STAY TUNED : Noah Shepherd: Just for a Night

Happy Fried Egg, as we say in my world. It’s Fried Egg the 20th! What’s cookin’? Sweet jams. Are you tired of me yet?

Y’all, I am stoked. I’m chuffed. I’ve been sitting on this for way too long, mostly because I didn’t know where to begin.

I found this artist on Instagram. There’s a video of a guy with a mustache riding his bike down a road, over shirt flailing, wearing the kind of expression that says he's got a sneaky secret. The caption reads: “My music’s so underground, even you haven’t heard of it.”

Here's the reel: REEL REEL !!

Bro knows his audience. And we are all very happy to be seen.

Typically, my articles have a flow: excitement, discovery backstory, artist history, and then we really get into the music. I like that. It works.

But today? There’s almost nothing out there on this guy. No interviews, no deep dives, no semi-neatly packaged narrative. So instead, we’re just going to sit in it. Speculate a little. Chat about some jams.

I’ll give you a few recommendations, even though NoahFreakingShepherd has very quickly become a no-skips artist for me. I’ve got a soft spot for 2020s bedroom folk, but I’ll say this as earnestly as I can: this man has stolen my musical heart. Lyrically, melodically, chord-ally… it just hits in an equally simple and profound way.

Honestly, just get in the car, put his music on, and you'll get it. If you don't, I can't help you.

NOAHFREAKINGSHEPHERD

When you look at Noah's socials, you can gather quite a bit quickly. He's got a couple videos that went viral just for hot takes like Willie Nelsons arm hair, blazers on Christmas, and "Thing's That'll Make a Grown Man Cry". Spoiler alert, it's a a tear in a man's favorite sentimental jacket.

He's a seemingly charming and funny guy who's been posting reels and tiktoks since at least 2023, as far as I could scroll. Here's some other things I've gathered with my brain, eyes and ears (Noah, if you see this, feel free to fact check me).

— Noah is a multi-instrumentalist and lyricist

— Noah makes his own music

— Noah is a producer

— Noah's studio is in his bedroom (or some room) in his humble abode (maybe)

— Noah is from Oceanside, San Diego which apparently you can't call DAYGO though I personally enjoy that silliness. (Being from a beach town as well, we always call Redondo, DONDO. We like it.)

— Noah has a mustache and a blinding watch tan

—Noah is making bangers about love, living, and and the endless human pursuit of happiness

Feast your eyes on the beauty of my hard earned research! One day, they'll publish this article in a music history textbook as a profound turning point in music discovery. "What a proFOUND proFIND," they'd say.

Just fire me. Oh wait, I'll just fire myself.

Noah's Freaking Audio

There are a few major points I want to bring into this conversation: timbre, lyrics, and something else I haven't figured out yet 'cause I'm still writing. 3 is the magic number. There's something else I wanna say. I'm not there yet. Let me think...

SHEP's catalog is like if music was a shoulder-sat sidekick that gives your ears a warm hug. A drive by the ocean. It has that certain quality that bossa nova has; just relaxed enough to chill, just upbeat enough to shimmy. I dig it, like a shovel baby.

The instruments and the audio are turned back in a way that lets the treble (high end) brush the ears lightly. For example, in one of my absolute favorites, No Where's Home, there's some lead guitar parts that don't necessarily fill the speakers, even though it's the lead. It's the kind of lead guitar/melodic hook that just feels good to listen to because it breathes the way a singer sings. There's no overplaying happening in SHEP's music. Just enough. Goldilocks and the Fweakin Shep.

And honestly, it goes beyond that. He has multiple instrumental tracks as well that are unique in their own right.

I'm not sure how I feel about comparing artists as a way to describe someone's music. SHEP's music is certainly his own; however, he does remind me of all the best parts of a few artists I love, and I'm sure you do as well: Jack Johnson (lyrically/melodic delivery), Mac DeMarco (guitar tone), Her's (song structure), and in the best way possible, certain songs of his remind me of video games, particularly Animal Crossing. Let's come back to that.

So we've got potential influence, timbre (Tam-BUR)... Oh. I guess I accidentally remembered what I wanted to write about by just writing about it. Cheers, brain.

LYRICS and other things I want to say

Mr. SHEP is sentimental, existential, romantical (I told you 3's the magic number). His music has this sort of new-love innocence that's priceless. It's honest, it's straightforward, it's uncomplicated.

Here are some of my favorites:

Wait — this one, keyboard tone and melody in particular, sounds like it's right out of Animal Crossing
Just For a Night — you're gonna love that transition between feels. It picks up tempo at the perfect spot. All of a sudden, you went from loving the road and coasting, to doing 90 in a 65.
You're the One — please let me play this bass line. It's so fun and scratches my brain in the perfect way. In that kind of "never get tired of it" way, like Mike Dirnt's bass line in Longview (Green Day)
No Where's Home — this song is perfect. BUT, the best part is the lyrics.

I can tell by the way that you tie your shoes and the way that you wear your clothes

You've been through it before

No where's home

The way that you talk the way that you walk

The smiles you give to the people that stalk on their free time

No where's home

Chorus (this is the best part)

But you'll keep on movin' anyway, looking for something worth it to make you stay

You'll keep on searchin' for your zone

You're better off when you realize that nowhere's home

And so on... The imagery in the next part is so beautiful it's hard not to just write out all the words here.

Oh wait, I can do that. Please be gentle, there are no lyrics to be found on YouTube Music (I don't use Spotify).

Your cigarette burns in your soft red lips

The people around you try to tell you how it fits

But you don't care

No where's home

Travelin' round like a beat-up jug, man

Tryna make a living to purchase a house for your old man

No where's home

But you'll keep on movin' anyway, looking for something worth it to make you stay

You'll keep on searchin' for your zone

You're better off when you realize that nowhere's home

I'm gonna come back to this blog and be sad that I didn't talk about more of his tunes. It's true. I do love every one. If you gave him a listen, let me know what you think in the comments. Maybe you think his music sucks. I wanna know why you're wrong.

Love you. Stay tuned

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-BD

Listen to Just For a Night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5sLkt0CD1k

Listen to No Where's Home: https://youtu.be/2qoGQlTCRFw?si=e0ZyoNRqtu1kOsGf