| February 27, 2006 Vol. 77,
no. 7S
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| HE’S
NO WILLIAM HUNG:
“I want to start out simple and slow,” says ChemE sophomore
Noah Grant. “I just want people to enjoy my music.” Grant’s
new CD is entitled “Rituals are Rituals” and is selling
for $5. (Rachel Shafer photo)
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You can’t take the music out of the engineer
ChemE sophomore and acoustic singer-songwriter releases first CD
In a stylish suburban coffee shop in Concord, ChemE sophomore Noah
Grant plays to a small audience of families and working professionals.
With the espresso machine whirring in the background, Grant sings his
own material and strums his acoustic Martin guitar. After songs, the
audience politely claps and Grant engages them in chitchat. By the
end of the evening, he’s earned a few dollars in tips and an
invitation to play again.
Not a bad gig for this Berkeley engineer and singer-songwriter, who
recently released his first CD, “Rituals are Rituals.” The
EP (a short-length record) is a self-produced album that contains seven
tracks. “I’m a person who pretends he’s in a rock
band but is solo and playing an acoustic guitar,” says Grant. “I
like to rock out a lot and occasionally sing with grit in my voice.” His
influences, he says, are Pearl Jam and 90s singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley.
Over spring break, Grant will embark on a coffee house mini-tour through
Los Angeles and Arizona in hopes of kick-starting a West Coast following.
But he’s not about to scuttle engineering for a full-time recording
career, à la former Berkeley engineering sophomore William Hung,
who gained notoriety after being turned down on TV’s “American
Idol.” “I’m gung-ho about school,” Grant says,
claiming his grades so far have been A’s. “I saw what life
was like without a college education, so now I want to do it right.”
That’s because Grant, now 22, spent three years pursuing a music
career after high school. He played bass in several bands and had regular
solo gigs. By age 19, he’d gained enough confidence to move to
L.A. to try and land a recording contract. But nothing panned out and,
as he puts it, “I was broke off my ass.”
With that lesson, Grant is pouring all his motivation and focus into
an engineering education. But rather than dump music altogether, Grant
has adjusted his schedule to fit classes, labs and studying along with
his music. Because he’s a solo act, he doesn’t have to
coordinate practice time with other band members. He schedules gigs
and mini-tours to correspond with school breaks. And he disciplines
himself to do schoolwork first. Only when that’s done does he
pick up his guitar and write songs.
“I always start with the music,” he explains of his creative
process. “I
get an idea in my head or I’m screwing around on the guitar,
and I come up with something I like. Then I work out the lyrics — that’s
the most challenging. There’s a real subtle art to doing that.
The words have to fit the mood of the music. Overall there has to be
flow.”
Flow seems to be Grant’s mantra right now. After college, he
hopes to continue playing and recording music. But he freely admits
he’ll find and keep that ChemE day job.
To sample Grant’s music, buy his CD, or for more information
about his upcoming gigs, go to www.noahgrantacoustic.com.
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