The Career of Noah Sebastian: Age, Wife, Tattoos, Bad Omens
Contents
Noah Sebastian is a 28-year-old American singer, songwriter and producer for the metalcore and nu-metal band Bad Omens.
Early life and education
Noah Sebastian was born on 31 October 1995, in Richmond, Virginia State, USA, where he grew up, raised by his grandparents, who regularly attended a Christian church, and his mother. Noah told New Noise Magazine that his grandparents were Republican, and that as a child he listened to the keynotes and speeches of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the US.
Noah told CaliberTV that his father died in a car accident when he was 11, and implied that he was in the car but survived. According to his interview with Revolved Magazine, Noah dropped out of school at 15, shortly before 10th grade. He explained that his grandfather, who passed away shortly before he left school, was his only father figure, and enforced discipline.
Source of career
Noah’s grandfather motivated him to sing in the church choir, which sparked his interest in music. Moreover, his mother, who died in 2011, allowed him to do whatever he wanted without repercussions, so they had a flawed relationship with no structure, however, his family struggles inspired his songwriting. Moreover, Noah credits his mother for instilling respect for all skin colors, nationalities, and sexual identities. He admitted that he was lucky to have good friends who took him in after he left his grandparents’ house. In hindsight, Noah was surprised but happy that he barely drank alcohol, and never tried hard drugs as a teenager.
Noah revealed that he had to lie about his age when he joined his first music group at 12, a Virginia-based worship/tribute band to the British rock band Enter Shikari, formed in 1999.
Noah also said that as a teenager, he listened to Eminem, The Weeknd, Disturbed, and Fall Out Boy. Moreover, he was never religious, but he acknowledged that God and the Devil exist and liked incorporating the good versus evil theme in his songs. Noah also told Indiebandguru that his early inspirations include bands such as Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, and Nine Inch Nails. He was also largely inspired by the film music composer Hans Zimmer.
Career
Noah’s publicly known career started in 2013, when he began writing lyrics to metal songs while he played the guitar for the Immoralist act based in Washington, DC. He got the idea to form a band, but didn’t plan on naming it Bad Omens, and didn’t make any significant efforts to start it until 2014, when he left Immoralist. He revealed that Caleb Shomo from the Beartooth band and Landon Tewers, the Plot in You’s frontman, inspired his solo project. According to Noah, they wrote and produced nearly all songs for their bands, which he didn’t know was possible.
Noah also knew that music was a competitive business, and according to his Soundfiction interview, researched entrepreneurship, business development, marketing, and music management. He acknowledged that his manager, Jason Malhoyt, who worked for Enlighten Creative Studio and Imperial Artist Management, taught him much about economics, people management, web design, and advertising.
Forming Bad Omens
According to Noah’s New Noise Magazine interview, in 2015 he reached out to Nicholas Ruffilo, an old friend who played bass, lead and rhythm guitar. Afterwards, they turned Noah’s solo project, entitled Man Vs. Self at the time, into a two-person band. Another friend, Vincent Riquier, joined the band as bass guitar player and backing vocalist, and invited his friend and collaborator, Joakim “Jolly” Karlsson, who played lead guitar and rhythm guitar. Noah, Nicholas, and Jolly also had experience with music production, giving them additional confidence.
Noah Sebastian pic.twitter.com/7Up0A1c4ms
— Bad Omens Updates (@BadOmensUpdates) August 7, 2016
The four-person band moved to one location for easier collaboration, and then posted an online advertisement for a drummer and percussionist – Nick Folio responded, and completed the setup. Afterwards, Jolly contacted a friend who had started a small record label, and they agreed to produce some songs. At that point, the band’s planned early track, “Bad Omens,” was renamed “Glass Houses,” and Bad Omens became the band’s name.
Jolly shared with Kerrang that a dusty fan caught fire during one of their early brainstorming sessions. However, they attributed the smoke to cheap speakers close to a blowout. Thankfully, the fire department showed up in about two minutes, and extinguished the flame before it could consume the room.
Signing with Sumerian Records
Noah and Bad Omens released five tracks on an untitled demo extended play (EP) album through the small record label. The well-known rock, metal and country record label Sumerian Records, which has signed bands such as Black Veil Brides, Animals As Leaders, I See Stars, and Poppy, noticed the album almost immediately. Consequently, after months of band practice, Sumerian Records sent the band to Belleville, New Jersey, US, to record their debut album at Graphic Nature Audio. They also recorded some music in Nick’s basement in Frederick, Maryland.
