Bill and I met at a karaoke show I was hosting. He was looking for a singer to play acoustic with. We talked about songs we like and we set up a day for me to come over and jam. Our first day, we learned about 15 songs. Our first open mic was at Rick's Music Cafe. Rick loved us so much, he booked us to play for a night. The acoustic duo, Brewtal Honesty.
About 3 years later, we got a call from a guy that wanted to put a band together. So we decided to give it a try. The band, No Harm Done, lasted about 3 months and we played one gig. Bill and I continued to play acoustic for a little while after that but it all sort of slowed down when his son was born.
After a while, I started looking for other things to do. I saw an ad looking for a singer, so I responded. I went for my audition and was told I was in. This band would become Last Call. We played a couple of gigs at a bowling alley the drummer owned. The band broke up due to families and work obligations.
The rhythm guitar player from Last Call, Steve, and I became good friends. We decided that we wanted to form our own band. I called Bill and brought him in also. This was the beginning of what came to be Noisy Neighbors. We also went through 1694698435 lineup changes early on. Some of them were so brief, I don't remember all their names. The people that I consider the founding members are: Bill, Craig, Don, Steve and myself. These are the people that played the first big gig at Club Soda in June, 2008.
Our musical style at the time was spanning over the decades beginning in the 50's and up through the current music. We were a pretty solid band. Bill was a great guitar player and Craig had killer harmonies. It was good and I was happy to have something that was my own. Theeennnn...we started having issues. First, Steve decided that it was too much of commitment. Then, Don was playing with another band and trying to split his time. We were having to use a fill-in drummer for him (Todd). We finally decided that Don needed to be let go and Todd joined our band. Less than a month after joining, Todd decided to go back to his old band. Enter Garrett. After about two months, Todd came back to us.
Things were going well for us. We were gaining more attention. We were playing pretty regularly. However, Craig got a job in Columbus and started commuting every weekend to our gigs. It was difficult on him. Plus, it was hard to learn new songs. Craig decided it was time for him to quit the band. We were sad to lose the great harmonies he was able to provide, but we moved on. We auditioned a few guys and we ended up with Bert. Bert was chosen because his personality really seemed to fit with ours.
A few months go by and Bill decides his time is up. We panic...more specifically I panic. Bill has been with me since the beginning. How can I continue without Bill? We started looking for a replacement. We decided on Doug. Doug has played with Bert for years. More importantly, he fits in with us. He shares the same vision of what we should be. Maybe I can continue, maybe it won't be so bad without Bill.
We now arrive at the current lineup of Noisy Neighbors. With the latest lineup, came a change in musical style. Our style now is current pop music with a rock edge. We like our pop a little less bubble gum and little more metal. It's dirty. It's fun. It's in your face.
