We recently connected with Noah Mailliard and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Noah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

For me, the most meaningful project I’ve worked on has been my band FOAMER. I first started working on what would become FOAMER back in 2019, after a failed attempt at starting an alternative rock band. This failure was due to creative differences and scheduling conflicts with my intended collaborators. I had a clear idea of the sound I was looking for and the creative direction I wanted to go in, so I decided to start over and take a different approach. The idea was to create a solo recording project that I would eventually adapt into a full band once I felt like the songs were ready for a live adaptation. Around this time, however, my songwriting was beginning to change. I was discovering new artists and finding new inspiration through them and, as a result, this new recording project began shifting from alternative rock to a more psychedelic indie pop sound. I recruited my friend Lucas from the band Haven State to record drums for this project, but other than that, I did the majority of the instrumentation myself. By the time COVID hit in 2020, I had been dealing with a lot of personal and mental health-related issues, which, lyrically, ended up impacting of the songs that I was working on for FOAMER. Writing lyrics that were more honest and personal to me allowed me to be more accepting of the person I am and become more confident with the art that I was creating. Over the next two years I began playing bass for two other local bands (The Vics and Beach Boise, ID), while sporadically working on FOAMER during my own time. By late 2022, I had finally recruited band members for the live band and we began rehearsing. Once we were preparing for our first show in early 2023, I had reached another artistic milestone, which was being the frontman of a band. Before that, I had always been the bassist or guitarist in someone’s band, but was never comfortable enough with singing or creating melodies. This was a strange adjustment for me, but as we continued to perform live, I started to come out of my shell more. In February 2024, FOAMER’s self-titled EP was released and since then, the band has become more collaborative. The reason why FOAMER is so meaningful to me is because of the significance it has had on my personal and artistic development. It’s something that I’m very proud of and I’m very excited to see what the future hold for my band.

Noah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

So I started playing guitar and bass when I was 13. My dad is a musician and he always had multiple guitars sitting around the house, so it was only a matter of time before I would end up taking an interest in it. I taught myself how to play, rather than taking lessons, and it quickly became my obsession of mine. I started my first band when I was 16, playing mostly covers, and by the time I was in college, I had started writing my own songs. Shortly after graduating college, a former band mate of mine introduced me to his friends from music school, who quickly became good friends of mine. Through them, I was introduced to the Pittsburgh music scene, which I’ve been heavily involved in since. In 2021, I started playing bass for the Vics, a local Indie band, and in 2022 I would join another local band, Beach Boise, ID, also as their bassist. During this time, I was also compiling several of my favorite original songs into a solo recording project, which would eventually become my main band, FOAMER. My goal with my music has always been to create art, but also to create something that impacts the listener on an emotional level or evokes some kind of deep thought. The overall vibe is what matters to me most though. With FOAMER, I try to create soundscapes for one to get lost in, while keeping my lyrics very personal to me but ambiguous to the listener, all while maintaining a psychedelic vibe, which has become the focal point of our compositions.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to collaborate with others. I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by many other great artists, who I’ve had the privilege of working with. Collaboration opens the door for artistic growth, and I’ve definitely expanded my own musical tastes, boundaries, and knowledge through the people I’ve worked with. I’ve also gained a lot of inspiration through these individuals. I also think the ability to create from scratch is a beautiful thing. Music is a very limitless creative endeavor in my opinion, and I’m thankful for the resources available that allow artists to make their work more accessible to the public.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The desire to create is the main driving force for my creative journey. It’s what gets me out of bed each morning and it’s what I love doing. I would love to be able to write and perform music for a living someday, but right now the goal is to keep doing what I’m doing, which is creating, and to keep consistency with that the best that I can. I think too many artists nowadays are driven through validation from others or the desire for validation from others, which is definitely a result of social media dominance in the music industry. I think having a strong and supportive musical community is a very important thing, and it always means the world to me when I receive recognition or compliments for my art, but I always make it a point to remind myself why I pursue music in the first place, and that’s obviously because I simply love doing it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foamer_music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090072210428
• Twitter: https://x.com/FOAMER_band
• Other: https://foamer-pgh.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits

Evan Yester
Emily Conners
Miles Rainwater
Jude Callous
Sarah Taylor