The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast

Episode 054 - NovA - The Interview

• ALEX GADD • Season 3 • Episode 54

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Join me this week as I dive deep into the musical journey of my old pal Doug Gouger, aka NovA from The Black Holes. NovA shares his early musical influences, his evolution from playing ukulele to forming rock bands, and his collaborative work with notable musicians like Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess. We discuss everything from his songwriting process to his memorable live performances, and even how he found love through music. We also listen to and talk about some of our favorite  of his original tracks, offering a comprehensive look at this seasoned musician's career. This power-packed conversation is a must-watch for music enthusiasts everywhere!

00:00 Welcome to the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast

01:31 Early Musical Influences

04:07 The Ukulele Days

05:26 Teenage Years and Musical Evolution

09:31 College Days and First Bands

17:29 Recording and Collaborations

28:26 The Challenges of Mixing 'Africa'

31:11 The Inspiration Behind 'Africa'

32:23 Exploring 'All Fall Down'

35:44 Songwriting Process Insights

38:06 Love and Music: A Personal Story

40:39 The Quirky 'One More Trojan'

42:55 The Origin of 'Nova and the Black Holes'

45:10 Discussing 'Love Without The Ties'

48:27 Live Performances and Future Plans

55:11 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

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You can find NovA online at: 

https://novaandtheblackholes.com/

===========================

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Alex Gadd:

Welcome to the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast. We're here to share the thrill of experiencing music of all kinds together with strangers and with friends, and to get to know our guests a little bit better through their musical experiences. I'm your host, Alex Gadd and I do this because I love talking about music with people, finding out what bands someone likes and how they got into music allows us to get to know and understand one another better. And today we have a special show for you. Our guest is Doug Gouger, who goes by the stage named Nova. Nova records and performs with his band The Black Holes, and he spent his life making music while also holding down a day job. He's written hundreds of original songs and has released eight albums of original music over the years. He's written with at least two members of the band Dream Theater, as well as a list of other impressive musicians. I've known Nova for more than 20 years now, and I'm excited to finally get him on the podcast for a career spanning conversation, complete with a listen to some of his best songs. So stick around for my conversation with Nova coming up right now.

NovA:

Hey Alex, how are you today?

Alex Gadd:

I'm great. How are you? So happy to have you on the show. Thank you for joining us.

NovA:

And thank you for having me.

Alex Gadd:

Right on. So have a lot of ground to cover tonight, but I do like to start our show just by finding out how you first got into music. It's such a part of your being. How did you first find popular music? Music at all?

NovA:

Good question. Uh, certainly from the radio, there was no MTV when I was growing up. Uh. Basically whatever was on the radio or what my mother played on. The record player that she had, it was a pretty cheesy little record player set up and she abide records. One of the first records that she bought that I fell in love with was Peter Paul and Mary. And yes, that is Puff the Magic Dragon, Peter, Paul, and Mary. I love the harmonies, I love the, the simplicity of it and uh, I fell in love with all of that. So that was really kind of my first experience with music that I. Just grew to love.

Alex Gadd:

And so did she play the radio around the house? Did she have records that she spun? How did you get exposed to the music at first?

NovA:

Well, yes, there were records that, that she purchased and would play on the record player, but she would also in the kitchen have a, a radio playing pretty much most of the time while she was working in the kitchen doing Mother things. And one of the things that struck me and still stays with me was a song that I heard on the radio at that time. Uh, I think it was around 1964, somewhere in there. And the song came on the radio. I'd never heard anything like it, and it, it just struck me as something so unique and so different. And the song was Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan. And he came on and he started singing and saying all these words and there was poetry and there was just a great sound. He had the backup band. This was during his initial electric band days, and I just was blown over. Uh, it was one of the seminal things in my life that affected me and made me really fall in love with music.

Alex Gadd:

Oh, that's great. And that is a pretty good on-ramp to, uh, popular music in the sixties from there, how did you start playing music and, and when did that start? I.

NovA:

Well, parents, as you know, like to get their kids involved in different things. Many times sports. And my mom did that with me too. She was a single mom pretty much. And, one of the things that she encouraged me to do was, uh, to take up ukulele lessons. So she, uh, got me a ukulele because my fingers were too small to play a proper guitar. And I took ukulele lessons and there was a teacher that we had, and the teacher had other students. So somewhere. On one of the local TV stations is a tape. I'll probably never find it, of me and my other students, uh, in the class and my teacher playing Michael Row, the boat ashore. And I wish I could find it. And I remember playing it with her, uh, and it was just, uh, so fun. And then I stopped the lessons thereafter and became a boy.

Alex Gadd:

Now, were you a Don Ho fan at that time?

NovA:

I was not a Don Ho fan. Don Ho didn't come into the picture until much later.

Alex Gadd:

Much later. Okay. Who else would've been playing the ukulele when you were a kid for you to model yourself after?

NovA:

Uh, pretty much tiny Tim.

Alex Gadd:

Tiny Tim, there we are.

NovA:

Yes.

