Noelle Picara

Who’s Noelle Picara?
Noelle Picara is the bastard child of Ben Folds and Fiona Apple, a female singer/songwriter who shatters the stereotype of female singer/songwriters. She uses her unique style of Piano Rawk to empower herself and others to crawl, walk, run, and then fly. Just like anyone else, she is muddling through and trying to make sense of this life, and writing songs is the way she expresses this journey.



How you got started in the music scene?
I’ve been playing the piano since I could reach the keys, and I trained as a classical singer from the ages of 15 to 23. I played my own songs in my living room for a long time before I got the courage to play them for other people.



What’s the method at the time of writing a song?
I almost always write the entire piano part first, and then I come up with a melody and finally write the lyrics. It’s easier to write the lyrics once I already have the framework of the rhythm and the music to fit them into.



What’s are your music influences?
I discovered Tori Amos in 7th grade; I would probably have given up playing the piano, but when I heard her a light bulb went off in my mind – “Oh, you can play the piano like THAT?” Since then I’ve branched out into my own style based off of other influences – Radiohead, PJ Harvey, Dresden Dolls, and hard rock bands like Deftones, Korn, and a Perfect Circle.



Talk to us more about this campaign of yours, The 50 Song Summer.
I’m working on getting my 10,000 hours in songwriting – there is a new theory that in order to be an expert in anything you need to spend 10,000 hours doing it. If my songs aren’t famous yet, then I think I need to write better songs. I’m writing 5 songs a week for 10 weeks, and my fans on Facebook and Twitter contribute the ideas for songs – it’s interactive.



So tell us more about your upcoming single, Zombie Girl. How was the recording and writing process?
I wrote Zombie Girl because I feel like a lot of girls are walking around, but they’re dead inside. As a survivor of child abuse, a lot of my life I felt dead inside and I took it out on other people. As I started playing the song live, it really took on another meaning. What if someone killed you and left you for dead, but instead you came back as something powerful and terrifying? That’s extremely empowering. I think women are taught to be nice and polite, and we really need to give ourselves permission to be more aggressive.



So what has been the funniest moment you have been or took part while touring or playing a show?
During the CD release for my first EP “Realer than Reality” in April 2011, this crazy girl who I think was on LSD ran up onto the stage and starting hugging me in the middle of a song. She was saying, “I love you, I can see your soul!” I didn’t quite know what to do but I just stopped and said, “that’s great, do you want to sign up for my mailing list?” It ended up being funny later. I’m just glad she didn’t stab me or anything – at least she was a nice crazy person.



Are there any plans for the future we should be aware of?
Zombie Girl will be released on October 20th as a single, and the video is coming out in February. Make sure to like my page on Facebook to keep up to date or sign up for my newsletter on my website.



Where can we find more about your music?
My website is command central – you can find everything there – http://www.noellepicara.com

- Vents Magazine

Eye candy, ear candy and "rock" candy will be served by four charming frontwomen on Jan. 18 during the "Electric Ladyland" concert at World Café Live at the Queen.
The night will feature piano rocker Noelle Picara (Wilmington), rock-n-roll outfit Sylvan Wolfe (Wilmington), rock/soul and funk band Sweet Leda (Annapolis, Md.) and rock/soul outfit Lovebettie (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
Christa Boeykens, 36, from Sylvan Wolfe, and Picara, 33, gave a snapshot of what guests can expect from them at the show, their views on frontwomen in today's music industry, and zombies.
Q What does it mean to you to share the stage with three other frontwomen?
Boeykens: It's super exciting. It's great to see other women in the rock genre.
Picara: It's a huge honor to share the stage with them because they're such great musicians and have made a really good name for themselves.
Q What do both of you bring to the show?
Boeykens: Sylvan Wolfe brings the rock-n-roll.
Picara: I'm kind of out there [laughs]. I've been performing in my shows in zombie makeup since August. I wrote this song "Zombie Girl" in spring and it transformed the way I see myself. I think there are many people who feel dead and they're walking around like zombies.
Q So why do you dress up like a zombie?
Picara: When people see me they're like whaaat?! But I actually feel a lot more natural like this. I'm really into performance art. I also really like the whole idea of putting together two things that are opposites. I make myself like really bloody, gruesome and wear a really fancy dress.
Q You're going to wear fake blood and a fancy dress at Electric Ladyland?
Noelle: Yep.
Q Noelle will be performing "Zombie Girl" at Ladyland. Christa, what's one of the songs you'll be performing?
Boeykens: I think our favorite song right now is "In the Sands." The song is about being in large crowded spaces and still feeling by yourself. The ironic thing is people want to be social and don't want to feel alone. But people like me are always surrounded by large groups and still feel alone.
Q Is it fair to say women write songs from a different perspective than men?
Picara: I'm very against gender stereotyping — that is a big part of my message as an artist, probably addressed most directly in my song "What's a Woman." Each person writes songs from his or her own individual perspective in the world and our personal experiences affect our voices as songwriters much more than whether or not we have boobs.
Boeykens: I think some women for sure, obviously. But for me, personally, I don't.
- Hockessin Community News

Brandywine Hundred pianist and singer Noelle Picara doesn’t write comedic songs like her so-called celeb-dating friend. Having lived on Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the past seven years – with her husband Jesse, who is a technical sergeant in the Air Force – Picara sings more about politics and has a heart for reminding listeners that their voice is as mighty as any political leader.

In Germany she discovered firsthand how different that country was from the United States: their economy is stronger; their country offers free healthcare and its average citizen earns a higher wage than the average American citizen, despite working less hours.

Picara’s song: “More, More, More” was inspired by the U.S. government’s decision to bailout Wall Street in 2008, and “it’s about the super rich who want more and take that away from people who really need it,” she said. “It’s really helpful for me to see how people live in other parts of the word. My music is not negative at all. I want to always make people aware that things in society aren’t always fair or some things need to change, but I always do it from a positive angle.”

In addition to performing her own set, Picara will perform two songs with Schain – who is eagerly looking forward to collaborating with the pianist.

“The woman plays like a fiend,” Schain said. “She’s so good. The first time I met Noelle, I was so blown away with her talent. I wanted to be her friend the first time I saw her.”
- Middletown Transcript