As a Los Angeles-based swing big band, Noah and the MegaFauna incorporates sounds ranging from acoustic gypsy jazz to indie rock and folk. Lead singer Noah Lit and nine other members comprise the eclectic ensemble that has traveled coast to coast, playing in bars and nightclubs with instruments like pianos, accordions and violins in hand. Their music was featured in director Judd Apatow’s comedy “This is 40” in 2012, and the band will perform at UCLA’s Fowler Museum Sunday. The Daily Bruin’s Amy Lee sat down with Noah Lit and discussed the band’s beginnings and influences, as well as its upcoming record.
Daily Bruin: You had a former indie rock band, Oliver Future. Now you have a 10-piece big band with jazz influences. What was the beginning of Noah and the MegaFauna?
Noah Lit: My other band started breaking up and I never really had played jazz or anything like that. I’ve always been a big fan and so when the band started breaking up – I don’t know how to explain it – but I was just kind of sick of playing rock and roll. What I really wanted to do was something that still had to do with my guitar, so I started listening to a lot of Django Reinhardt, who was someone I really loved as a kid but never really tried to learn the style of. I just started getting obsessed with it and nerded out. It’s an entirely different style of guitar playing so you just have to go all in if you want to learn how to do it. Not that I’ve learned how to do it. But I was just trying to learn this new style, and these riffs to these songs would just pop into my head. That was the beginning of Noah and the MegaFauna.
DB: You have a lot of other members in your band. How did the band all come together?
NL: The band started more as just me and my brothers, Josh and Gabe. I was making a record just for fun because I hadn’t made a record in a couple of years and I had all these songs that I thought were decent. I wanted to see what they would sound like, so I started enlisting my brothers to help arrange it. They mentioned some friends who should get on it and then those friends mentioned some other friends. It just grew really organically.
DB: What made you want to go in the direction you did with Noah and the MegaFauna?
NL: I’ve always been a big fan of Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen and I think, in my indie rock band, we didn’t really (play much like) that, because we were just … loud. That was also the other thing – I was listening to a lot of jazz (at the time), but I also wanted to get back to some more intimate songwriting. It jived really well with the jazz, gypsy style.
DB: Your debut album, “Anthems for a Stateless Nation,” was released in 2011. What was the inspiration and process behind making this album?
NL: There is a very cinematic arc to the record, which is fun to work with. I hate to say this because it sounds so pretentious, but it’s a concept record. It was a more modern take on the Noah’s Ark story. There is some sort of big catastrophe that is wiping out the earth clean. (The theme) was somewhere between global warming and zombie outbreak. I recorded with my friend Adam Lazzar, who is an amazing producer here in town. I funded it all and did it myself through my own personal money and also through Kickstarter. As far as the actual recording, we did a week here in L.A. and then I went and met my younger brother Gabriel, who is in New York. He always has some amazing horn players, so he arranged the horn section, and his wife, Wen Chang, is actually our violinist. A big part of the inspiration for our band came from whenever my brothers, Gabe’s wife and I would all get together. We’d jam out a lot, because they’re in New York and I’m in L.A. We would just all be on acoustic instruments – Wen would be playing violin, Gabe would be playing clarinet and Josh would play piano or accordion. And it was just like, “Wow, wouldn’t it be more fun if we had a band that sounded more like this?”
DB: I know your song “Moan All Night” was featured in “This is 40.” How was that and can you tell us a little bit about your experience on the set?
NL: It was completely amazing. Unfortunately our performance in the movie was cut, but they still used the song and it’s in the DVD extras. We showed up at eight in the morning, we had our own trailer, and the whole thing was just very movie star-like. The funny thing is that they just wanted a band who had a lot of people in it. The guy who was in charge of the movie’s music saw a clip of us on YouTube and he thought, “Oh, they’re perfect.” Our adrenaline was crazy, and there was Paul Rudd and Judd Apatow sitting in the back. It was such a trip. We hung out with Paul Rudd all day and it was just really cool. Even though the scene didn’t make the movie, we had an absolute blast. It was definitely more about the experience.
DB: Will this be the band’s first time performing at UCLA?
NL: Yes, it is!
DB: What can audience members expect from your performance? Anything new or exciting you are planning on presenting to the crowd?
NL: Our normal set is a lot of fun, but right now we’re working on our second record. So we’ve been playing some of the songs live to get people ready for prime time. We’re going to be playing new tunes.
DB: Can you tell a little bit more about the new record? As far as musical influences, how does the new record compare to the last?
NL: This one’s a little bit different. The last one was just me collaborating with anyone I could get involved, but now we actually have a band with Emily (St.Amand-Poliakoff) and my brothers and my friends. We’ve played a lot of gigs as a band and so this next record is cool because it’s got a little more of that band dynamic. I’m excited to see how it turns out and what people think of it, but it’s very much the same instrumentation. It’s still me being on my gypsy guitar and there’s bass and a horn section and violin. It’s still the same band but I do think the songwriting has taken a bit more of a maybe symphonic, rock vibe. There’s a little more of the Beatles’ (influence) thrown in this time around. We’re going to see how it’s all going to lay out though; I’m not sure yet. But so far, so good.
DB: You guys are on tour now, but what’s next for Noah and the MegaFauna?
NL: I’m actually going to Europe solo for a couple of days – just me and my guitar. So that’s what’s next for me. As for the band, we’re just really trying to finish the second record, which is coming along beautifully, and we’re really excited about it.