Mike Noga

“All I want is some truth. So I hope you hear the passion my little band and myself poured into these songs.” So writes Mike Noga in the press release that accompanies The Balladeer Hunter, his second solo album. The truth he speaks of is not just an emotional honesty in the writing, but equally encompasses the process of recording: “Upon flicking through the FM dial with reckless abandon one day, it occurred to me that no matter how hard I looked, I could not, for the life of me, find any true SOUL in the songs that were being handed back to me on a static plate … To hear the squeak of a kick drum pedal or the clang of a steel string. All these wonderful truths that are processed out of today’s throw-away, passionless, bubble gum, factory production, copy cat world of rock and pop.”
It is a romantic notion that sonic bareness, a return to basics if you will, equates to artistic authenticity. In many a trickster’s hands it has even become a conceit. One only need to listen to the glut of artificial lo-fi effects that pepper many an indie band’s recordings to realise that the fake and the real have become indistinguishable – even to the most discerning ear. The question is not so much whether it matters in the over-all scheme of things, but why it should matter to an artist like Noga.

Piss On A Butterfly by Mike Noga

Being an incurable romantic is part of it. Romance in this sense denotes a desire to connect with other people, to communicate something that could not be expressed in any other way other than through words and sounds. This is what motivates songwriters to keep writing in the first place. This desire to connect almost becomes a physical need. In Noga’s case it’s what motivated him to step out from behind the drum kit he’s been bashing with great emotional power with the likes of Puppy Fat, Sandro, Legends Of Motorsport, The Drones and Mick Turner.
Noga’s first album Folk Songs (2005) was a sparse and restrained effort, which lived up to its title with an acoustic directness that highlighted his storytelling. Its tales of soldiers, convicts and marginal characters had a distinct Australian bent to them, and it was clear that, as a writer, Noga was a man born out of time, or maybe beyond time. The traditional ballad form suited his sweetly broad Australian accent and his stage presence - an intense man with an acoustic guitar and harmonica - harked back straight to the age of pre-electric Dylan.

M'Belle by Mike Noga

This return to roots is tempered somewhat on The Balladeer Hunter. Musically, it’s more varied than its predecessor, exploring different moods and ways to arrange its straightforward acoustic instrumentation. There isn’t an electric guitar in earshot, thus distinguishing this group of songs from his now defunct band The Gentlemen Of Fortune. The restrained contributions of The Gents’ rhythm section – Pat Bourke (Dallas Crane) on bass and Gus Agars (The Gin Club) on drums – nevertheless are crucial. Noga limits himself to strumming or finger-picking chords on his guitar, leaving the spotlight to the masterful violin of Jen Anderson – surely one of Australia’s most accomplished instrumentalists since making her name in Weddings Parties Anything. Her considered contributions lift songs like ‘A Long Week’ and ‘Eileen’, without resorting to schmaltz.
“Musically, it’s more varied than its predecessor, exploring different moods and ways to arrange its straightforward acoustic instrumentation.”
On ‘M’Belle’, Noga rips out a brief harmonica solo, while clanking percussion and sparse guitar evoke Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen. ‘The Cold Year’ could almost be described as bouncy, and there is an undeniable WPA influence creeping in. ‘Ballad Of An Ordinary Man’ lends a certain dignity to everyday experience. It’s all in Noga’s turns of phrase – at once plain, yet resonant with poetry. His straightforwardness does not extend to narrative structure. The listener has to work with the song to extract its meaning or context. ‘Eileen’ unfolds in a more traditional way, as an address to the eponymous lover, but crucially withholds the reason for the beloved’s absence. Noga calls it an Irish murder ballad.
‘Piss On A Butterfly’ is a string of abstract invective directed at pop music culture, with lyrical references to some of Noga’s musical heroes. Apparently he’s offering $20 to anyone who can spot all four of them. On ‘Rothko’, ostensibly a paean to a painting, Noga truly shines, spurred on by the depth of feeling inspired by art and love and whatever else he might be singing about here. ‘I Will Have Nothing’ is the singer’s most direct lyric and probably the most personal. It’s a reminder that the work of an artist, especially a musician, will for ever remain ephemeral, and its worth intangible.
Tellingly, the most musically forceful inclusion on the album is a cover of Sandro’s ‘Walk With Me’, a song originally written by Gareth Edwards (The Holy Rose). Musically reminiscent to - Mess and Noise (Aus most popular music website)

