Noah Young, sophomore criminal justice major at California Baptist University, has a passion for songwriting he has pursued from a young age.
He recorded his first album as a freshman in high school. Now, at the age of 19, he has played gigs, worked with big-name bands like Death Cab for Cutie and is recording his second album with a Grammy-winning producer.
“This is what I think God made me to do,” Young said. “It’s what I was born to do.”
Young’s passion for songwriting began at the age of 12 when he first learned how to play guitar. Young said his parents played guitar growing up and he then fell in love with it.
Three years later, he started singing. He said his sister would sing around the house growing up, influencing him. The desire to sing slowly evolved into songwriting.
Young began to record and post covers on social media, aiming to get noticed. He said he tried to distinguish himself as a songwriter who could bring something else to the table in the competitive music world.
In Young’s freshman year of high school, producer Gregg Montante, who has worked with Maroom 5’s Adam Levine and on the show “American Idol,” approached Young and told him he wanted to produce his tracks. This led to the release of his first album on iTunes.
Young began playing his music around the Los Angeles area, Murrieta, Oceanside and Temecula. His following began to grow, and his tracks reached the ears of Alan Sanderson, Grammy-winning producer and owner of Pacific Beat Recording Studio in San Diego.
“He was a pretty big step because he had recently won a Grammy for mixing Switchfoot’s ‘Hello Hurricane’ album,” Young said.
Sanderson, who is currently helping Young produce his second album alongside Montante, said Young has a bright future ahead of him.
““For being in this music/ songwriting journey for only a few years, Noah Young is one outstanding, talented young fella,” Sanderson said. “I look forward to seeing what happens with his burgeoning career in the future. The songs just keep on coming.”
Through Sanderson, Young came in contact with bigger name connections. Alternative rock band Death Cab for Cutie visited the studio for a radio gig, which Young described as one of the coolest days ever.
“I tried to pick their brains, asking them a lot about songwriting because they’re great songwriters,” Young said. “They were just giving me tips on songwriting and how they got started.”
Young also came in contact with pop band Emblem3 through their tour manager, who had seen and liked the sound of some of Young’s gigs. Young is currently writing original tracks to submit to Emblem3 and is exploring the opportunity of touring with them on the Southern California portion of their summer tour.
Young said his future endeavors include continuing to write music, which he described as being indie-pop alternative. He is also in the process of auditioning for “Songland,” Adam Levine’s new reality show on NBC that is similar to “The Voice” or “American Idol,” but for songwriters.
