Self-Titled Disaster: A Glimpse into the Minds of Northy

SELF-TITLED DISASTER:

A GLIMPSE INTO THE MINDS OF NORTHY

WRITTEN BY ISABELLA BOTERO EDITED BY NOELLE KNOWLTON & LEXI FERNANDEZ

Tallahassee is notorious for its club culture and nightlife but it has its underbelly that often goes unnoticed by the mainstream excitement. The alternative community has been bubbling in the heart of this college town and it is all thanks to the growing network of punk rock and heavy metal bands that have been permeating the city. We sat down with one of Tallahassee’s great up-and-coming punk rock bands to introduce their origins, their future plans and to discuss the complexity of the growing alternative scene in our town.

How and when did you all meet each other?

Ben: In middle school, Tyler and I knew each other, and we were in the school band together. I did percussion and he played the trumpet. We then went to high school, and that’s where we met Noah, and the three of us fell in love. We spent the next few years jamming rock band style.

Noah: Yeah, I had been trying to start a rock band as soon as I hit freshman year of high school. One of the first bands that I ever started was actually with Tyler on drums, so that was actually before I met him [Ben], so I guess that was a bit of an overlap. The band was called Brick Window. We had one practice.

Caleb: I’ve been playing instruments most of my life, and I come from a pretty musical family. When I went to college, a mutual friend knew I was passionate about music and that I wanted to start a band, and he knew Noah, too. We awkwardly met in an FSU dorm, and we started jamming and writing music together. We definitely got a lot of noise complaints. The next year, Ben came up and we started to play a lot more seriously.

When was Northy officially established? How did you come up with the name Northy?

Tyler: Northy was established in the fall of 2019, and it was actually the three of them [motioning toward Ben, Noah, and Tyler]. I wasn’t up here yet. I was back at home in community college, and then I came to Tallahassee during the fall of 2020, and then just became a part of the band somehow. I remember we went to Guitar Center and bought a speaker together and we were just like “I guess we’re in a band now.”

Has Tallahassee had any influence on the type of music that you make? Have you interacted or collaborated with any other bands?

Ben: Yeah, there’s a pretty good scene forming here in Tallahassee. We know and are close with some other bands. We haven’t done any collaborations yet, but there is a group of three or four bands here, and we’re all pretty close.

Tyler: Yeah, we’ve become friends with some of the other people in bands like Airport Drive. They’re great. They’re great musicians, too.

Ben: Manic is another heavy metal band, and we actually gave them their first venue show. I’m happy that we’re in a position where we can help bands that are newer than us. It’s a strange and cool feeling.

Was it difficult to find your audience here in Tallahassee? What was hard about getting started?

Ben: Apparently, there was a well-established band scene before the pandemic. I used to work at Music Masters, and my coworkers would tell me that there was a certain person that I would have to talk to. Also, there was a Facebook group for every indie and punk band