With his distinctive raspy voice and armed with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, Mike Noga’s second solo album plays from start to finish as a thoroughly enjoyable contemporary folk record, casting himself as a balladeer in the troubadour sense.
All nine songs presented here were recorded over a two day period, and most are the first or second takes, consequently The Balladeer Hunter retains a certain level of energy that comes from a live performance, an urgency that is evident even in the record’s most laidback moments.
Noga has stated that he made the album as a reaction to the slick, heavily-produced music that appears on our airwaves, which makes sense when considering the sparse arrangements on show here. His previous band, The Gentlemen of Fortune, was a much more electric affair, but this time around he stripped the band down to just their rhythm section, with Pat Bourke, from Dallas Crane, on bass and Gus Agars, from The Gin Club, on drums. This also helps to produce some moments of tension, such as the album opener “M’Belle”, with is executed with menacing restraint, recalling early Bad Seeds.
Another musician present is violinist Jen Anderson from Weddings, Parties, Anything, whose contributions on songs like “Eileen” and “A Long Week” bring an extra layer of sophistication, her melodies adding a slight gypsy flavour, similar to Scarlett Rivera’s parts on Bob Dylan’s 1975 album Desire. It is also a fitting collaboration as, particularly on the upbeat numbers, the material here shares a similar level of abandon in the vocal delivery and choppy acoustic guitar work to WPA.
Album highlights are “Ballad of an Ordinary Man”, “Rothko” and the extremely catchy “Piss on a Butterfly”, with its stream of conscious lyrics and pop culture references, Noga sounds like he’s having a lot of fun defying any preconceptions of him as simply a rock n’roll drummer, amid a flurry of jangly guitars and harmonicas.
With this record Noga has created a strong piece of work that deserves to be looked at on its own, without comparisons to The Drones or even The Gents, The Balladeer Hunter is an intelligent and thoroughly enjoyable record, free from production tricks, just good songs performed by talented musicians.
Review Score: 9/10 - The AU Review (Aus music website)

With his distinctive raspy voice and armed with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, Mike Noga’s second solo album plays from start to finish as a thoroughly enjoyable contemporary folk record, casting himself as a balladeer in the troubadour sense.
All nine songs presented here were recorded over a two day period, and most are the first or second takes, consequently The Balladeer Hunter retains a certain level of energy that comes from a live performance, an urgency that is evident even in the record’s most laidback moments.
Noga has stated that he made the album as a reaction to the slick, heavily-produced music that appears on our airwaves, which makes sense when considering the sparse arrangements on show here. His previous band, The Gentlemen of Fortune, was a much more electric affair, but this time around he stripped the band down to just their rhythm section, with Pat Bourke, from Dallas Crane, on bass and Gus Agars, from The Gin Club, on drums. This also helps to produce some moments of tension, such as the album opener “M’Belle”, with is executed with menacing restraint, recalling early Bad Seeds.
Another musician present is violinist Jen Anderson from Weddings, Parties, Anything, whose contributions on songs like “Eileen” and “A Long Week” bring an extra layer of sophistication, her melodies adding a slight gypsy flavour, similar to Scarlett Rivera’s parts on Bob Dylan’s 1975 album Desire. It is also a fitting collaboration as, particularly on the upbeat numbers, the material here shares a similar level of abandon in the vocal delivery and choppy acoustic guitar work to WPA.
Album highlights are “Ballad of an Ordinary Man”, “Rothko” and the extremely catchy “Piss on a Butterfly”, with its stream of conscious lyrics and pop culture references, Noga sounds like he’s having a lot of fun defying any preconceptions of him as simply a rock n’roll drummer, amid a flurry of jangly guitars and harmonicas.
With this record Noga has created a strong piece of work that deserves to be looked at on its own, without comparisons to The Drones or even The Gents, The Balladeer Hunter is an intelligent and thoroughly enjoyable record, free from production tricks, just good songs performed by talented musicians.
Review Score: 9/10 - The AU Review (Aus music website)

