Noise Organization

A few months ago, the boys of Noise Organization had only just started playing shows around town. Kyle Holly and Will Hargrove have been playing music together for years, while Thomas Barnes moved into town from North Carolina recently.

The band just finished recording in the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and sometime in August, they’ll begin promoting their new record all around the southeast, titled “And Flow.”

The band’s sound is like a synthesis of jam music with electronic synthesizers, record sampling, and a little bit of math rock. Kyle Holly pounds the drums in a punk fashion, which forces the jamming to take a slight backseat to the movement of the song.

The band took the stage at the Ale House Friday night and started off the set with two original numbers that really got the audience going, and then rocked out a cover of “Godzilla” by Blue Oyster Cult, putting their own spin on a well known tune.

Most of the rest of their set was original songs. Their melodies build up on themselves in such a way that they never get boring, and you never feel like you’re listening to the same song twice.

The Corner sat down and talked to the band Friday night:

Q. What was recording at Muscle Shoals Sound like?

Kyle: Really what’s amazing about recording in Muscle Shoals Sound is the history. All the people who’ve recorded in the same room we recorded in. It’s kinda crazy, when you walk in you can feel the overall vibe of success in the place.
Thomas: Hey, Sonny and Cher recorded there.
Will: Yeah, it was kind of overwhelming at first, actually. Once we played a couple of cuts, it got better.
Thomas: Yeah, at first we were honestly kind of stuck because we didn’t have an engineer, but then we got hooked up with a really good guy who knew the studio really well.

Q. Where do you see the music that you listen to influencing your music, and what stuff do you leave at home?

Thomas: Well, we all grew up on similar music. Like, for instance, I grew up a big Widespread Panic fan, and I think that comes out in my playing. Kyle’s a big Soundtribe fan, and I think that comes out in his playing.
Kyle: I also grew up a big 311 fan, and I do a lot of Chad Sexton’s rhythms.
Trey: That’s about the same for me on bass. Soundtribe, ect. ...
Thomas: Well, we all like Soundtribe and perpetual groove.
Will: Yeah, I think, to answer the question, it’s not so much that you’re consciously thinking about making it sound like what you’re playing, it just happens.
Kyle: Yeah I think if you enjoy the music you’re listening to and you’re a musician, the music you listen to is going to affect the style of your playing.
Trey: Even on a week to week basis. I know this guy that plays bass and always give me bass oriented CDs. He gave me this old school funk CD, and over the next couple of days, I noticed that style creeping into my playing.

Q. Is there anything you’re into that you’d like to incorporate into your music?

All: Yeah, definitely.
Thomas: Oh yeah. We all just got computers in our setup and are trying to integrate some samples into the songs. That opens up a whole new world to you.

Q. How exactly do you guys incorporate samples into yours songs?

Thomas: Well, it’s a lot of sitting around the house listening to music you like, and finding sections that you think would work in a song. Trying to sync them up.

Q. Where do you guys see yourself fitting into the current Auburn Music Scene?

Kyle: Well, we do original music. We’re not a cover band.
Will: And there isn’t anything wrong with cover bands. Auburn likes cover bands.
Kyle:When we started, we played a lot of covers. And that was cool and all, but what we were really having fun with was making stuff of our own-structuring the songs and knowing exactly what’s going to happen.
Thomas: Well, I support Auburn local music, and I have a lot of friends in awesome local bands, but I think we’re a little more out there - almost spacey to a degree.

Q. What’s next for Noise Organization? Aren’t you about to release a new record?

Thomas: Yeah, and we’re gonna promote the hell out of it.
Will: But these days, it’s not like you’re making a lot of money off of records.
Thomas: Yeah, right now we just want to make connections with people all around the state. So that when we come into town, people will be like, ‘Oh, Noise Organization. I’ve heard of these guys.’ It’s really helped that in the past year, we’ve gotten to play with a lot of our bigger influences (Brock Butler and John Hruby of Perpetual Groove). We’re just trying to get our name out there, and use the album as a backbone for that.
Trey: The big part of it is organizing a circuit of towns around the southeast for us to play at. Like, coming into towns on a regular basis-not every week, but places where people recognize us.

For more on Noise Organization, visit myspace.com/noiseorganization.



- The Corner News: Auburn AL