Noah told Revolver Magazine that he didn’t hesitate to sign a deal, because he ‘couldn’t afford the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) grind, which in his opinion, ‘involved traveling in a van and playing for 20 people at every show for years.’ Additionally, he clarified to CaliberTV that while the demo songs were his creation, all band members pitched in on the EP. The label officially released the band’s debut single, “Glass Houses,” in December 2015 and another notable single, “Exit Wounds,” a month later.
Using the influx of interest in their work, Bad Omens played at the Sumerian Records 10 Year Tour and Ten Years in the Black Tour. As expected, both brought attention to the band’s debut self-titled album, released on 19 August 2016 while they were touring. Noah told New Noise Magazine that during that period his favorite bands were Cane Hill and Deftones.
Inspiration
Noah explained that most of the lyrics revolved around topics such as mental health problems, addiction, desperation, and depression. He told Sumerian Records in an interview that personal struggles with an unhealthy relationship, presumably with his mother, inspired his sound and lyrics. According to Alternative Press, the general critique of the first album was that the songs sounded too similar to those of the metalcore band Bring Me the Horizon, particularly the band’s 2013 album, “Sempiternal.”
Noah stated that these accusations sounded ‘flattering but frustrating because their goal was to sound unique.’ Noah noted that nearly a dozen bands inspired him and that, in his opinion, the two bands share a great taste in music. He also speculated that the reason for the similarity was that he ‘wasn’t a confident singer whatsoever, so masked the full potential of his voice.’ Noah told Revolver Magazine that the band moved to Los Angeles, California in 2016, and viewed his partnership with Jolly, with whom he wrote many songs, as similar to the duo of singer Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, who penned and produced many of her songs.
Touring and controversy
Bad Omens continued to promote its debut album by touring in 2017 and early 2018, then paused to record its second album. Unfortunately,the founding member Vincent Riquier left the band during that period.
Fans were happy when the band announced that they would be the opening act on the 2019 Misery Will Find You Tour, headlined by bands The Amity Affliction and Senses Fail. Sadly, on the day the promoters announced the tour, Bad Omens pulled out of the engagement, Noah accusing the two bands of intentionally downsizing their logo in the promotional material, and refusing to send them leaflet samples beforehand. In response, the two bands accused them of failing to comply with the contract terms, and started a public bullying campaign, according to MetalInsider.net.
Consequently, Bad Omen released a new t-shirt design that featured the band’s name in a small font to mark and mock the event, and symbolize their struggle against power abuse. Noah told Metal Anarchy that he had a mental breakdown in 2017, and that the taunting forced him to stand up for his band and inspire other up-and-coming musicians.
The negative publicity, mainly from social media users making the band’s logo vastly larger on official leaflets, implying that Noah was entitled, positively affected interest in the band’s second studio album. “Finding God Before God Finds Me”, released on 2 August 2019, and Bad Omens then launched their first headliner US tour in February and March of the following year. The tour was scheduled to continue in May, but the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which adversely affected in-person events, halted the band’s plans.
Return and plans
Bad Omens used a two-year break from touring to record its third full-length album, “The Death of Peace of Mind,” released on 25 February 2022. Noah commented that the album satisfied him personally; before its release, he ‘had an inflated ego, sky-high standards, and was arrogant and condescending because he felt that he had something to prove.’ The band members joined Underoath on the band’s Voyeurist Tour, then headlined a tour across North America with Make Them Suffer, Thousand Below, and Dayseeker for the rest of the year.
In early 2023, Bad Omens toured Europe and played throughout North America in the fall of 2023 after a summer break. Unfortunately, Noah had a throat or vocal cord infection in late September and early October 2023, forcing the band to cancel performances in Portland, Oregon, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Tempe, Arizona. In June 2023, Backseat Mafia confirmed that Bad Omens agreed to support the Bring Me The Horizon band on their tour, scheduled to begin in January 2024. Additionally, the band scheduled new dates for the canceled shows, which according to Iambgoat, will take place in late April and early March 2024.
Social media
Noah Sebastian has a moderate following on his Instagram and TikTok accounts, both under the handle @noahsebastiannn, having amassed over 200,000 followers and 50,000 followers on these accounts, respectively.
