The Mind Behind the MegaFauna: An Interview With Noah Lit

After his indie rock band Oliver Future broke up, songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Noah Lit dug deep into his soul (a.k.a his record collection) to find a new direction. A mixture of Django chords with Mingus arrangements, atmospheric acoustic textures and apocalyptic lyrics, creates a curious intricate monster that sounds something like “Radiohead songs played in the 1930’s”. And that is only part of Noah And The MegaFauna’s intriguing artistic proposition. Luckily we were able to catch Noah in NYC, where he is paying one of his usual visits with his LA-based band, to find more. They are here to work on their upcoming second album and will be playing a show at The Mercury Lounge on Tuesday July 2nd at 630pm.  which you DO NOT WANT TO MISS. The cool guy with the trademark glasses let us pick his brain and soul a little bit, and gave us magnificent insight on songwriting and the making of a mega-band.

1. How did Noah and the MegaFauna come about and how is it different than your previous band Oliver Future?

Noah and the MegaFauna was born out of two major influences… 1) Relearning my guitar to try to play Django Reinhardt style Jazz Manouche and 2) Not wanting to go to Law school.

When my band Oliver Future broke up, I was pretty lost. It was the only thing I had done for about five years. It moved me across the country (from Austin Tx to LA) and kept me busy touring and on the road for years. I was pretty confused and sick of many of the rock and roll influences that band was founded on. So I turned to another influence I had long loved, but was too afraid to attempt… jazz. My favorite Jazz guitar player has always been Django Reinhardt. His style is so unique and amazing, but until recently, finding anyone who knew how to properly play was almost impossible. The internet has changed this and now there are amazing resources online.  So I dug in, practiced a ton, and before I knew it, many of the scales and arpeggios I was learning opened doors to songs and riffs that became the MegaFauna.

As for Law school, that was the other part of my being lost. I studied for the LSAT and decided I would become a lawyer. The way I tricked myself into studying was I’d at first allow myself 30 minutes of guitar for every 3 hours of studying. Then it became 30 min for every 2 hours, then an hour for an hour… by the time I took the test, I was too busy planning recording sessions to even be nervous about it. This was actually a pretty good strategy I should add! I was certainly the coolest kid in the classroom and did pretty well 🙂 At any rate, I knew leaving the test I had tapped into something musically that I could not walk away from. I was inspired beyond anything I’d ever felt as a musician.

2.  I have had the pleasure of being on stage with Noah and The MegaFauna and it is always a fantastic experience. I always feel you strongly lead the band with vast amounts of energy and engagement. What goes through your mind when you are on stage? What do you feel?

Mostly joy. I play in a band with my brothers and my best friends and I play music that I absolutely adore. So really all I can feel is joy. I am really, really lucky to play with the people I play with and to have these many brilliant musicians believe in me and my songs. If I ever feel anything but joy, I’ll need a swift kick in the ass. The moments when the band is really swinging and killing, that’s what every other minute of my life goes to. It’s the reason I do everything else I do. The joy of connecting with an audience, and with connecting with my band mates… for me it is the best thing in the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1hzA_25oYg

3. I have heard you say that you want your albums to sound like a mixture of your record collection.  

Radiohead songs played in the 30’s is kind of what I’m going for 🙂 I listen to a lot of music and it just kind of filters through. The fun thing for me is that my jazz guitar and the make up of my band acts as a pretty distinct filter. The new record we are working on has lots of songs that could be just “indie rock”. But play them with jazz chords and add a horn section and you’ve got the MegaFauna.

