“I wanted every instrument to be informed by the vocal part – ‘lifting up the words’ so to speak. Since most of the songs started with lyrics I found this approach good for making sure the vocals stayed the center piece…”
Ahead of the San Francisco Public Library’s Bay Beats Bandshell party—the program’s biggest event of the year—we caught up with scene-favorite arranger and collaborator Spencer Noble. Known for his behind-the-scenes work with beloved Bay Area acts, Noble is now stepping directly into the spotlight.
Read the full, unedited conversation below as we explore the catalyst behind launching his debut solo album Cute, his meticulous approach to song arrangement, the financial grind of independent record-making, and why SF’s young DIY punk collectives give him the most hope for the city’s future.
You’ve built a reputation as a key collaborator and arranger in beloved Bay Area bands like Juicebumps, Mayya, and Mae Powell. What was the catalyst that made you step out from behind the scenes to launch your solo act Spencer Noble?
Spencer Noble: I had always wanted to make music to really self-identify with, but I suppose the catalyst was a post-breakup urge to start some sort of a project. It started as a silly little EP idea but I picked up a good amount of creative momentum and decided to make a real album and ‘band’ out of it.
As someone embedded in the local indie circuit, how has your front-row seat to the Bay Area scene over the years influenced the sound and spirit of your debut album?
It’s amazing to have witnessed so many Bay Area bands over the years. The creativity and energy of both the bands I’ve played in and the ones I heard from the audience have been incredibly inspiring. Over time my personal taste narrowed and I’ve been able to pick out and utilize my favorite parts of what I’ve experienced and try to squeeze them all into 2-3 minute pop songs of my own.
You’ve rolled out a steady stream of singles this summer (“There’s A Dog In My Life,” “Like A Baby,” and “When Will I Garden?”) leading up to the album release. How do these tracks capture the different sides of who you are as a songwriter?
I think my singles show off my approach to songwriting well. I found I enjoy lyric writing that’s pretty easy to understand with very little grandiose metaphors but lots of fun word play and relatable subjects. I wanted to share the more ‘catchy’ songs from the album so that people may remember them and hopefully get them stuck in their head while I get the rest of the release finished – so as not to be forgotten haha
How has your experience as an arranger shaped the way you build your own tracks? Are you bringing the same precise, collaborative mindset to your solo material, or are you adopting a freer approach?
Arranging songs has always been my strong suit. I’ve loved cutting bulk, tightening parts and making sure there’s rhyme and reason to various changes in the music. I definitely honed in on this with this project, getting as nitty gritty with the arrangement as possible. I wanted every instrument to be informed by the vocal part – ‘lifting up the words’ so to speak. Since most of the songs started with lyrics I found this approach good for making sure the vocals stayed the centerpiece while allowing the instrumentation to still be interesting. It was a hard, but rewarding challenge.
The Bay Area indie scene is full of incredible talent, but living and creating here as an independent musician carries a heavy financial burden. What keeps you rooted and committed to building your creative life in the Bay despite the costs?
What keeps me rooted in music making despite the financial hardships it brings is that I love it. I’m never happier these days as when I finish writing a song that I’m proud of and am able to listen back to the recording I’ve made – or when someone comes up after a show and says something like “I like your songs!”. I figure the money I make should be used to pursue that feeling, so it feels worth it to take on another full-time job (making a solo record and live band and managing it all) that nets me negative money.
Being so connected to the local show calendar, what do you see as the biggest structural challenges facing Bay Area indie musicians today?
I think it’s just public funding for music venues. It’s unfortunate that the venue-band relationship these days has to be this weird dynamic of ‘okay you can play our place but you have to make us X amount of money’. I don’t believe that this is the venue trying to swindle the artists but rather a hard truth that they need the funds to stay open and how every show they host is a financial risk. If there was a bit of government funding for venues and art spaces, I think it’d be a lot easier to put together shows and everyone would have a better time.
If you could wave a wand and change one thing about the Bay Area music ecosystem to make it easier for local artists to launch projects, release records, and thrive, what would it be?
Huge grants for venues and recording studios so that the artists could perform and create without breaking the bank. It’d be really cool if being ‘a musician’ was a more feasible ‘job’ in the Bay.
You attend and play a ton of local gigs. Which independent venues, DIY spaces, or local rooms feel most like home to you and essential to keeping the scene alive?
I love The Knockout. It’s dingy and a little gross but I just find myself there a lot. I don’t love huge crowds so modest shows at The Knockout are a blessing. Thee Stork Club is pretty much Oakland’s Knockout but with more space and nicer. I also of course love Bottom of the Hill and am gutted to see it close at the end of the year. That place has been the poster child of SF music venues for me for my whole life: rag tag – colorful – not too big – but still high quality and FUN – just like SF.
When the grind of balancing cost-of-living with releasing an album gets exhausting, what specific aspect of the Bay Area music community or its DIY culture reminds you why it’s worth staying?
I think it’s seeing all the folks who aren’t necessarily ‘making it big’ in music still keep at it that I find really inspiring. It reminds me that making music isn’t all about the marketing and content of it all. It’s just the pure joy and community it brings that keeps people in the game. The rest of the stuff is just a bonus if it happens to work out.
Having watched the Bay indie scene evolve from multiple angles—as a support musician, fan, and now solo artist—what gives you the most optimism about where the local music scene is heading right now?
Honestly it’s the young punks in SF that give me the most hope. All the folks from Outhouse – a DIY punk collective (As far as I understand it to be) are doing wonders in keeping DIY alive and creating vibrant and inclusive spaces for the real alternative, artistic people to thrive. And a lot of folks in that scene are so young! I love to see that kind of energy from a younger generation of SF keeping the city weird and awesome.
