Noah Whiteside is a solo electro-pop artist from Boston and today he is premiering his first-ever single, “Bury Me On Phila Street.” This song, which is heavily influenced by The Postal Service, is about Noah returning to his hometown and being confronted with people who haven’t grown since he last left.

“It’s kind of depressing,” he says “seeing the same people at the same places chasing the same girls.”

Despite this being his first single as a solo artist, Whiteside has a short history of being in other bands/music endeavors. 

“My history as a musician is fairly short. Started playing guitar when I was like 11, my uncle gave me some Beatles records and then I got into punk in middle school and that was it for me. Punk rock was my first love in a way. As far as other bands, my main band is Cook Bag. We’re a three-piece punk band from Boston who met at a Jazz school and we’ve been playing regionally and nationally for the last 4 years.”

When it comes to the electronic-pop style of music, he admits that when he was a freshman in high school, he was instantly drawn to Owl City’s first release. 

He says, “I got into some of the indie/psych/pop of the time but my interest kind of fizzled out as I started playing in punk bands. The real catalyst for this new record was hearing Kanye West’s “808 and Heartbreaks” record. All those traditional drum machines and synths. Also I listened to a lot of New Order and Prince last year. My record ended up sounding nothing like any of that stuff but originally I tried to be super sad for no reason.”

The guest artist on the track is Whiteside’s best friend and musical soulmate, Steve Knecht. 

“He’s one of my favorite songwriters and the only person I know besides my Dad who’s as big a Counting Crows fan as I am. His band The Burning Lights is also single-handedly saving rock n’ roll so check them out to. I met Steve in college in the dining hall and we argued for like an hour about what Weezer record was the best between Blue Album or Pinkerton and we’ve been best friends ever since. For “Bury Me On Phila Street” I had the ’soft verse, loud chorus’ idea in my head and I immediately knew I needed Steves’s voice for the chorus and he nailed it first take. I will never understand how I got so lucky to have such talented friends who constantly push me to be a better musician. “

He goes on to say that his debut album comes out on October 2nd. 

“I am really excited and also really, really nervous about it. I recorded these songs during quarantine this past March-July in my mom’s basement in New York and I finished it back in Boston and I have to say it was hands down the most exciting time I’ve ever had recording a record. When you record with a band you record in a big studio where you’re always waiting for people. Waiting for engineers to send you stuff, waiting for engineers for studio time, waiting, waiting. It sucks the fun and excitement out of it for me. I felt so free recording this because it was just me, a computer, and a couple of keyboards and I’m excited for people to hear the result of that environment.”

With 2020 not turning out to be the year we thought it was going to be, Whiteside has high hopes for 2021. He’s looking forward to working with new people, expanding his musical horizons, putting out a new Cook Book record, and hopefully to play shows again.

He says, “This pandemic situation really pulled the rug on the live entertainment industry and I have a lot of friends who work at venues and book shows and they’re completely out of luck. I really hope and pray that we can get back to doing what we love sooner rather than later.”

When it comes to the album, Whiteside says he’s done his job if someone listens to his songs and is moved in some way. 

“If someone listens to this record and says ‘Yes. I understand what he’s trying to say. This is cool.’ I will feel fulfilled. Emotional connection, that’s what it’s all about.”