Alex Gadd:

through the tulips

NovA:

Yeah. I, I just admired him and looked up to him. He was a role model for a long time.

Alex Gadd:

So after the ukulele lessons and the early Bob Dylan, what were, how did your musical taste evolve?

NovA:

At that time there were a lot of new artists coming on the scene. Uh, definitely the Beatles. I saw The Beatles for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show. Blew me away, like they blew everyone away. And you know, Ed Sullivan actually introduced me to a lot of great groups, uh, the Animals, Herman's Hermits, and of course the Rolling Stones. And so I got a really good introduction, uh, to those groups through that show. And then of course. Listening on the radio, I started to listen. I got my own little transistor radio, uh, and put it up in my room and would stay there and listen to current music. And, uh, one of the things, just kind of a funny aside, um, I, I remember going over to my friend's house and the local DJ. Uh, they would have, uh, a song that, uh, would be a song they want people to call in and vote for. And I would call in multiple times, dozens, maybe even close to a hundred times to get that song to be played. And then I did it, the song would be played. Um, and I remember one song was, uh, Arthur Brown's song Fire.

I am the God of Hell Fire and I bring you. I'll take, I'll take.

NovA:

and that was, uh, one of my favorites at that time. Which kind of prefaced some of the artists that I ended up liking later on in life. Alice Cooper, groups like that.

Alex Gadd:

so that kind of takes you through the sixties. Now you're talking Alice Cooper is the very early seventies. were you musically at that point? Now you're, you're talking about, I assume you're getting ready for high school at that point what kind of music were you listening to as a teenager?

NovA:

I grew up in Schenectady, New York, Niklayuna, to be clear. And there was a club, uh, that was in Schenectady called Aerodrome. And that club featured some of the most amazing artists like ever, but they were totally unknown at the time. So I got the chance to see. The first Led Zeppelin tour, the first Jeff Beck tour with Rod Stewart, Janis Joplin. I mean, the list goes on and on. And they would come to my small little town and play, and I didn't even really know who they were at the time or how big they were eventually going to get. Um, and they played there. And I just, you know, loved all that stuff That was just, uh, incredible. So I, I got a really great musical appreciation from Aerodrome.

Alex Gadd:

Excellent. What a nice call out. If you could name a single band that was your band as when you were a kid, did you have a single band?

NovA:

Aside from the Beatles, it would be the Doors.

Alex Gadd:

Okay.

NovA:

Um, and, and actually one of the things that I would do, um, I, I really liked Jim Morrison. I liked the way he sang. I liked the music that they played and I love his lyrics. So I would sing along with many of the Dora songs, uh, including a big epic song like The End, uh, but also, you know, many of the other popular songs. And I actually kinda learned how to sing. By listening to Jim Morrison and emulating him.

Alex Gadd:

Wow. Well, if you're gonna pick someone, he's a pretty good starting point. I would imagine. That's where really started for you as a performer though, right? Is you were a singer first, is that correct? I.

NovA:

So later on after high school, I. Maybe towards the end of high school, early, very early college, um, I did want to become a singer and there was a local band that was looking for a singer. I think they were a cover band, and so they were auditioning people and they would audition, uh, in a live club. So they invited me down and I sang Colors of Love by Chicago and. I think I did a pretty good job. I'll never know'cause there's no record of it, but I didn't get the gig, but I got the feeling for what it feels like to be on stage and, and get that electric shock of being up there singing in front of an audience. It's pretty cool. The first time it was pretty cool.

Alex Gadd:

And was that when you were in high school or when you got to college?

NovA:

I, I think it was, uh, probably. Right before I went to college, I, I graduated high school in three years and I took a year off to hitchhike around the country and go to music festivals. So I got to, you know, literally I'd stand on interstate in, uh, Tennessee and hitchhike to go to the festival of Love in, uh, Louisiana. So I, I got to see lots of great bands and got an experience doing that. And also to that point, uh, that's where I really fell in love with harmonica. Um, I would stand on the side of the road 18 wheelers driving by me 80 miles an hour, and I would play the harmonica I remember, uh, playing Machine Gun by Jimi Hendrix on the harmonica picture that if you could.

Alex Gadd:

Wow. Nice.

NovA:

Yeah.

Alex Gadd:

what, what was your favorite festival that you saw in the year that you hitchhiked around the country? Did you have, did you have a, anything that stood out to you?

NovA:

There was one, uh, festival, it was the Powder Ridge Festival, it was actually the first festival that I went to. It was in Connecticut and it, it didn't go very well for the promoters of the show. They had some really big name acts, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Three Dog Night and lots of big name acts, but nobody showed up. And I was there for pretty much all three days. And so. That was that So skip to a few months after that and I went to see, uh, Melanie. I. The Melanie with the, uh, I've got a brand new roller skate. Then you got a brand new key that, that Melanie,

I got a brand new pair, roller seats. You got a brand new Kia. I think that we should get together and try the march. You see, I've been looking around. The way you got something for me, I got a brand new pair. You got a brand new.

