Gold Top performer’s approach leads to top-tier songs

Whenever Noah Sties sits down with a goal of writing his next song, he can stare at the blank paper with the best of them without coming up with a single lyric or note. His writing muscle just doesn't work that way.

But at other times his subconscious kicks into a gear where it's hard for him to write everything down.

"I have a note in my phone called `One liners,'" the Purdue University Fort Wayne senior says. "That's just all sorts of bits of choruses and everything else that I think of while driving or in the shower. I have an ongoing joke with my parents that I don't think I've ever written a song out that wasn't finished in the shower. That's one of the only places I can write, which is really funny."

Indeed, Sties has been asked for ideas in Nashville, Tenn., studios and knows right away he's in trouble. But leave the water running, concentrate on driving, or be drifting off to sleep, and his subconscious can produce its symphonies. Once Sties gets going, his mind won't shut down until whatever has been percolating has been written down.

And the ideas that eventually come are pretty good ones. He recently released singles "Have You Moved on Yet," about the end of a relationship, and "Chasing Changes," about the hunger to keep finding the next level of improvement. They are parts of a four-track extended play called "giant!" that will be released Nov. 21.

Majoring in music industry and an artist signed with PFW's Gold Top Music Group, Sties is learning to relax and trust his process and talent. His brain has provided lots of great ideas-as long as he allows them to develop in their own time. It's not so much about tricking his brain to produce but having patience.

Sties was a headliner last fall when PFW's Goldstock was held at The Clyde Theatre for the first time, and this fall he helped kick off the academic year at the Party on the Lawn. After graduating in December, he's relocating to Nashville to continue his career.

He has strong, talented traits, but not just in performing. Sties is also an accomplished graphic design artist as well as a musician, has a part-time career as a concert photographer and video editor, and understands marketing. He can pitch in anywhere, and his versatility makes him valuable because he enjoys all areas of the music industry.

Sties' parents are both musicians, and his father traveled on the road for a number of years as a music missionary in underserved communities. Contemporary Christian music was always on the house radio, and as a child Sties would often be in the kitchen playing along on the pots and pans. Later, his parents bought him equipment to start writing lo-fi study beats.

He started making his own music as a seventh grader, following in his parents' footsteps playing guitar in church. Now he's written and published about 20 songs, and there are many more ideas in his phone.

A transformative event happened at age 17 when Sties' father took his son to see his favorite band Hippo Campus at a Chicago concert. Also a professional photographer, his father had called ahead and arranged photo passes.

"I'm in front of the crowd with a camera shooting my favorite band," Sties said. "I had just never seen so many people that looked like me, and I just knew this was the environment I belonged in. I always tell people, that's the only career path for me. It's like I don't have an option. I didn't choose it, it chose me."

Since then, Sties has seen Hippo Campus play nine times, and his concert list is extremely long so he's photographed other artists. He has worked behind the scenes in dozens of shows.

PFW was the only university Sties toured, saying it felt like a no-brainer because he loved the facility, the connection with Sweetwater Music, and the faculty.

"I have found so much value in this program," Sties said. "First and foremost, I'm an artist, but so much of being an artist these days is less about performing and more about honing your skills as a musician. I love the flexibility of the music industry program here because it allows you a lot of freedom, so it really is a flexible degree."