4. What is in your record collection?

Lots and lots. Old favs: Django, Mingus, Beatles, Blur, Radiohead, Wilco

New Favs: PJ Harvey- Let England Shake (prob my favorite record of the last 5 years) David Byrne and St Vincent- Love This Giant, and lots of Brazilian Samba

5. How do you start writing a song? What inspires you?

Two ways:

1) I’m playing on my guitar and stumble across a nice riff or chord progression. I’ll keep on it for a while until a melody comes to mind.

more often though…

2) I get a riff or a beat stuck in my head. I am currently writing to finish our second record, so if the beat or riff feels like something the record is lacking or could add to it, I keep exploring it. I live in LA, so a lot of this comes while sitting in traffic listening to NPR. It will normally start with me tapping on the steering wheel, then humming along. In my brain, I have a good five to ten minutes where I can explore the beat or melody. When it works, I am able to navigate different options for where the melody can go by just humming along. Since I’m not tied to any specific chords or rhythms yet, I am kind of free to see where my humming takes me. If after a good five or ten minutes, I am still humming it, and it has some form or shape, I grab my phone and record it, normally a mixture of beat boxing the rhythm and humming the tune. Hopefully I’m not driving too fast at this point.

Then, first chance I get, I sit with a guitar and try to make sense of what I was hearing. More often than not it doesn’t work or by the time I play it, it has morphed into something totally different. This is Ok. This is where you have to trust yourself a bit and just ask, Do I like this? Even if it is a departure from my initial idea, is it inspiring? If I keep playing it and singing it and feel excited about it then I know.

6. Some of your songs are very mood/atmosphere oriented. Like Au Revoir Shoshana and R Futurisque. How does this come about? Do you feel the mood or emotion and then try to find the chords to match it? Or do you discover the mood by playing around with different chords? Maybe you get ideas from your musical heroes?

Hmmmm…. Well, I certainly get ideas from other Heros! R Futuristique was heavily inspired by Mingus and Au Revoir Shoshana by Django chords and voicings. The trick with those two comes back to filtering things through my weird sensibility. And yes, I suppose that’s where mood fits in.

Now that I think about it, yes I do find a mood first and then create a song around it. Like I mentioned before, sometimes the question is, what mood is this album lacking? Or what kind of song do I wish I had in my arsenal. R Futuristique was originally the last song on Anthems For a Stateless Nation, but I didn’t want to leave my listener with something that intense. I wanted to leave them with a feeling of hope and thus, the night before we went into record the record, I wrote We’ll Sail Above this. Luckily Chris and Shiben (Drums and Bass Respectively) were cool with it… ha ha

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/58592584″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

 

7. You tend to explore apocalyptic themes in your songs. Particularly on Noah And The MegaFauna’s album debut Anthems for a Stateless Nation. However, you seem to be a pretty happy, upbeat, positive guy. Where does this fascination with apocalypse comes from?

Well, my name is Noah! Noah was the first Post Apocalyptic hero, way before Mad Max! I am generally upbeat and happy, but I have a dark side as we all do. I try to exorcise it in my music so it doesn’t have to come out in life. I generally think we are all funny people playing serious music. I know several bands that are the other way around (serious people playing funny music) and I never quite understood it.  Music is really my Therapy… hey, that has a ring to it??? Music Therapy!

8. What can we expect from the upcoming second album? 

It’s gonna be a fun one. An extension of the last record, although a bit less Jazzy and more orchestral. I’m pretty excited about how it’s all shaping up.

9. How does creating and performing music help your overall well being. How do you think it improves your quality of life?

It is like vitamin C for me. I could survive for a while without it, but I’ll start loosing my teeth!

I am my best when music is a part of my life. I have done everything in my power to make a profession of it (through N+MF and other outlets). It is the only thing I’ve consistently done for as long as I can remember and nothing brings me as much joy or satisfaction as creating and jamming with my friends.

10. What do you have to say to people who are looking to incorporate more music into their lives either by writing songs, learning an instrument, listening more actively or attending shows?

DO IT

Pick up an instrument. Go see a show (hopefully a Megafauna show!!!) Sing in your shower or car. Be musical. Make music. Then send it to me

Thank you for your time and we look forward to your new album and your show at The Mercury Lounge on July 2nd! 

• Make sure to catch Noah And The MegaFauna at their upcoming NYC show!
• Where: The Mercury Lounge: 217 E Houston St, New York, NY
• When: Tuesday, July 2 7:00pm sharp!
• Price: $10

For more info please visit: noahandthemegafauna.com

To buy Noah And The MegaFauna’s album debut Anthems For A Stateless Nation click here