NovA:

So, um, she would come on stage. There was a, a circle stage and the people were all around her. But when Melanie came on, this is a very hippie. Period in America, everybody rushed down to the stage and got really close to Melanie, like feet away and Melanie's there. And they announced Melanie as the only performer that played at the Powder Ridge Festival. Now I know she didn't play there'cause I was there the whole time. So. It piqued my interest and my curiosity. So Melanie's playing, she plays a song, she stops, people from the audience are, oh, Melanie, what's your favorite color? This and that. And uh, so I said to Melanie, Melanie, when did you play at the Powder Ridge Festival? And she gives me eye contact, didn't answer me. She plays another song. People are asking me, oh, Melanie, what's your favorite band? And I ask her, Melanie, when were you at the Powder Ridge Festival? Eye contact doesn't answer me. So then she's play goes to play another song. She's doing a little talk and I say to my friend, if she doesn't answer my question the next time I'm going to ask her when she's going to leave. She stops performing in the middle of a song and she said, if you wanted to leave, why did you sit so close? She finishes the song. This is her third song. She gets up. And walks out

Alex Gadd:

Because of you.

NovA:

'cause of me, the whole audience looks at me with daggers in their eyes and I, I got, I think I was about this small, maybe even a little smaller after that whole thing. And it was a horribly embarrassing situation, but that's what happened.

Alex Gadd:

Wow. Alright. now you're hitchhiking around the country. You get ready to go to college, you've tried out for a band as their singer, you don't get the gig. do you first get a gig with a band or start to perform?

NovA:

When I went to college, I. First went to Northeastern University in Boston. My roommate, he says, I have a friend of mine, I think you'd really like to meet him. His name is Greg Hoffman. He goes to the Berkeley School of Music. So he introduces me to Greg and I became incredibly, I. Close to Greg over the years and the music that he was playing, uh, was all instrumental and it was very, very progressive. And he was playing with that group. And I would sit in with them and record them and just enjoy their music. But as time went on, I started to write songs with Greg. I would start to sing with him, harmonize with him, and we would write songs together. I wasn't playing an instrument, but I was. Writing songs. That was really my first real introduction to writing songs. And so from that experience, uh, I ended up forming a band with him. Um, initially it was a band called No Man, and initially it was songs that I wrote. Um, a couple of the songs that he contributed as well. So that was really my first band. Um, and that was when, uh, I moved to Queens. And we would go and rehearse in a studio called Monkey Hill. And Monkey Hill no longer exists, but uh, we would rehearse there all the time and write songs and just have a great, uh, bonding as music.

Alex Gadd:

play out with that band?

NovA:

Uh, I never played out with that band, but that band transmogrified into, uh, another band, called The Heat. We did play out, and we played out a lot. Got to meet a lot of girls. Uh, and, uh, which is of course part of the whole shtick. And uh, of course it is. And uh,

Alex Gadd:

Else would you do it?

NovA:

else it wasn't for the money, let's put it that way.

Alex Gadd:

for sure.

NovA:

Although we did make a little money. Um, but yeah, that was, that was, uh, the love of my life at that point in time. Um, just played out. We, it was all original music, um, which has pretty much been, what I've always enjoyed doing is, is playing my own songs, writing and playing my own songs.

Alex Gadd:

So it was all original. Your band, The Heat.

NovA:

Yeah,

Alex Gadd:

Great. Did you mix the, uh, harmonica into that sound

NovA:

no, actually, funny enough, I did not, it was just me.

Alex Gadd:

assume no ukulele either.

NovA:

No ukulele. It was just me singing. I was the lead singer.

Alex Gadd:

Where did that take you in terms of wanting to be a musician versus wanting to pay your rent?

NovA:

Well, because I started to write music, um, I, I've always been a very creative, uh. Person. I've, I've written a lot of poetry. Um, I paint done a lot of things like that, but music kind of rang a chord with me that nothing else did. In the same way through my relationship with Greg, he, hooked up with, two producers, Jerry Katz and Jeff Katz, who you may know as the bubblegum producers. Uh, they did song, they. Wrote and produced songs like 1, 2, 3, red Light. Uh, they had the, uh, Kats and Cats Traveling Circus, uh, just lots of bubblegum songs

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, I've heard of them.

NovA:

The bubblegum whole thing had kind of petered out and what k and k wanted to do now is get some sort of a rock band together. So. They, uh, put a band together called Ram Jam, and they had a song called Black Betty.

Alex Gadd:

That's a great song.

