We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Short Notice a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Short Notice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Joseph: Didn’t every kid want to be a rock star when they grew up? Music has been a prudent part of my life since before I could really remember. Some of my earliest memories are of me in the back of my mom’s ‘99 Accord singing whatever came on the radio. A lot of Metallica, Korn, Three Days Grace, Papa Roach, Lincoln Park, etc. Of course I sometimes didn’t know the actual lyrics or what I was saying, but it’s the heart that counts. I grew up playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band and imagining myself on stage. It wasn’t until now that I was able to seize a moment and take advantage when I did and joined the amazing outfit I’m with now.

Gabe: I remember being a little kid playing guitar hero 2, scrolling down through all of the songs and stopping on a song called “YYZ” by rush. I turned to my dad and asked something along the lines of “who names a song YYZ?” My dad seemed almost insulted that I would’ve questioned his favorite band RUSH so he proceeded to bring me over to his old computer to watch a live play through of the song with Neil Peart’s famous drum solo in it. Sitting there watching my dads eyes light up with absolute amazement and excitement seeing Neil play through that solo, almost leaning forward out of his seat, really made me want to be someone who could inspire that same feeling in someone else. Especially my mom and dad.

Will: Music didn’t come until later for me. I was initially drawn to filmmaking as a young kid, something I still pursue now in college, but to be honest, I had little to no interest in anything music related until my early teens. David Bowie was a very formative artist for me and the first whose music I really connected with. Being a pretty lonely kid, something about a “starman waiting in the sky” really got to me. I started learning guitar around the age of fifteen, initially as nothing more than a way to play my favorite Beatles songs, however I grew to love playing music with other musicians and was eventually driven to start my own band which would later become Short Notice.

It was around this time that a friend of mine pushed me to go out to shows and see bands perform. I was dragged along to dozens of DIY midwest emo shows, which not only put me onto the genre, but opened my eyes to a future in music for myself. I realized you didn’t have to be David Bowie to make a career out of music, there are bands out there with small, dedicated fan bases that make a modest living off of their music. This is when music became less of a hobby and more of a professional goal for me. I had discovered a community that showed me there are people just like me, from the middle of nowhere in the Midwest with absolutely no industry connections, who were still able to find an audience and success through creating music. This really inspired me to hone in on my songwriting ability and create what Short Notice is today with my bandmates.

Jewels: I was pretty young. Ever since I could walk, I was painting, drawing, crafting, listening, playing on any instrument I could get my hands on, etc. I continued music as I got older, but it wasn’t until middle school into high school when some of my closest teachers suggested that I could make a career out of my music. I continued picking up every instrument I could, and joining every group I could, and learning (and continuing to learn) as much as I could. I joined Short Notice, and it ended up being one of the biggest positive changes in my life creatively. I knew this was a passion. I knew this was when I really wanted to take creative arts seriously, and take my music seriously.

Short Notice, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Joseph: Short Notice is a Midwest Emo band which I usually describe as math rock instrumentals mixed with pop punk or emo lyrics, often passionate and powerful. I joined the group after they were recommended to me from a friend and other musician from the Springfield area. I only took to stage for the first time this past June ‘24. However, in that time I can safely say that we’ve grown exponentially from a local band with no music, playing bars with people two generations older than us, to a fairly well off regional band. What lies ahead is up to us but with a bit of tenacity, patience, and heart, I think we could be in places none of us could even imagine in a couple years.

Gabe: Being Midwest emo, we really take a lot of inspiration from multiple genres (rock, jazz, metal, and indie) to craft very intricate instrumentals to put over personal lyrics over. (Basically we tricked you into listening to our personal problems). We as short notice not only love the creation and performance part of being a band but also love to be super involved with the scenes around us from multiple different genres. It’s always amazing to see what bands around us have made and it’s always amazing to work with groups to help each other grow bigger and better as musicians as apposed to treating it like a competition and tearing each other down. Lift your local scene up around you to build the growth you want to see.

