I sat down with brothers Max and Dylan Satow (CC ‘26) of Noshows ahead of Battle of the Bands to discuss their musical inspirations– from Guitar Hero to The Beatles, their upcoming feature at Battle of the Bands, and what is next in store for Noshows.
LILLI: Thank you guys for doing this! Can you both tell me a bit about yourself?
DYLAN: I’m a sophomore in CC and I’m majoring in math and computer science, and I’m in the Jazz Program at Columbia. I play trumpet for Noshows.
Max: I’m a producer and multi-instrumentalist and I majored in jazz composition at Bard College, so I have a bit of a jazz background. Aside from music, I love snowboarding and traveling.
LILLI: When did you start making music, how did you get into it?
MAX: Funny enough, I was obsessed with Guitar Hero 3 in fifth grade. Eventually I was beating all the songs, getting those high scores and I was like, what am I doing here playing a video game when I could play real guitar? I got really obsessed with practicing and wanted to get really good at guitar. From there, I got into songwriting and production in high school which all built up to Noshows.
LILLI: That’s awesome, now I wanna try Guitar Hero. I’m curious about the name Noshows, any story behind that?
MAX: I write about a lot of topics that are more cerebral, about what goes on in the mind; I like to explore the topics of things that are not shown, the feelings that people don’t necessarily see when you see a person for the first time. But we all relate, because we all feel those ways.
LILLI: And who are some of your biggest musical inspirations?
MAX: Tame Impala, MGMT, Still Woozy, Gorillaz, The Strokes, The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers (a pick still surviving from the middle/high school rotation)
DYLAN: My favorite trumpet players are Clifford Brown, Kenny Dorham. But on a more daily basis: Still Woozy, Dominic Fike, Mac Demarco, Arctic Monkeys, too much Red Hot Chili Peppers, and I’ll have periods of time where I only listen to The Beatles and nothing else for like a month.
LILLI: Can’t go wrong with The Beatles. What are three words that describe your genre/style?
MAX: Pop, Hip-hop, Indie-rock
LILLI: You write and produce your own music, so what is that creative process like for you?
MAX: It’s evolved over the years, but I like to get a cool instrumental going and sing nonsense words to myself for a while. Once something sticks, I take that melody or beat and ask, how does this make me feel? I try to reflect and write from the perspective of where I’m at emotionally and what emotion the beat is giving off. Afterwards, once the base is all made I’ll add little bells and whistles, guitar fills and things.
LILLI: Congrats on Battle of the Bands! Do you have any pre-show routines?
MAX: I usually try to surround myself with as much good energy and positivity as possible. The more laughs I can get in before the show, the more things that get me high energy, the better. If I have a private space I’ll try to do some meditation. Grabbing a beer never hurts either.
DYLAN: I try to finish all my homework really fast so I don’t have to worry about that. I also like to listen to the music to really get it in my head, but overall I just try to stay as chill as possible before a show.
LILLI: What would be your dream Bacchanal lineup?
MAX: Tame Impala, MGMT, The Strokes
DYLAN: Still Woozy, Arctic Monkeys, Dominic Fike
LILLI: I know you guys just put out two new singles in November– Getaway and All Good. What Noshows song are you most proud of?
MAX: A song called “Paranoid,” because I feel like it has the perfect balance of pop, catchy songwriting and also flashy musicianship. I’ve always been a music nerd in my heart, so my goal has always been to make something that’s fun but also something the music nerds will hear and be like “that’s cool man!” That’s my favorite that I’ve released so far.
LILLI: So people should stay tuned?
MAX: Tell ‘em to stay tuned!
LILLI: And what are your favorite songs to perform?
MAX: “Paranoid” by Noshows. Dylan has a cool trumpet line in the chorus, so I get to give him some attention, and I have a killer guitar solo at the end– what’s not to love about that when you’re in a band?
DYLAN: I’m a pretty big fan of “Danger.” Me and Max have a pretty big unison solo at the end.
LILLI: For Dylan, what does it mean to you to perform for your peers as a Columbia student?
DYLAN: It’s pretty awesome! It’s pretty nice to play a bigger show at Columbia—sometimes it’s a pain to get people to come to a show that’s an hour away, so it’s a real cool thing to be able to play right at home, right at Columbia. And I’m excited to see the other bands and get a better taste of the Columbia music scene!
LILLI: Alright kind of a cheesy question, but what does it mean to you to be able to work and create with your brother? Does that family element play a role in your group dynamic?
MAX: Yeah, definitely. It’s brought us closer, having a brother that also plays music is super cool. Seeing him get better is so cool—to me it’s a great thing.
DYLAN: Yeah, and a big thing that got me into music was seeing Max be so good at it. It’s a very cool feeling to be able to play with him after seeing him do all this stuff and wanting to get to his level. And going to college in the city so I can still be able to play with him is really amazing.
MAX: It’s very cool that we get to perform together.
LILLI: That’s so sweet, I love that. What’s next for the Noshows? Where do you see yourselves/ the band in a year?
MAX: The big move is to try to get a tour together, get out of the state a little. We’ve never had a proper tour, so that is in the books. Bigger venues, bigger events, bigger crowds—that’s how I see it.
LILLI: Dylan, are you gonna go on tour?
DYLAN: (laughs) I gotta debate taking the gap semester, ya know, who knows?
LILLI: After Battle of the Bands, where can fans catch you performing next?
MAX: We’ll be playing at the Mercury Lounge on Feb 21st at 9pm. It’s an 18+ show so everybody can come through! No excuses!
Check out Noshows on Spotify and catch them at Battle of the Bands this Thursday!