Inspired #345 - NOAHFINNCE
Punk artist NOAHFINNCE has just released his first release of 2022 with latest single ‘WORMS (In My Brain) - a big pop punk anthem via Hopeless Records. He took a moment to talk to us about the inspiration behind his music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
I’ve gotta start with Fall Out Boy because they were THE band that got me into this kinda music when I was 9. I hadn’t listened to them properly in a good few years but I recently rediscovered Take This To Your Grave and was reminded of why I fell in love with them in the first place. Pete Wentzs lyrics were MAD, “Let’s play this game called when you catch fire I wouldn’t piss to put you out. Stop burning bridges and drive off of them so I can forget about you”, like WHO SAYS THAT?!
I’ve also gotta mention My Chemical Romance because Frank Iero was the reason I started playing guitar and I would not be making music if I hadn’t fallen in love with My Chem. Also they literally changed the world and they just haven’t released a bad song ever.
And then also Nirvana is an obvious one but I don’t think I’ve ever had a song on repeat more than I had Territorial Pissings on repeat when I was 16 so that’s got to count for something.
Is there a certain film that inspires you and why?
Yes! I’ve been obsessed with Forrest Gump ever since I first saw it as a 10 year old. There’s something about Forrest being consistently nice to EVERYBODY that makes me want to be nicer. He also just goes with the flow like “Do I wanna run for 3 years straight?” Sure! “Do I wanna become the worlds greatest ping pong player?” Sure! He does whatever he vibes with at that moment in time and I think that’s cool as hell.
What city do you find the most inspiring and why?
I’d have to say that London is the most inspiring city to me. It sounds like a pretty boring answer because I live here but I grew up about an hour away from London in Ascot which is a VERY different vibe. There’s so much going on in London and there’s all different types of people that I would never encounter where I grew up so every time I went to London as a kid i’d just people watch. You could walk around London in the most ridiculous outfit and very few people would bat an eyelid, I used to walk around my village and get dirty looks for wearing dungarees and having bleached hair. Also the music scene here is great, I used to spend months looking forward to seeing shows in Camden.
Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
I’m very bad at picking favourites but the first person that comes to mind is Dave Grohl. I just think it’s crazy that he’s an absolute badass while simultaneously being just a very nice man. He’s clearly got so much love for what he does and the way he plays the drums is just… unreal.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
Honestly most of the music I’ve been writing recently has been directly inspired by my therapy sessions. I went through a lot of shit when I was younger and I finally started seeing a therapist last year and it’s given me a whole new perspective on trauma. Worms specifically is about my first therapy session. It was difficult to even know where to start from but things I had been bottling up for 10 years kind of spilled out and it became very obvious to me that I needed to really confront my past. Worms is pretty much just me (and my therapist haha) acknowledging that there are things in my past that needed to be tackled.
How would you like to inspire people?
I’m not entirely sure to be honest. I’d like to think that people could see me doing what I do and believe that they could do what they want to do. I’m a big fan of doing whatever the hell I want, even if people think it’s weird or don’t quite understand. Maybe what people can take away from that is that they should do things their own way because that’s always the most fulfilling.
It’d also be sweeet if I could inspire them to listen to my new song Worms (in my brain) xo