NovA:

It's a good song. And so that band, Ram Jam was just a bunch of musicians thrown together to, to, to play that song. So what Kane k did was, um, somehow he got, they got hooked up with Greg and with another, uh, person who I became very close with. Dennis Feldman, a bass player, and also Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater. And so my relationship with Dennis and Jordan and Greg grew, uh, into lots of different little side. Yeah. Permutation is lots of side projects. You know, I wrote, wrote songs with Jordan. I wrote a lot of songs with Dennis. And one of the things that, uh, was great about Dennis was he, he was very well seasoned in recording. The music, uh, the recording industry was changing in a big way at that point in time. Prior to that, everything was on tape. And right around that time, lots of things were changing in midi musical instrument. Digital implementation was, yeah. Interface was, was starting to come into, uh, into play and so I bought, um, a Mac plus a. One of the first Macs, which as skimpy as it was, uh, was able to actually sync up with the tape machine that I bought and play a keyboard that I would program into the Mac plus. And on tape I could record guitars and bass and sing and everything else. And Dennis kinda showed me how to do different things. He taught me what reverb was. I said, what, what's reverb? He goes, you go go out and buy this. He told me what to buy. He, it was a Rackmounted reverb thing, and we put it in and we tried it out and I was like, holy shit. That was amazing. I mean, reverb is really cool and it is

Alex Gadd:

of rock and

NovA:

it, it really is. And so I learned a lot about. The effects, uh, you know, delay effects and EQ and compression and reverb that was eye-opening for me. So I wrote a lot of songs with Dennis. He introduced me to, to people like Carrie Hamilton, of Fame. I wrote a lot of songs with Carrie and we, uh, did a, uh, gig in Montreal. Um, I put a band together around Dennis and a couple other people that I, had relationships with, and we put a band together and we did a gig in, uh. Montreal, it was a, a rich guy's daughter's birthday and Carrie sang lead. I, I sang lead also. We traded off and uh, and we did a show. So that was like one of the cooler things that, uh, that I got to do with those group of people.

Alex Gadd:

So I'm gonna take. A pause here and just make sure I've got all the bits of detail. At this point. Were you playing any instruments in your bands,

NovA:

Not live,

Alex Gadd:

not

NovA:

not live.

Alex Gadd:

when you were recording your own songs?

NovA:

When I was recording my own songs, I would play, I I was a drummer, um, earlier on in my life. Um, one of my good friends in middle school, his father had a drum set and I would go over to his house and play drums and I'd learned how to play drums and it just stuck with me. I learned the drum solo to Inna Gadda Da Vida by Iron Butterfly. Real, real tough piece to learn, but I learned it. And, uh, so I fell in love with drums and my mom bought me a really small kick drum, snare drum one tom, no symbols, drum set. And I, I learned how to play drums with that. So what I was using midi, um, I could program drums having a sense of rhythm and sense of how to play drums. And so. I would use the keyboard to access the sounds within the computer, within the keyboard and program drums. And then I was also playing keyboard sounds, organ, piano, and this and that.

Alex Gadd:

And did you know, did you just teach yourself how to play the keys?

NovA:

Yep. I put my fingers where it sounded good.

Alex Gadd:

Wow, nice. Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote?

NovA:

Yes, I was. Probably five, maybe six years old. And I remember sitting in the bathtub taking a bath, and I wrote this song, I'm sinking in the Mary of Love. I'm sinking in the Mary of Love, and it just went on and on like that.

Alex Gadd:

Wow, that's pretty advanced content for a five or a 6-year-old.

NovA:

Well, yeah, I guess. But that was, that was the first song that I remember writing. Uh, and then there was a pretty large gap in between that song and what came afterwards.

Alex Gadd:

Now in high school and college, were you was writing your thing, was that what you focused on?

NovA:

mostly I focused on picking up girls. Um, at that point in time, you know, the testosterone and the hormones were all kicking in, and that's kind of where you're at at that point in your life. I still very much loved going to shows and, uh, you know, music was always a huge part and where I grew up, uh, I was just south of Saratoga Performing Arts. Center spac and I got to see some of the most amazing shows. I got to see Pink Floyd's, dark Side of the Moon Tour in Quadraphonic. amazing, amazing, um, Allman Brothers first tour. The Who, who's Next Tour. Just lots of like fantastic, fantastic shows.

Alex Gadd:

Was, do you, do you remember your first concert that you ever went to see?

NovA:

Nancy Sinatra singing These Boots are Made for Walking.

These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do. One of these days, these boots are gonna walk all over you. Yes.

Alex Gadd:

How long a show did Nancy Sinatra put on?

NovA:

OI don't think it was very long at all, if I recall, uh, if that, uh, you know, it was thrilling though because there she was and she was wearing boots. Yes, she was. As you,

Alex Gadd:

And she was a big star.

NovA:

She was, uh, you know, she's a one hit wonder.

Alex Gadd:

That's okay.

NovA:

And it, it was okay. She did well. There were other groups before her, you know, opening acts. Don't recall who they were. I mean, I was probably, I don't know what year that was. Maybe I was 10.

Alex Gadd:

Did you go with your mom?

NovA:

of course

Alex Gadd:

So did I to my first, well my aunts, I went with my first concert,

NovA:

that's right.

Alex Gadd:

Yes. That's good family stuff. So we are up to basically, it sounds like the eighties now.

NovA:

Yep,

Alex Gadd:

Which song that's out on one of your albums the song that you wrote the longest time ago.