I think I’m most proud of our unique sound. It took a while for us to carve out our specific sound which took inspiration from our very large spread of all of our favorite genres. We want to have a sound that people can hear just a few seconds of our songs and be able to recognize it’s us.

Will: I’d describe our sound as symphonic, post-apocalyptic, reindeer-grinding, extreme war pagan, fennoscandian metal. (It’s midwest emo, Will). Our experience in the industry has been largely independent, relying heavily on a DIY attitude. We release our music independently, we’ve booked many of our own shows in the past, we design our own merch, create and promote our own content, etc. I like having that freedom and control over what we are as a band and being able to put ourselves out there for who we are. I think we all aspire to take the band as far as we can, but it’s so special to me even what it is now.

Jewels: We’re a midwest emo band, our genre being defined as having unconventional and emotional lyrical styling, distinct guitar riffs, complex timings and theory, while having punk stylings but also having strong indie and math rock roots. We stepped into the industry somewhat headstrong, just playing wherever we could, meeting whoever would talk to us, and watching any and all shows that we could. Getting into the music industry with your own group is just as important as supporting the industry itself.
I’m so proud of how far we’ve come on our own volition. We’ve spent countless hours working on our music, practicing, and spending time together to make moves on social media, with other bands, etc. I think what I would want others to know is something my uncle said- your dreams should be big enough to scare you. As a group, we keep shooting for bigger and better things, constantly taking steps forward. You should always keep dreaming.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Joseph: It’s difficult to point to one thing specifically. It’s an amazing outlet for personal feelings, both in songwriting and performances. And those are rewarding in themselves. Songwriting gives me the power to say what I want and that feeling is incredible. I realized that everyone shares experiences, and music is a way to convey that. Everyone likes a shoulder to cry on and bands are there for everyone to lean on.

Gabe: I really love working in music because we get to be the escape people want and need from their busy lives, whether that be at a live show, in the car on the way home, or at their desk while they work. Maybe one of our songs will strike a chord with someone that felt alone in a problem they had or maybe our lyrics put what they couldn’t say into words.

Will: The most rewarding part for me has been in the aspect of songwriting. I never really saw myself as a songwriter until writing “Sexy 2.0,” the first song I ever actually finished and the first song we released as a band. It was the first time I felt compelled to write a song, I wasn’t going out of my way to prove something or to write a song for the sake of writing one, it was a means of catharsis for me. I was able to be in touch with emotions and write about something very personal. It’s a very angry song when you look at it, but writing it helped me cope with a difficult time in my life.

Jewels: The most rewarding part about being a musician is being able to share something so special and unique with other people. There’s a feeling unlike any other when you’re in a packed room, with other people singing with you. Saying the words right with you, humming along to your music, taking pieces of what you’ve created with them. We get to come together as a group with a common goal- creating music- and we share that portion of our lives, personalities, and hearts with people. It is incredibly rewarding and a feeling that will always be cherished.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Joseph: That not every song we wrote needs to be a finished song. It’s just not really possible, some songs need revised, or completely scrapped. This doesn’t mean that the writer isn’t good, sometimes things just can’t work. It’s no reason to feel discouraged.

Gabe: Not all songs work right here right now. You may write 100 songs but only a few will be right for the album.

Also writing for the song instead of writing for yourself. Not every song needs to be the biggest flex on everything you can do because it will take away from the overall song and make a great song sound like a wreck. In short, no drum solos in every song (even though it’d be super cool).

Jewels: Me personally, and I’m saying this in a humorous sense; we are not the type of band to be playing anywhere. I’ve tried very hard to get my band to play in numerous settings- and we have; weddings, baby showers, prom after-parties, etc. It’s a silly lesson, but a lesson for sure. We have a sound and style, and we’re not super appropriate and well fit for little kids who just want to hear you play the SpongeBob theme song. We’ve since learned the places where we thrive.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: short_notice_official
• Facebook: Short Notice Official
• Youtube: Short Notice (Official)
• Other: Spotify- Short Notice
  Apple Music- Short Notice

Image Credits

Gabriel Kyle
Colin Deford
Ron Kyle
Tyler Schuerman