![Noiseheads is a local band made up of members Greg Nicholas (left), Joe Gray (front) and Nick Gray (back); they have been playing music together since 2010. [Special to the Press Gazette]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-4d4b77d6-1e3d-2e35-e053-0100007fe439-f3aac65d.jpeg)
MILTON — 2008 Milton High School graduate Nick Gray’s band, Noiseheads, is releasing its second full-length album, “Sitcoms for Aliens,” April 22 during National Record Store Day at Revolver Records in downtown Pensacola.
Noiseheads includes members Nick Gray, Joe Gray and Greg Nicholas. The band’s past releases have sold in 10 countries and streamed in almost 60; their YouTube channel has amassed over 100,000 views, and they have toured in various parts of the country.
Here, we catch up with Gray about the band’s history and achievements.
How long have you been a musician?
I started real young; probably before I could even remember. My first memory of sitting and playing was when I got a guitar when I was 5. There’s this picture of me holding this little kid guitar and my brother, Joe, who plays bass in the band, he’s holding an adult guitar and showing me chords. That’s my first memory. The first song I was taught to play was “Day Tripper” by The Beatles.
How long has Noiseheads been together?
We’ve actually been together since 2010, so coming up on seven years this summer. It’s been an interesting ride because, in 2009, I was signed briefly to an indie label in Destin. We were working on what was going to be my debut release as a solo artist.
We (had) conflicting ideas about what it should sound like; they wanted it to sound more like modern contemporary. Ultimately, we had a falling out, but I think it worked out for the best because I took some of those songs and started Noiseheads. So Noiseheads was kind of born out of that.
In 2010, we were writing songs. In 2011, my wife and I moved to Seattle for about a year, but we kept the band going. At this time, we had some demo songs on YouTube; they got passed around on different blogs and threads and forums. We started developing a fan base. The band kept growing, even though we were 3,000 miles away.
In 2012, we moved back and picked up where we left off and started working on our debut album. Since then, it's been one thing after another.
How did the band members meet?
Greg was in the drum line at Gulf Breeze High School, and I was in the drum line at Milton High School. The drum community around here is very tight-knit, so we knew of each other for a long time. I convinced him to join this project, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
He’s like a brother to me and my own brother. I don’t think we’ve ever argued or had those cliché band fights. The cool thing about Greg is he plays the drums, guitar, sings and raps amazingly well.
We all play multiple instruments, so during practice, we’ll play some songs and then switch instruments and have fun with it.
What is the band’s musical style?
I like to say were a rock band, plain and simple. Some people compare us to grunge music; some call us alternative. You’ll hear a diverse range of styles in our songs. For instance, there’s one song on our new album that’s just vocals and piano. So I just like to say that we are a rock band.
Who are your inspirations?
Definitely The Beatles, for sure, for me and my brother. He got into them in high school, so I got to learn about them through my brother. They formed kind of a basis for our musicality and songwriting.
I find inspiration through all kinds of music otherwise. I love 90s dance music, I’m a big fan of jazz; I have a music minor that was actually with a jazz specialty.
I love all styles and all types of music. But from a songwriting standpoint, definitely The Beatles.
How often do you practice?
Not as often as we should, probably. The difficult thing about our situation now is Joe, my brother, recently moved to North Carolina and got a job up there, a job that he couldn’t pass up. And so we keep the band going because most of our fan base is online. We don’t have a huge local following because there’s not a strong local rock community here.
When we do get together, we try to play as many shows all over as we can. In 2013, we did an east coast tour from here to New York and back. We have fans all over, so I think it still works with him over there. When we get together, no matter how much time we have apart, it seems like no time has passed; we can pick it right up and keep going.
I don’t know what will happen in the next couple of years, but we’ll try to keep going the best we can.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton native's band releases second album