NovA:

The songs that I've released, and there are multiple songs yet to be released that are in the vault, that are earlier than that, and I intend on releasing those in, uh, the next year I'm gonna release some of those, but of the record that was released, which is called Now and Then, which I just released, um, number of songs on there, one song called Satisfied, which is a, a great song.

When.

NovA:

a number of songs on that record are, are some of my earlier works that I wrote and all by myself pretty much, and played everything and. Produced,

Alex Gadd:

When were those songs written?

NovA:

84, 85,

Alex Gadd:

Wow.

NovA:

maybe earlier, maybe in 83.

Alex Gadd:

And you recorded those, did you record them all by yourself or did you have some of your musical friends contributing parts

NovA:

A, a couple of friends. Um, very few though. Most of it was all me. Yeah. Um. So also around that time, uh, and I think we're gonna now talk about one of your favorite songs and one of my favorite songs too. At that time I was branching out and my relationship with Dennis Feldman had kind of. Transitioned to my getting together with lots of other people. And at that time in, I was living in Queens and at that time the Village Voice was the place to go to meet musicians. Were all these classified, you know, people looking for this musician, that musician. And so I got to meet a lot of different musicians and wrote a lot of music, um, with different genres. And, uh, one of the. People that I met was a gentleman named Ocean Ocean Ian, O-S-H-I-N, an Iranian guy. And he was a keyboard player and he had a band called Worlds Apart. And he and I wrote some music together that is still some of my favorite. And one of the songs is a song called Africa. And that was a song. Um, it was a very difficult mix to do because I didn't have automation in my computer at that time, and there were so many moves on the mixing board with the faders, uh, that I could not do all by myself. So Ocean and I mixed it together, and it was a very complicated mix in the sense that the timing had to be perfect. All the parts had to come in and out, and effects had to be put on at certain points in time to get to the point where the song that we released is today.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, let's take a listen to that one. I think it, it's one of my favorites of yours, maybe because it's so different from other things that I've heard from you. I mean, it's a very, just, it's a beautiful piece of music. I was so blown away the first time I heard it, and of course, I. Immediately. Someone who's a popular music fan takes it and goes back to Toto, this song stands on its own. It's completely unique, uh, unto itself. And so let's take a listen to that

I No freedom.

Alex Gadd:

Alright, so that's Africa by Nova, and that was out on the Suzu pedals.

NovA:

Yes. Correct.

Alex Gadd:

And that was released what? In

NovA:

Oh, well, the album I released in 2024, towards the end of 2024, but it, most of that material was written around 86, 87

Alex Gadd:

Got it. So

NovA:

and

Alex Gadd:

released in 2024 Zus Pedals that's available on all the streaming services, correct.

NovA:

that that is correct. And, and one thing that song Africa, we're gonna want to talk about this, is, uh, content, and by that I mean lyrical content lyrics for me are the reason why I write songs. I, I have very infrequently written a, a complete. Non lyrical song with no singing and Africa was written about the south African situation at that time, that, uh, African National Congress and Nelson Mandela and how all the, the. native South African people were not being represented. They were being repressed. Apartheid was a horrible thing and it really affected me. So I wrote the song about that experience from the standpoint of being someone, uh, who was, uh. And this is a bit naive on my part, but like a medicine man, uh, someone in that culture who kind of people would go up to, not a priest, but just someone, a wise person, a wise man, um, who people would look up to and come to and, and, and talk about. And so the song was written from that perspective, um, of that person.

Alex Gadd:

The next song I'd love to talk about is also from the Suzu Pedals album, which is all fall down. another song that I just heard the first time and I thought, how does this guy come up with all the dense layers of, of music that make this sound like a major production? Let's, before we listen to it, just tell me a little bit about the song.

NovA:

It's actually lyrically a bit Beatles influenced. Um, all you need is love. Some of the lyrics speak to that song and, and it's a song about love, uh, and, and the power that love has. Choose Love over hate. How do, how did I come up with that? You know. When I write, I, I, I'm, I don't read music. I just hear things in my head and I put my fingers on the guitar or the keyboard or the drums and things just come out and it's so magical. I, I can't even explain the process. And there are other artists, many, many artists who have a similar thing. It just flows down from some space up there. I don't know where it comes from. I can't explain it, but it comes through me and other people and is translated into a song. It's, it's so amazing. Um, and, you know, I'm gonna call Bob Dylan here because he did an interview recently, let's say last five or 10 years, where, um, the, the interviewer on 60 Minutes was, uh, asking him, Bob, how, how did you write those songs. Where did they come from? And I, I remember Bob saying, I really don't know. They just came to me. It was, he said it was magic, and I know what he's talking about, and I'm certainly not comparing myself to Bob Dylan in any way, shape, or form, but the experience of that flow from somewhere up there coming through me, and I don't even know what I'm doing, it's just inexplicably magical.

Alex Gadd:

Well, let's take a listen to All Fall Down.

King, you the richest man president. Yes. No one gets. Do the of politicians can be saved no matter how hard. Their hard, but don't get you in again. It'll get you from the start. It happens every day when Cuban is.