Noah’s social media accounts revealed some of his interests, including one of his favorite TV series, “True Detective,” which premiered in 2014. He also liked the “No Country for Old Men” movie released in 2007, with one of his favorite actors, Javier Bardem, in the lead role.
Noah also provided insights into his music production processes on TikTok. Simultaneously, Noah live-streamed the song-making sessions in the Logic Pro X audio software on his YouTube channel, @noahsebastian4365, and shared behind-the-scenes footage on the band’s YouTube channel, @badomens666. According to Equipboard.com, a website that tracks professionals’ music equipment, Noah used the Apple iMac 27 Retina 2014 monitor, Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones, and Shure SM7B microphone.
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Discussing his success
Revolver Magazine speculated that the main reason for the band’s recent success was the snippet of the song “Just Pretend,” widely used in TikTok videos in May 2023. Noah disputed that, and said that about 80 percent of their US tour tickets were sold out before the song went viral. Furthermore, he attributed that success to constant progress since 2020; he trained his voice and focused on sleeping better, eating better, and being healthier during the lockdown period. Noah clarified that he spent less time inside; he wrestled and practiced jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai, both combat disciplines. He also practiced an unusual way of producing or mixing, which he called ‘backwards and insane’, providing an example of him selecting a piano part, adding a vocal based on it, and then building a song around the vocal while eliminating the instrumental. He said that ‘he didn’t want the instrumental, but couldn’t have created the vocal without it.’
Noah also feels that the band’s third album and the subsequent tour fast-forwarded their career climb by about three to four years. He also admitted that posting infrequently and saying little via social media became a strategy. He clarified, ‘When the quiet guy in the room doesn’t say anything at all, then finally does, people listen.’ Additionally, Noah conquered his fear that the newfound success is temporary, and noted that ‘they simply have to avoid doing whatever every other band is doing’ to stay relevant.
Noah also told NME.com that the band’s primary goal is to expand musical horizons, as he views the metalcore genre as a spectrum. In the interview with Kerrang, Noah said that he realized that rapper Eminem inspired him to introduce electronic sounds into his music from the start, citing Eminem’s 2005 album, “Curtain Call: The Hits,” as the primary inspiration for his desire to make heavy metal diverse and exciting. t
Noah also plans to use his newfound recognition to fight shady practices, such as his 2019 touring incident. Moreover, he pointed out that many venues take 20 percent of the merchandise sales when a band performs. On the other hand, the bands don’t get a cut of the profits from food or drinks, even when the promoters name them after a band or a song.
Wife
Noah Sebastian hasn’t dated anyone publicly.
Physical characteristics
Noah Sebastian has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, is 6ft 3ins (1.9m) tall, and weighs about 172lbs (78kgs).
Tattoos
Most of Noah Sebastian’s skin is covered in tattoos, but the most prominent spans across his back, from his neck to his lower back, and features colored Jesus Christ with a crown of thorns and a heart on fire at the bottom between two roses. Noah also has a massive chest tattoo that reaches his Adam’s apple. It starts with a girl beside a skeleton with a top hat surrounded by flowers holding a heart tattooed on his neck. Noah’s forearms and knuckles also have several interwoven tattoos, while the top of his left hand has a mandala flower. The top of his right has a dinosaur or dragon whose body starts at the top of Noah’s forearm.
Noah has the image of Itachi Uchiha, a character from the Japanese anime series “Naruto,” on his left thigh, a rose on his right knee, and a devil mask under his left. On his left calf, he has the artist’s representation of someone resembling singer Kenny Rogers taking a picture. Although he rarely shows them, the WikiFeet.com website has images of his foot tattoos. He has a statue of a devil girl on the top of his right foot, and an Indian-looking woman on his left.’
Net worth
Noah Sebastian has a net worth estimated at over $1 million, as of late-2023. He moved to Los Angeles in 2016 and told Revolver Magazine that Bad Omen band members do not seek fame or a lavish lifestyle. Noah lives in the Los Angeles house with Jolly, and finds that it inspires his creativity. He also noted that band members and friends often sleep near the room they converted into their studio, despite several unoccupied rooms. Lastly, Bad Omens frequently records everything but the drums in the home studio, because it lets Noah use ‘thousands of hours of production tutorials that he watched on YouTube.’
