Today we’d like to introduce you to Noah Bauer.
Hi Noah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I come from a musical family! My mother, Rebecca, is a classically trained singer who grew up singing from the Swedish Covenant Hymnal. My father, Richard, would sing to my brother, Nico, and me at all hours of the day, belting out his favorite Elvis, Nat King Cole, or Sinatra tune. He was born in Minneapolis, but after my grandfather was killed in a convenience store robbery, he rode in a truck with my grandmother and two uncles down through Central America to Chiriquí, Panama, where he grew up. Eventually, they moved back to Minneapolis, which led my parents to meet at a WCCO survey call center in the late 1980s. My father’s family embraced my Minnesotan-Swede mother with endless warmth and introduced her to salsa music and dance. She loved salsa so much that when I was in the womb, she’d play it through a speaker against her belly to feel my reactions and movements. I’m endlessly grateful to have grown up with parents who loved the arts and nurtured me and my imagination. They had a diverse and inspiring CD collection, featuring masterpieces by Santana, Prince, Sheila E., Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, and more. My older brother, Nico, too, introduced me to phenomenal music and art at key moments in my development: Guitar Hero, metal, hip-hop, and all the best art that only older siblings can curate. All the music I create today can be traced back to my family, especially those who are no longer with us.
In 2005, my uncle Bradley, who was a musical savant with an encyclopedic knowledge of classic rock, passed away from pneumonia complications after a life in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy. My uncle’s passing, as well as her own worsening health, led my maternal grandmother, Priscilla, to take her own life in 2009. Her loss left my family with loads of grief and furniture, including an upright piano. The intensity of all this led my nine-year-old self to learn the piano on YouTube. It felt blissful to rest my head on the cold keys and surrender my grief to the clanging and warmth of the felt-covered hammers and steel strings. The reverberations through the wooden frame brought me into the present and healed many of my pains. These powerful experiences led me to pick up the trumpet, drums, guitar, and bass, and to sing and write songs. All the influences, both joyous and tragic, led to an explosion of creativity and study that continues to this day.
I fuse these influences in my salsa-rock project, Panasueco, which features salsa percussion and rhythms paired with rock guitar and metal breakdowns, all set on a Minneapolis-inspired funk foundation. I record all the arrangements in my apartment in Northeast Minneapolis and send them to my friends/bandmates, who then create their own versions to play live. Their interpretations deeply inspire me, and I’m so blessed to know them. Bobby Colbert (who is also my godfather and a brilliant percussionist), Evan Espinoza Robles, RAWTWHYLAH, Caleb Bowron, Peter Calen, and Ninchai, who expertly fronts the band with me, have ignited the stage over the past two years. I’m constantly recording, releasing new music, and performing, and I’m excited to share my love for salsa music and rock ‘n’ roll with as many people as possible.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I struggle every day to tend to my Panic Disorder. It takes a strict regime of journaling, meditation, biking, yoga, patience, and compassion to get through the week. Most of my challenges have been self-made, based on patterns of thinking influenced by trauma, which lead to self-doubt. The panic disorder can make performing unnecessarily difficult. For example, a few months ago, I was performing at a venue with weak AC on a sweltering day, and the physical discomfort of loading in musical gear was close enough to my typical panic attack symptoms that my body just launched into a full-on panic attack out of familiarity. I had to lie on the back seat of my car in the air conditioning, humming and breathing heavily, to get on stage. It was particularly annoying because I don’t usually experience them while performing, but it’s an unpredictable variable that can occur and tends to limit my vocal range. I am getting better at managing it, though. I’m especially grateful to Buddhist scholars and visionaries like Thich Nhat Hanh, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Dawa Gyaltsen, bell hooks, and Pema Chodron, who have taught me how to better embrace these feelings and situations with compassion and by recognizing the nature of my mind.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am most proud of my ability to create and collaborate across many genres! I love that my music is bilingual and combines various styles like salsa, rock, jazz, and metal. My music is truly a representation of myself and my family.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Many people have shaped my music. David Billingsley, the third-grade music teacher at my elementary school, encouraged me to continue playing the piano and to take up the drums, for which I am eternally grateful. My high school theatre director, Nicholas Freeman, also believed in my singing and performing abilities more than I did, and inspired me to work on my stage presence and refine my vocals. My college band director, Dr. Joe Lil, also instilled in me a love for improvisation, composition, and emotional expression, which heavily influences my work today. Additionally, my partner of six years, Gabriella, is instrumental to my work, as she develops many of the visual elements for my music, wardrobe, and inspires me every day to be a better musician, artist, and person. My paternal grandmother, Edna, also advises me every week on my music, business, and life, and has been instrumental in shaping my life and art.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elpanasueco/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-j-bauer-2b541318b?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elpanasueco