Alex Gadd:

Okay. That was all fall down from Nova and the black holes from their Zus Pedals album. Before we move on to another song, Nova, let's talk about songwriting process. You talked about how you receive songs and I, I have heard other songwriters talk about it in the same way. Does that mean you don't write lyrics down in snippets in a book somewhere? When you sit down to write a song, the whole song comes out? Or do you actually gather phrases and gather parts of songs and then cobble them together when you sit down to record?

NovA:

It is a bit of both. There have been times when. Again, it's just an incredibly magical thing where I'll have an empty page and I'll just pick up a pen. I, I like to write on paper. It's just the way I like to write and it, I start writing a lyric, a line, and then another line comes. And many times it's a line that rhymes, or maybe it's the first. Line that rhymes with the third and it just comes out and it comes out and it comes out and I've, I've written like whole songs within two or three minutes like that, like just all the lyrics. And it amazes me that it even works like that. And, and so that's one way. That I'll write a song, but there are other ways too. Like for instance, I'll, I'll, I'll pick up a bass, bass guitar and I'll just start playing a line, and the line sounds cool. I'll record the line, then I'll add something to it, a beat, a drumbeat, then I'll add a keyboard or a guitar. Then I'll start singing lyrics. There's a lot of different ways that it takes shape, takes form.

Alex Gadd:

So there isn't the the age old question of which comes first, the music or the lyrics. There is no one answer. In the Nova Music making catalog,

NovA:

In my process. No, there is not. There are many different ways that a song will come to fruition

Alex Gadd:

I mean, I've seen you do it and it's pretty fun to watch.

NovA:

Yeah.

Alex Gadd:

I have never seen you come up with the words. I've seen you working on your songs and I love just sitting, next to you and watching you work at your workstation. It's quite something. Um, before we move to another song, also, I wanted to call out that being a musician led you to your family life as well, correct?

NovA:

That's true. When I was recording and rehearsing at Monkey Hill, um, we went to a bar, take a break right down the street and there was this guy there and he had really long hair and he had a mustache and he was really cool. He was just like a cool dude, you know. My, um, the bass player who I was working with, Dennis knew him and the, the, the guy's name was Jack Op, and he's, he was and is a keyboard player and he has worked for Corg, the musical instrument company for. 40 years, something like that. And he introduced me to Jack and I became very good friends with Jack. Um, just had a long conversation with him last night. He's one of my absolute best friends. Super amazingly cool guy. And so one day I was working with Jordan Brutus and we wrote a song, uh, and I, it was a good song. He played his keyboard parts. I programmed drums and had. Vocals, but I needed a guitar player and I wanted to get some new blood into my writing. So I asked Jack, I said, Jack, do you know any guitar players that might want to join me? And he goes, yeah, there's this girl, uh, her name is Gina. She's really good guitar player, and, uh, give her a call. Maybe she'll wanna join you. So I did. And she came over to my house. And she laid down like some really cool guitar, uh, for this song. And it was kind of one of those love at first sight things, if you believe in that. I do. Uh, and so it was just really cool. She was really pretty and just a, you know, good soul and I, uh, just immediately, you know, took to her. So afterwards, we. Took a, a break, went to have something to, uh, to eat and, and got a good kiss. Goodnight. And then after that, uh, probably within a month or two, uh, she moved in with me and, uh, shortly thereafter we got married and, uh, we are still married.

Alex Gadd:

Amazing.

NovA:

Yeah.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah. She is a pretty good guitar player. I'll give you that.

NovA:

No doubt. And she's played on a number of songs that I've written. So, um, they're all out there.

Alex Gadd:

Alright, let's talk about another song that you've written. Uh. of the more quirky ones, it certainly catches people's attention. It's called One More Trojan. Tell us about that one.

NovA:

That one, um, well, it's. It's not about Trojan horses. It's about. Trojan condoms, and it's sort of a coming of age song. I like to look at pop culture and look at things that are going on and write about them. So, uh, yeah, so I, I wrote the song. I had, I. Another guitar player, do a little solo in the middle there. But otherwise, I wrote everything and I actually did a, uh, a video, a stop motion video of for the song. And, uh, it's quite cute and clever and it's on YouTube if anybody wants to.

Alex Gadd:

we'll be, that's what we're gonna show.

NovA:

Yeah, okay. Yeah, it's, it's cute if nothing else. Uh, so, and, and you would not believe that condoms can play guitar and keyboards? You will believe after you see this.

Alex Gadd:

I see when you play out live with the black holes, you still have that in the set, I assume.

NovA:

Of course, that's one of the highlights.

Alex Gadd:

for for sure. Totally. Let's take a look at One More Trojan.

Jeep is good. The M beat beats on YouTube. One more Kia. Oh, right. Oh, no. Let this.

Alex Gadd:

Alright. That was One More Trojan by Nova and the Black Holes. Where did you come up with the name? Nova.

