Today we’d like to introduce you to Noah Slavin.
Hi Noah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Noah Luis Alexander Slavin. My musical life started when I was still in my mother’s womb. My mother, Ysella Fulton Slavin, was pregnant with me when she went to go see Pink Floyd with my dad in 1995. That moment would foreshadow my musical career.
I was first exposed to the guitar from my father, Eric Slavin. He is a professional classical guitarist who has performed around the world in his group, the Santa Fe Guitar Quartet. He is now a renowned solo musician. I would wake up to beautiful Latin/tango and classical music being performed in my living room almost every day.
He tried to teach me when I was 6 years old. It hurt my fingers too much. I didn’t have the patience at that age, so my dad didn’t force me to play.
I grew up in a farmhouse in Chamberino, New Mexico. I was surrounded by open fields, 40 acres of farmland, and at night, there were endless stars that blanketed my pink little adobe farmhouse. My mother is a writer, and my grandma Ysella O’Malley was a painter. I grew up with art all around me, which would later develop my pallet of music and love for the arts.
The first time I really started jamming was on my grandma’s piano. She used to sing opera music as well. When we would go visit her, I would spend hours just jamming by myself. I discovered how to play to express my emotions instead of learning theory.
In middle school, I was really into Guitar Hero. I was pretty damn good at it. I played on expert and could beat most kids at the time. Guitar Hero 2 and 3 really exposed me to rock music. I didn’t know much since I grew up at my farmhouse without internet. After a while, I finally decided I wanted to hang up the controller and actually learn real guitar.
My dad bought me my first guitar when I was 13 years old. It was an artic-white fender Mexican Stratocaster. I immediately took to YouTube to learn everything I could. I think the first song I learned was Back in Black by AC/DC. I don’t think I’ve played that since.
I tried to learn a few covers, but I was more interested in making my own music. I later joined my first band, Aveline Poetry. The lead singer, Leo Perez, introduced me to bands like Brand New and the Hives and showed me how energetic music could be. Our bassist, David Tommy Zubia, got me into Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante, and the Mars Volta. My sister Nicole Slavin was playing drums at the time and was studying jazz. I wrote my first song for a band with them. My first show ever was at El Paso High School’s battle of the bands. We were loud as hell and had such raw energy. I knew that music was my calling since then.
Leo ended up wanting to do film stuff, which he was also really good at. So the band came to an end. But I kept writing. I started writing and recording my first ever solo album called “Above the Bright Stars”. It was an instrumental album focusing on guitar, guitar harmonies, atmospheric dreams, love and heartbreak, God, and the stars. I wasn’t very much of a lyricist at the time, but I felt I could express my emotions through sound better than I could talk about it. It was not in any traditional music format. I was trying to craft my own style and sound and express my emotions wholeheartedly. I honestly feel I was able to capture my love of the universe in this album.
I would then go on to join a hard rock band, Squids Ltd. later in high school. I really honed my guitar skills here, and learned the art of the band. We played so many shows and I felt like a rock star. It was my senior year of high school. I slacked off almost every day, getting in trouble, ditching class, and then playing hard rock music in clubs that I couldn’t drink at. I was 17 years old. It was a dream.
I also would jam a lot with my friend Stephen Molina. We wrote a 3 song mystic-folk EP called “Don’t Make A Sound” in 2 weeks together. We recorded mostly in my tiny downstairs bathroom, and inside his closet at his house. We literally spent every single day writing and recording. I would work 8 hours, then sleep, and he would take a shift. We would keep doing this and work all day and night. This is where I discovered a different side of music. This is where I wanted to be more intimate with my feeling about sound than write songs that people “wanted” to hear.
I then left everything behind to go to school at UIW here in San Antonio, Texas. I studied the music industry and computer science. It was here where I met a lot of musicians that I had entered the music scene. We started a band called Akasha Glow with my bandmates Russ Lee and Dominic Vasquez and started playing all around town. This was the beginning of my career here in San Antonio. I established my networking roots during this time.
I would go back home to El Paso for Summer vacations. Squids Ltd. no longer wanted to keep going, but David’s brother, Stan Zubia started a new project. I would then play guitar for his band, Stan Z. We played a well-known music festival called “Neon Desert” in El Paso, which is pretty much the ACL of the Southwest. We opened up for bands like Deftones and Tyler the Creator. That was a pretty magical moment.
While I was there in El Paso, I would jam with Stan and David, and the Squids drummer, Robert Hanlon. I had written new songs and jammed with them. These songs would be the first drafts of music with my current project, Any Color You Like.
When I would start school again and head back to San Antonio, I was still performing in Akasha Glow. It was around this time that Dominic was writing more solo music as well under Mr. Pidge. We played a few shows as Akasha/Pidge. We performed at Imagine Books and Records, and we even got to play a live set on 91.7 KRTU for Live and Local with Jeanette Muniz. Doing that sparked my love for KRTU and local radio.
Dom and I were in the music industry club at UIW. The club had an idea to put on a show. One of the venues that we loved performing at was Brick at Blue Star Arts Complex. I wanted to speak with the bar manager, Andy, about putting on a show. So we went to Brick and hit him up, and Andy gave us a chance. Thus, the Vibes Live Music Festival was born.
