Meet Noah Leone (NOHA) | DJ & Behavior Technician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Noah Leone (NOHA) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Noah, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“Do what you can with what you have and you will always win” – anonymous

This quote always resonated with me. There have been multiple times in my life where I followed this advice by, for example, instead of longing for the most expensive and advanced DJ equipment and procrastinating on developing my craft, I made the most of the crappy equipment that I had and really learned how to use it to its full capabilities. If you can do a good job using mediocre tools then you will be pleasantly suprised and set up for success once you finally upgrade those tools. This quote doesnt just relate to tools but also gigs and opportunities. If the only gig you have is a small dive bar with an avaerage attendance of 7 people, play that gig as best as you possibly can. Then when you find yourself DJing in front of 300 people not only will you experience massive gratitude for that moment but that gratitude will propel you to perform to the best of your ability. Its all about preparing yourself for the bigger moments because if you keep at it, those bigger moments will surely come.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So I’ve been DJing for 8 years now, and my goals and visions for DJing have changed many times throughout the years. Like any worthwhile pursuit, you get into with a certain expectation, but then you realize that you are nowhere near the level that you need to be in order to actually fulfill that expectation. So you rewind a bit, and figure out what needs to happen in order for you to improve and fulfill the initial vision that you had going into it. For example, when I bought my first DJ controller from my friend Corey Lawrence in 2014 I had this vision that I would be jumping up and down playing EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and creating a space for thousands of people to feel liberated. Once I got my first paid gig (a Thursday College night that paid $100 [not bad] in Faneiul Hall, Boston) I quickly learned that despite having a full dance floor in front of me, I couldn’t just play EDM and expect eveyone to be on board with my very specific dream. You can’t just expect reality to bend, you must create that reality through a series of specific actions and intentions. I realized that not everyone wanted to hear EDM, not everyone had the same vision for their night out at the club as I did. At that moment I realized that I wanted to be a DJ that did it all, and was capable of burning the place down no matter what the occasion, whether it be a 500 person nightclub or a 50 person wedding. I didn’t want to limit myself. Thats when I started to explore Open Format DJing and spinning other genres like hip hop, pop, oldies, disco, latin, and pretty much anything that would activate a dancefloor. Thanks to my friends and family I had already listened to all kinds of music growing up, so it was kind of fun going back in the archives and re-discovering old music, but for a different purpose. Fast forward 8 years, 3 cities and many, many, gigs later, I’ve proven to myself that I can do it all, and now find myself longing for that initial fantasy I had of fueling liberated and open minded crowds with electronic dance music. I’ve felt this vision coming to fruition more and more over the last 3 years, especially since I started producing my own music in 2020.
At the end of the day I just want to do a good job and give people an unforgettable experience. Music transcends words and has the power to heal people, and I find it especially cool when that feeling is felt universally amongst a crowd of people. It creates a sense of unity, doesn’t matter who you are, what age, race, gender, or financial status you have, music has a way of leveling and connecting everyone, and in a divided and politically charged world I think its incredibly important to continue to cultivate those spaces and experiences.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Food & Drink -Rossi (for pizza)
-Brassica
-Crunchwerks (late night option, inside Cafe Bourbon st & Summit Music Hall)
-Paulie Gee’s (pizza)
-Mikeys Late Night Slice (late night option)
-Short North [neighborhood] in general is a plethora of options for food and drinks.

Drinks & Dates
– Stories on High (28th floor view of downtown Columbus)
– Elevator (casual)
– Bottle Shop (small/intimate)
– Short North [neighborhood]
– Bistrolino (intimate)

Music & Dancing (Mainstream)
– The GoGo (Disco, Pop, Throwbacks)
– Forty Deuce (Burlesque Show & Nightclub) – Easton
– The Forum (HIPS- Hip Hop & RnB)
– Short North [neighborhood]

Music & Dancing (Underground)
– Summit Music Hall
– Cafe Bourbon St
– The Vault
– Skullys Music Diner
– The Forum

Views
– Walk along the Scioto Mile
– Franklin Conservatory

Attractions
– COSI Center of Science & Industry

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Can I make a list? It would be impossible to pick just one or two.

My parents, Scott & Melissa – They have supported my dream to become a DJ since day 1. My Dad even helped me make my first logo, business cards, and my first website. We would always (and still do) brainstorm business ideas.

Andrea Leone-Pizzighella & Zeno Pizzighella (sister and brother-in-law) – My sister and her husband invited me to live with them in Maryland when I was 23 at a time when I was struggling to support myself. Having their love and support was exactly what I needed at the time and definitley what laid the foundation for my DJ career to take off between 2018-2019.

Eliza & Anna Leone (sisters) – Since we were little my sisters were awlays singing, dancing, and finding new cool music (shout out Limewire and Kazaa) and I know for a fact this initially is what exposed me to music outside of the Top 40 realm and all the other mainstream programs that we are fed.

Ralph Howard – Ralph is a full time DJ and owner of RMR Entertainment. He is repsonsible for booking a large portion of DJ talent in Baltimore, MD. Meeting Ralph in 2018 brought on endless DJ opportunities which was exactly what I was looking for after having just moved to Maryland. The gigs I played with RMR ranged anywhere from bars, nightclubs, sporting events, public parks, charity events, and much much more. I credit these years as the ones that molded me as a DJ and really helped me hone my craft.

MMMMaven School of Electronic Music in Cambridge, MA – MMMMaven is where I took an Intro to DJing course along with a Muisc production course using Ableton. The staff and instructors consisted of some of the most humble and truly skilled people I have ever met in the field. Shout out to Sarah, Charles M, and Jason D for expanding my mind in the world of music and DJing.

Last but not least some friends, venues, colleagues, and collectives who have played a major roll and still currently do (in no particular order): Corey Lawrence, Rebecca Votaw, Bryan Caicedo, The Charles, Cheri McDonald, TJ Pruden, John Schneider, Gini & Jim Gee, Chip Geiss, Hannah Jane, Greg Finley, Zac Zabel, Shuffle 614, RUN614, Aaron Austen, Deep Field, Lizsco, Kareem El-Hosseiny, The GoGo, Dahlia, Equinox, Sign of the Times, Seb Skalski, SpekuLLa Records, Forty Deuce, Stalking Horse, Nobles, Stories on High, Fireproof, Alex Gordon, My Best Friends Party, Neil Jaye, Harborside Lounge, Mike Kelley, James Caudle, Sergio Perrotta, Andrew Wheeler, and Ivan Kane.

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Gd8khtakZ4dbxrb8s4UUA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noha_music/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-leone-90607a238/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noah.leone

Other: https://soundcloud.com/djnoha_music

Image Credits
Will Whitelaw, Tim Evans, Micah James, Chase Gilroy