Mixtape: Feeling lucky: ‘Second Tongue’ is the new album from local indie rockers The Lucky Shots

By Jennifer Levesque
For the Valley Advocate

Local musician Noam Schatz has been playing drums in bands since he was 14 years old. I took a look at his website for his band The Lucky Shots, and I was in awe: The list of bands he’s been in since the ’90s is impressive. Some I’ve heard of and others I’ve yet to discover.

I’m always fascinated to learn of local bands I haven’t heard of before. I end up going down an investigative rabbit hole and inevitably find a collection of other bands and musicians linked to them. We are very lucky (pun intended) to live in an area full of so much music that you’ll never get bored.

In 2016, Schatz played a songwriting game with a few musician friends. Every two weeks, he wrote and recorded a new song based on ideas they would throw at each other. During that time, they decided to group together and perform the songs live at a few shows under the name Two Week Notice. Schatz was able to showcase the songs he wrote and be front and center singing them, instead of in his normal spot, which is behind the drum kit.

“At a certain point, I decided I had gained enough songs and, more importantly, confidence to start my own band,” he said. “I asked a few of my friends from the music scene to join me, and The Lucky Shots were born.”

Joining Schatz (who plays rhythm guitar and vocals) in the band is Anand Nayak on lead guitar and harmony vocals, Jim Bliss on bass, and Mike Benoit on the drums.

They played here and there with their collection of songs, but once the pandemic hit, everything was halted. During that time, Schatz compiled some of the songs and in 2023 released the band’s debut album, “Count to Nothing.” Once it was time for the album release show, the band was back together. “Fortunately everybody was able and willing, and we’ve had a great time since,” he said.

Since Schatz was writing a new song every two weeks since 2016, the collection became an ever-growing set list at live performances.

“The live songs had so much more in them than I could possibly do by myself, that I quickly started to think about how we could capture that sound for a new record,” Schatz explained. “On my demos and first two releases, I play most everything myself. That can be very cool, because you are in tight control, but you lose a certain element of the unknown, because how can you really surprise yourself?”

With each member bringing their own special talents and personality to the project, collaboration was key for Schatz to capture that live feeling onto the album. “As a guy who has spent a lot of time alone in my attic laboratory, tinkering with sounds and songs, the joy of collaborative creativity cannot be overstated,” he said.

The album, “Second Tongue,” was recorded with local musician and producer Monte Arnstam at his 1357 Recording Studio in Greenfield. The band loved Arnstam’s “relaxed, positive energy and the comfy atmosphere.”

They booked the weekend and performed the songs live to the recording. They started at the beginning of their selection of songs and ended with the last song on that list. The track order on the album is the order in which they recorded them, which is rather unique.

“Our guitar player Anand Nayak and I took the recordings and added vocals, harmonies, overdubs, and miscellaneous nonsense, which [Nayak] did a masterful job mixing, but the core of this record happened live in a room together,” Schatz explained.

From start to finish, the entirety of  “Second Tongue” has a very relaxing, calming vibe to it. However, it also has a rawness to it. The feeling of excitement is visceral, as if you’re out for the night enjoying live music at your favorite local venue.

One of Schatz’s favorite songs on the album, “The Forest Philosopher,” was inspired by a suggestion to combine two words that don’t necessarily belong together and then create a phrase from it.

“I made a list of such uncommon combos that included things like ‘impossible smile,’ ‘thorough misunderstanding,’ ‘dappled conversation,’ ‘dream carpenter,’ ‘rare melody’ and a bunch more,” he explained. “I pulled the song together using these phrases to paint a sort of impressionistic self portrait.”

“Night and Day” is my favorite track on the album. It has a slightly more energetic vibe to it, and the percussion reminds me of a techno beat, which is cool and unexpected. “Bitter Pill” has an old bluesy rock thing going on — I dig the static in the beginning of the song — and I love the lyric: “Woke up feeling like ass, they call this getting old / The tank is low on gas, and the engine’s cold.”

And what can I say, I’m a sucker for a good guitar solo. “The Age of Bewilderment” is a smooth tune with loads of charisma. I thoroughly enjoyed the guitar solo at 1:20.

“This record is the first time I’ve taken my excellent live band into the studio, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the music that has emerged!” Schatz said.

You can check out The Lucky Shots live at Progression Brewery in Northampton on May 9 at 7 p.m., with no cover charge. You can also check out their recordings and loads more at www.luckyshotsmusic.com.