NovA:

Oh, that's a very good question. And I'm glad you asked that because, there is a story there. After college, I only went for two and a half years and then moved to Houston to reconnect with my father, who had not been in my life much of my life. So I, uh. Reconnected with him and was living in his house and uh, he decided I should buy a car. So, uh, we went to a dealership, we bought a car and I had no idea what was going on with the financing or any of that or the paperwork. So in order to pay for the car, and he insisted I pay off the car in like a year. Um, he had me get two jobs. So one of them was, I was a Mason's apprentice, but the other job I worked at a Red Lobster. And when I started at the Red Lobster, they give you little name tags and so the manager said, well. What do you want to be on your name? And I said Nova. And so I that at that point in time, around 74 ish, 75, I became Nova and stopped it.

Alex Gadd:

wondering if there was a Planet of the Apes, uh, influence there.

NovA:

There was no Planet of the Apes. No, it was a Red Lobster influence.

Alex Gadd:

Okay. Good to know. Good to know. And then you added the band name, the Black Holes. You have a quite a snappy little group that, plays with you. It's kind of a rotating group in musicians. but that's a good name. Where did you come up with Nova and the Black Holes?

NovA:

After realizing that I had made a big blunder by calling myself Nova. Because it seems like everybody in the world has that name. I just realized, well, I, I have to come up with something else because if you went, searching for Nova on YouTube, you're gonna get a lot of PBS, uh, scientific cosmology, shows. So I, I, I had to come up with something else, so I, I chose Nova in the Black Holes. And if you search for that on YouTube, you will still come up with uh, PBS Nova shows. But not as many. I did the best I could.

Alex Gadd:

Got it. Okay. Let's go to another song, another one of my favorites. I'm pulling out my favorites'cause it's my show. Love Without The Ties from the album. This is In The Past. Again, the vocal texturing on this is really one of your signatures. Wouldn't you say that the way the lyrics you write, but also the way you mix? Vocals into your songs is a highlight of many of your songs, and especially on this one. Tell me a little bit about this.

NovA:

it, it is true. This one is, is about a, a love lost situation. I, I write on a lot of different topics. I, I touch on everything from. Marriage, breaking up, falling in love, political situations, everything. And this one is about, a man who, fell in love with a girl and she fell in love with him, but then decided not to continue their relationship. So it was a situation where there was a, a missed opportunity and, uh, he kept. The flame alive and that's love without the ties. Um, he wanted that, but she wouldn't give that to him. Regarding the vocals, uh, it's really one of the only songs that it features just a lead vocal. There's very few harmonies. There are some, but not a lot.

Alex Gadd:

Well, yeah. The chorus, when you sing the, the line love without the ties, that's when the, vocal harmonies get mixed in.

NovA:

That, that line,

Alex Gadd:

stands out.

NovA:

that line does have harmonies. Uh, but primarily that, just that line. Many other songs, for instance, um, all Fall Down has multiple layers of harmonies. And not just parallel harmonies. You know, I hear things in my head and some, sometimes there's parallel harmonies kind of go like this and they go like this, but sometimes I'll hear things where there's a line, but then there's a contrary line, a contra punal line, if you will. Um, and I, I put that into some of the songs. Leveled Ties is a beautiful song, one of my favorites.

Alex Gadd:

And here it is. Love without the Ties by Nova.

That is a hero to you sitting in a drawer. He no longer comes around with the flowers anymore. It's all too much to contemplate. Cry better the. Someday take.

Alex Gadd:

Alright, that was Nova and Love Without the Ties. A reminder that all of Nova's albums are available on the streaming services. You can see a number of his videos on YouTube. We'll put some links in the comments in the description of this episode. Before we go. Are you still playing out live?'cause some of fun for me was watching these songs translate from the recording to the live setting. And I know that for years you were playing, all over Rockland County, Northern New Jersey, are you still playing out at all or do you have any plans to play out?

NovA:

There was a period of time, I'm just, I had posters of the last. You know, official band that I play with, I'm just gonna look over in my wall here. Uh, and uh, yeah, it was like 2011. Uh, from basically 2011 to 2014, I had a band, with some of my great friends, great band mates. We played most of my originals, but we did cover songs as well. And we had that band for some time. And then. Around 2014 people went their own ways and as bands will, but you know, we had a good three years, which is for a band. Uh, it's not bad.

Alex Gadd:

I had a band during that exact same time for those exact same

NovA:

Yes. Uh, so that was the last time I had an official band. But then about two years ago, um. I like to get out my comfort zone. It's one of the things in my life that I like to do. I, I, I just wanna take a chance. I, I want to do something different, whether I succeed or I fail. Um, I do stand up comedy also, and of course that is a, a real, very outta your comfort zone thing to do is stand up by yourself on the stage and try to make people laugh. But I put a band together with me playing guitar. I. And a bass player and a drummer. Now, I had never been all by myself playing an instrument. And being the chordal instrument and in some cases the lead guitar instrument. But I did, and I did one gig and, uh, I wasn't pleased with the result. I broke a string, broke two strings. Um, it was just all sorts of things. There was a one time I was getting ready to do a song and a fly lands on my, my hand and is on my hand and I'm. Like, just all sorts of weird things happened. And, and in addition, I wasn't pleased with my performance. The bass player and the drummer were terrific. Uh, they had nothing to do with the fact that I decided to put it on the shelf, but I did. So that was the last time. That was in 2022. And we did one gig at a club in Niac called Olives. And uh, it was somewhat fun, but. I realized that I, I needed other people to support me, uh, and that I really wasn't the right person to be doing lead guitar and being the only guitar player. I gave it a shot. And what can I tell you?