We put on our first show, Autumn Vibes Live in 2016. We hosted about 13 bands. The show was a success, and we were warmly welcomed back to host more shows. We started a seasonal Vibes showcase. We went on to continue our shows, putting them on at Brick at Blue Star and other venues. I met Gilbert Salazar, the current drummer for Any Color You Like at a Vibes show. He saw that I was wearing an Animals as Leaders t-shirt, and we instantly became friends.
Time passed, and our guitarist Russ didn’t want to do the Akasha/Pidge split anymore. So Mr. Pidge ended up starting up, and I changed roles from guitarist to bassist. I learned so much about playing bass and I felt like a different side of me was unlocked. We’ve played countless shows all over town. I met so many musician friends and bands during this time. We would later hit up those very bands we played with to perform at the seasonal Vibes Live Music Festival.
I joined another band called Orsinger at this time as well. I really started to branch out as a bassist with this band. Daniel Miller, who had played with Pidge at the time, was also playing in Orsinger. We played several gigs and had a great time jamming together. Although we didn’t last long as a band, we still had a few good years of solid jams.
I decided I didn’t want to live on campus anymore, so I got my own apartment. I met my neighbor, Monroe Chatman, at my first apartment, who I worked closely with to start my own band. Our first project was called Noah and the Sky Ark. We jammed with Alejandro Abeledo and Jonathan Gore and Matt Arnst. The sound was the early preconceptions of Any Color You Like as well.
At this time, Jeanette Muniz had announced that she was leaving KRTU. Dom and I knew that we wanted to be involved. We hit up local musician and radio host, Dominic Walsh, who ended up giving us a chance to start our own radio show. Vibes Live Radio was born. We have interviewed local, national, and international artists: Javier Reyes from Animals as Leaders, Michael Mayo, Marcos Mena from Standards, Nate Sherman from Floral, Amanda Fiore from Sumerian Records, Michael Graves from the Misfits… just to name a few.
I also joined another band, Joshua Myles, who is the keyboard player for Pidge. He started his own band that was reminiscent of Queen, and included powerful musical ballads. I played lead guitar in this band. We also did a few shows which were really fun, but the band didn’t last long. I met Ryan Hollander, the current bassist for Any Color You Like, in this band.
I would meet with Monroe frequently to write new music. I decided I wanted to make a new project that was different then Noah and the Sky Ark. I didn’t want to keep that name, since my other bandmates at the time Jonathan and Alejandro came up with it. We later disbanded. I started coming up with new ideas. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon has always been a huge inspiration to me. Their song, “Any Colour You Like” popped out at me one day. Even though that isn’t my favorite track on the album, that name truly resonated with me. I talked to Monroe about it, and he agreed. We decided to start the new project, Any Color You Like.
I called up Russ Lee and asked him to join the band. He is an incredible guitarist, and I never felt right the way things ended with Akasha Glow. He was on board. I called up Ryan Hollander and Gilbert Salazar, and they were both down. Our first show was at our Summer Vibes Live show we threw at Jandros Garden Patio. I booked 60 bands over 3 days for the event. It was the most bands we’ve ever hosted at an event. Our first show was absolutely magical!
We would continue to put on shows; Winter Vibes Live – 40 band showcase over 2 days at Krazy Kat Music on St. Mary’s. And most recently, another Summer Vibes Live showcase, featuring 33 bands this past August 2021.
I would then also join the band Michael J. and the Foxes, which I currently play bass for. I still currently play for Mr. Pidge and Michael J. and the Foxes, as I continue to go hard with Any Color You Like.
Any Color You Like has been extremely active this year (2021), playing all over town. We are currently recording our full-length studio album at Cibolo Studios. The album is expected to be released this year, so stay tuned for that. 🙂 This is just a little brief recap of my musical career, and how I ended up starting the band and embarked on my new musical journey with them!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. I’ve had to deal with heartbreaks, losing bandmates, starting over countless times, horrible shows, fights, drama, depression, anxieties, trash talkers, etc.
Being in so many bands has taught me a lot, but most importantly, to not expect anything from anyone. If people don’t follow through consistently, then you have to make the choice of whether you want them to be in your life or not. But as long as you keep pushing, despite who is with you or not, you will still make progress. You can never give up if you have a dream. The dream dies if you want it to die. But if you can still dream it, you can still achieve it
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a radio host. I am a festival promoter. I am a professional musician. I’m an audio engineer. I’m a full-time customer service representative.
I am most proud of doing things that I love outside of my 9 to 5 ( in my case it’s 1 to 10 PM)
You have to keep your day job to pay the bills, but one of these days my music is going to pay the bills. Or my cryptocurrency is going to blow up. One of these things is going to happen
I think what sets me apart from others is even though I’m stuck at a day job, I still work my ass off outside of work. I constantly fill in on bass for other bands. I’m constantly going to shows, interviewing people for the radio, and interacting and supporting our community in San Antonio.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
You have to be personable. You have to be a good hang. You have to be nice, genuine, loving, understanding, caring, giving, empathetic, charming, helpful, and energetic. I feel all of these things have contributed to my success
Contact Info:
- Email: noahslavinmusic@gmail.com
- Website: www.noahslavin.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/noahslavinmusic | www.instagram.com/acylmusic
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/noah.slavin
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/noahslavinmusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCCxt5zryZwfUc6VuxvNXlcQ
- SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/noahslavin
Image Credits
Oscar Moreno
Alejandra Sol Casas
Rudy P
Lili Zubia
Noah Slavin
Unknown
