Echosmith guitarist Noah Sierota is very busy, to say the least. His first headline tour with his family and bandmates Echosmith and The Colourist was not only sold out, but a definite experience to have witnessed. With countless cities and states, one could only wonder how life on the road would be with family, with similar realizations of how possibly tiring it could be with not only other people in your space, but close family as well.
Sierota explains, “I think at different times it can be annoying. But I think when you’re with people as much as you are, even if you’re not related – you’re in a band, you’re touring, you’re in a van or bus twenty-four/seven – most of the time it can be really great. It can work out, but we have moments of course. We’re tired a lot, so that honestly affects it also. We have moments, but the majority of the time, it’s really solid. We work together well, we create good music with the creative process for sure. There’s no arguing or anything like that, but when it comes to the creative stuff, it’s awesome.”
The band has had wonderful success with their musical covers, which went viral in the past on their recent rise to fame. When asked which one he favored amongst the many beautiful renditions, he simply replied, “they’re all cool, but we did ‘Gamma Ray’ by Beck. I think that was one of the later covers we did, back when we weren’t so busy. We’re making more original music, so we really don’t do a lot of covers anymore, but that one was my favorite.”
The band’s first big hit was a song by the name of “Cool Kids,” a single which preached the significance of being different, and shoots down the notion of living up to the status quo. When asked about the meteoric rise of the single and their song “Come Together,” and how it felt to record such big hits, he surprisingly replied, “Come Together wasn’t even an official single. It was really like a first song we did for our record for Warner Brothers. It was just a huge progression, and we didn’t really expect it to be on the radio. We didn’t expect ‘Cool Kids’ to be either. It kind of just all happened. But that’s just how music helps.”
The band has toured with a bunch of great artists and collectives such as Owl City, Twenty One Pilots, Neon Trees, and American Authors. As a young band with much potential, it was only right to ask about the advice that was given to them when on the road with such great acts. “Yeah I think they’re all experienced in that field of touring, and traveling the world, but it was really just the encouragement of really fighting what you believe in in the music. Of course, there will be times you will be tired, and there’s the extra work like the promotion and before and after radio stations, but it was more or so advice on staying passionate, staying excited about the music, and appreciating the fans,” said the 19-year old singer-bassist.
With being on the topic of hitting the road, I asked Sierota about being “starstruck,” and who the most surprising person/people he has met in his career so far. “The Go-Go’s for sure,” he said with no hesitation. “We’ve grown up on their music, growing up on the she-bands, and what it was for music. We loved that; it was great meeting them. I think hanging out with them, and growing up, we loved their albums, and just talking about music with them was a great experience I’ve had. It’s one of the great interactions I’ve had with an artist.”
The music is really refreshing, and sends awesome vibes. I let Sierota know that, and with much talk about the state of music now, we discussed how some people in high positions don’t talk about much these days, and how humans have the need to relate to something. We also talked about the fans, and if asked what the key message he would have liked for them to receive when they listened to something like the album. “For us, we always love making songs about life and exciting things. We want to write about the human experience and what human beings go through; about real fear and real joy, we want to write songs that convey a message of life and the common hope; we want to make music for people that don’t feel as though they’re a part of something; that you can fight through anything, and if you want to make things work, it’ll all work out. We don’t just write about one specific thing. I feel as though it’s about overall love and taking on life and its challenges.”
We also joked about how the album, Talking Dreams, was so awesome, they had to release it twice a year later. Noah laughed as I congratulated him for his past accomplishments, including Talking Dreamstopping The Heatseekers Charts last year. When asked about the place the band was in mentally, physically, and spiritually when they released their debut album, he said, “For us, the studio wasn’t necessarily a place that we grew up. For us, we weren’t just recording a song; we were recording a collection of songs. For us, we were just really stoked that we were in a great studio that so many great artists and bands recorded amazing records before us. I feel as though that’s how it came out when we recorded as well. We usually recorded, then went on tour, came back, and wrote a song or two. But for the most part, we were just really excited that we were in the studio making the record, and just getting the chance to even be able to make the music.”
Echomsith re-released an album after that, called Acoustic Dreams, an acoustic rendition of their debut album. A lot of people don’t feel comfortable answering about which project they favored, as it felt like asking which “kid they loved more,” which is understandable. Noah, however, understood that as well, saying “Oh yeah, I love doing acoustic. I think it’s a fun and different way to play your guitar. Also, some of the original songs we did on the record was done acoustically, and then was made electric afterwards. But to go back to the roots and to have played it how it was made originally was great. We also had the songs done and written, so ‘Acoustic Dreams,’ the process was much easier. It was really pretty fun and simple.”
I then brought the topic to his older brother, Jamie (who recently got married), wishing him and his family many blessings in the future. Lastly, we decided to have some fun as I hurled flash-round questions at Noah, seeing which he preferred. I began to give him choices such as Fall Out Boy or Nirvana? Red Hot Chili Peppers or Green Day? Ice Pops or Fudgesicles? He humbly agreed, laughed, and responded Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Ice Pops. Definitely passed the best-friend common entrance exam in my eyes.
Family is obviously important, but to Noah Sierota and Echosmith, it is a way to let the music speak and get through to the listeners. Echosmith is a very talented band and Noah Sierota is a very humble young man. Talking Dreams and Acoustic Dreams are available for purchase now.