I’ve met Lee Noble on two different occasions, and both times it’s been a whirlwind. The first time I met Lee was at Shea Stadium, the old venue in Brooklyn. It was during a show both Seth Graham and Keith Rankin (Giant Claw) were playing. I hadn’t seen Keith since eighth grade, and Seth, Lee and I had never met each other. Lee was there with a friend, and both of them were having such a great time, when I floated in and out of conversation with them, it was like you had been part of their great time during the whole show. And his set was enormous, but his sets are always an adventure/quest/journey. Lee went back to LA, Keith went back to Ohio, and Seth and I became some solid pals.
Second time I met Lee Noble, I was going to surprise Keith and Seth with Mr. P and Samuel Diamond at a show they were playing about 45 minutes away from where the three of us were. I knew Keith and Seth were playing, and Mr. P said Larry Wish was playing too, and hyping him up to no-end. Got there and surprised Keith and Seth, and the first person who noticed me was Lee. Again Lee played a set that’s worth its weight in how it aged you emotionally, and then after the show, we all went to a pub around the corner. Lee sat next to my wife, across from me, told us all about Japan, moving from LA to Minnesota, and just generally was so in-the-moment, it was hard to say “Good-bye” at the end of the night.
Lee and I also used to write together here at TMT. Here’s “Just a document” of some recordings he’s done and not released along the way entitled The Man Who Bites His Tongue. Poignantly: Lee has a quality I love, which is he attaches himself to the immediate moment, and immerses himself and others within it. It’s a quality I strive for on a daily basis, and it’s interesting (most importantly) when you notice it within his music, considering his music couldn’t soundtrack the moments of fun with him IRL. Thus, I love getting this same quality through a different emotion, and The Man Who Bites His Tongue is certainly a time-capsule back into these feels throughout Lee’s musical career.
Lee, if you ever come back to NYC, hmu, you’ve a room and place to stay! There-after, adventure will find us.
A gathering of lost, changed, or unreleased tracks. Just a document.
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