MIKE Noga has a dilemma. He is the drummer for the Drones, the wrenching four-piece who, in the eyes of many, are the best rock band in the country. That position brings kudos and introductions but now that the Melbourne-based musician has released a solo album, he has to educate audiences about his own merits.
''Most people don't know that I've been fronting bands and writing songs since I was a kid,'' explains the urbane 33-year-old as he attends to a pot of tea in the National Gallery of Victoria's cafe. ''This is not just a side project for me.''
Possessing a droll sense of humour and a ready musical knowledge, Noga can riff on the vanity projects and feats of ego that mark the failed recordings of numerous other drummers, but he more than proves his lone worth on The Balladeer Hunter. The just-released album is a striking, assured collection of vintage country rock in which Noga - backed by bassist Pat Bourke (Dallas Crane) and drummer Gus Agars (the Gin Club) - tries to capture what he values in the '70s output of his favourite artists.
''Energy, soul and honesty was the whole idea,'' Noga says. ''I still pull out [Dylan's] Desire or Blood on the Tracks, or Neil Young, or Van Morrison. Why is that? They sound really simple for the most part - raw, honest. A classic doesn't sound like it has aged.''
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The record was cut in two nights at a studio in a converted Fairfield warehouse, with few overdubs and no electric guitar, and the songs communicate an unusually clear picture of Noga and his world view: unimpressed by modern life's triteness (Piss on a Butterfly), or lamenting that he'll possess little material benefits to pass on to any future offspring (I Will Have Nothing).
''Every element of my personality is in there,'' he says. ''Generally, my songs start out as personal and then I get embarrassed and take them in another direction by lumping it all on a character. My nature is to hide things but I thought, 'No, put it out there'.''
Noga has been composing since he was a teenager playing pub gigs in his birthplace of Hobart. He moved to Melbourne as an 18-year-old in 1996 and played with several bands as he found his feet. He saw the nascent Drones in 2002 and was so impressed he offered his services to frontman Gareth Liddiard, who unexpectedly called him three years later to take him up on his offer.
Noga's initial duties with the group was a punishing six-month-long European sojourn, which effectively put an end to promoting his first solo album, 2006's Folk Songs. In turn, it was only possible to devote the necessary time and energy to The Balladeer Hunter because the Drones are on hiatus, with Liddiard releasing his solo album Strange Tourist last October.
''I expect people to compare what I'm doing with the Drones and Gaz's solo record and I understand that people need something to grab on to and compare with - but they're like cats and dogs,'' Noga says.
Recent events have vindicated his stance, with Noga acquiring management and a record label for his solo career, while a February tour of Europe opening for American outfit Band of Horses cured him of any reticence about being the focus of attention. ''We did 18 gigs playing to a minimum of 2000 people every night, so that's a good way to find your inner frontman,'' he says.
''I was really nervous before the first gig but by the end I was really excited to get on stage.''


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/rewards-of-truth-20110505-1e8py.html#ixzz2gS23EzfN - The Age (National Australian Newspaper)

MIKE Noga has a dilemma. He is the drummer for the Drones, the wrenching four-piece who, in the eyes of many, are the best rock band in the country. That position brings kudos and introductions but now that the Melbourne-based musician has released a solo album, he has to educate audiences about his own merits.
''Most people don't know that I've been fronting bands and writing songs since I was a kid,'' explains the urbane 33-year-old as he attends to a pot of tea in the National Gallery of Victoria's cafe. ''This is not just a side project for me.''
Possessing a droll sense of humour and a ready musical knowledge, Noga can riff on the vanity projects and feats of ego that mark the failed recordings of numerous other drummers, but he more than proves his lone worth on The Balladeer Hunter. The just-released album is a striking, assured collection of vintage country rock in which Noga - backed by bassist Pat Bourke (Dallas Crane) and drummer Gus Agars (the Gin Club) - tries to capture what he values in the '70s output of his favourite artists.
''Energy, soul and honesty was the whole idea,'' Noga says. ''I still pull out [Dylan's] Desire or Blood on the Tracks, or Neil Young, or Van Morrison. Why is that? They sound really simple for the most part - raw, honest. A classic doesn't sound like it has aged.''
Advertisement

The record was cut in two nights at a studio in a converted Fairfield warehouse, with few overdubs and no electric guitar, and the songs communicate an unusually clear picture of Noga and his world view: unimpressed by modern life's triteness (Piss on a Butterfly), or lamenting that he'll possess little material benefits to pass on to any future offspring (I Will Have Nothing).
''Every element of my personality is in there,'' he says. ''Generally, my songs start out as personal and then I get embarrassed and take them in another direction by lumping it all on a character. My nature is to hide things but I thought, 'No, put it out there'.''
Noga has been composing since he was a teenager playing pub gigs in his birthplace of Hobart. He moved to Melbourne as an 18-year-old in 1996 and played with several bands as he found his feet. He saw the nascent Drones in 2002 and was so impressed he offered his services to frontman Gareth Liddiard, who unexpectedly called him three years later to take him up on his offer.
Noga's initial duties with the group was a punishing six-month-long European sojourn, which effectively put an end to promoting his first solo album, 2006's Folk Songs. In turn, it was only possible to devote the necessary time and energy to The Balladeer Hunter because the Drones are on hiatus, with Liddiard releasing his solo album Strange Tourist last October.
''I expect people to compare what I'm doing with the Drones and Gaz's solo record and I understand that people need something to grab on to and compare with - but they're like cats and dogs,'' Noga says.
Recent events have vindicated his stance, with Noga acquiring management and a record label for his solo career, while a February tour of Europe opening for American outfit Band of Horses cured him of any reticence about being the focus of attention. ''We did 18 gigs playing to a minimum of 2000 people every night, so that's a good way to find your inner frontman,'' he says.
''I was really nervous before the first gig but by the end I was really excited to get on stage.''


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/rewards-of-truth-20110505-1e8py.html#ixzz2gS23EzfN - The Age (National Australian Newspaper)