Alex Gadd:

Yeah. you still have your uh, Telecaster Deluxe?

NovA:

I still have my Telecaster deluxe. Um, I also play a Ger acoustic guitar, which is featured on many of my songs.

Alex Gadd:

Let's see the shirt.

NovA:

Uh, the shirt is this and, uh, I don't know if this is going back and dating me, but, uh, ger and Evans were, uh,

Alex Gadd:

25.

NovA:

in the year 2020.

Alex Gadd:

25. 25.

NovA:

25. Yes. Uh, and they came out with that song, one Hit Wonder, but, uh, Denny Zagar, uh, became a millionaire, and he decided to follow his passion and he opened up a, uh, guitar. Manufacturing facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, and he makes these fabulous acoustic guitars. I mean, they are just so beautiful, um, and sound so great and, and he calls them easy play guitars because the neck is slightly smaller and for people who don't have really big hands, they're just the dream come true.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah. Right on.

NovA:

Yeah.

Alex Gadd:

Not, that's not you. Of course you have giant

NovA:

No, it's me. I remember, I, I, I took to the ukulele'cause I didn't have big hands.

Alex Gadd:

That was when you were four.

NovA:

I'm not much bigger now.

Alex Gadd:

Hey, I'll leave that alone. So before we go, I'd like to do just a speed round of a couple of questions that I ask all our guests about live music and performances that they'd like to see the most memorable concert you've ever seen.

NovA:

There's a number of them. Um, I used to love Emerson Lake and Palmer. Um, I like the aristocrats of current band, they're a fantastic band. I've seen Frank Zappa. He's just, you know, one of my favorite all time bands to see.

Alex Gadd:

Great. Favorite venue that you've ever seen a show in?

NovA:

Saratoga Performing Arts was one of the best ones.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, I love it there. I've seen two shows there in the early nineties and amazing.

NovA:

Yeah. Yeah. It's

Alex Gadd:

If you could see you could see any act living or dead that you've never seen, who would that be?

NovA:

Jimmy Hendrix.

Alex Gadd:

Same answer Of all the existing artists that are out playing or might be playing that you haven't seen, who is on your bucket list that you just would love to see?

NovA:

You mean aside from Elton John?

Alex Gadd:

No,

NovA:

I'm being facetious. There I, it's not that I don't love Elton John. I loved his early work. He got a little.

Alex Gadd:

It got, yeah, I'm the same way after 78. I kinda

NovA:

Yeah, he got schulze. Um, yeah. Who would I like to see now? Hmm, that's a really good question. Uh, uh, I'm not sure is I like a lot of bands. Uh, there's a, a new artist that I have just learned to love, Bahamas, and he is, uh. He's naming the group Bahamas, but his name is afi and I'll, I'll never get his last name pronounced correctly, but he's a terrific new artist. Love him and uh, I would like to see him. Yeah. Hopefully

Alex Gadd:

Good one. And if you could go to any venue in the world to see a show that you've never been to, where would that venue be?

NovA:

The Sphere,

Alex Gadd:

Oh, I, I assure you, it's well worth it.

NovA:

I know, I know it's on the bucket list.

Alex Gadd:

It's incredible.

NovA:

Yeah.

Alex Gadd:

Well, that's all I've got for you. Is there a question that I didn't ask that you'd like to share? Any information you'd like to share with the audience that we didn't cover? I.

NovA:

Whatever you wanna do in life, don't be afraid to take chances. Um, like I said, get out of your comfort zone because you never know. You may find something that you never knew you had and you might fall. You might get, pick yourself back up again, and you might find that there's something within you that you never knew you had or that you could do. And I would encourage everybody to follow their heart, which is such a cliche, but it's true. Follow what is inside you and believe in yourself and don't give up no matter what.

Alex Gadd:

I love it. thank you so much for joining us today. Uh, I'm such a fan of you. You and your music and I appreciate you stopping by to share your story with us. Um, and I look forward to seeing you in a couple weeks.

NovA:

thank you, Alex, for having me.

Alex Gadd:

Thanks for being here. And that's it for today's conversation. Thank you all for joining us. We'll be back next Tuesday, and if you like what you heard today, we'd appreciate it if you would like and either subscribe or follow to make sure you get notified about every new episode. please tell your friends. a reminder that we release a playlist for every episode. So look for the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast Playlist on Spotify every week featuring songs from the bands that we talked about on the show today. Please check that out. Additionally, we wanna know what you think, so leave us a comment and we'll try to respond to every one of them. The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast is a World Highway Media production. host, Alex Gadd, and until next time, remember that life is short, so get those concert tickets.