Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Notarthomas.
Hi Michael, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Syracuse, NY. I come from a musical family. My father played classical piano as a hobby. He would regularly fill our house and the street with the sounds of Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Bach and many others. Each of my 6 brothers and sisters have played one or more instruments over the years and have graced Syracuse area stages with their talents. Singing, playing and writing were things that seemed to come naturally to all of us. Although I started late, at 16, I picked up the guitar as well. As a beginner I began to self-teach. I learned some chords, began writing, and started the life-long pursuit of improving on the guitar. This was long before the internet became a thing, so at the time I picked up what I could from where I could find it. My older brothers showed me a few things as well as my friends. I often engaged in the arduous task of listening to a passage on a tape or record again and again and trying to find the notes on the guitar. Although this was difficult, and sometimes time consuming, I feel that it helped me to develop my ability to hear and distinguish and understand different notes, chords and progressions. Since I was young I was also interested in the written word and soon began to develop my love of lyric writing and applying it to melody and song structure. Over the years I have continued to hone my guitar abilities, have casually picked up other instruments (bass, keyboard, banjo) and have continued to write songs. Songwriting and guitar playing have been and continue to be the foundation of my musical expression. Today I have a strong background in songwriting, guitar playing and music overall and continue to learn and grow as a musician and songwriter.
Today, in Austin, TX, I play music professionally. I regularly play solo acoustic shows at bars, restaurants, wineries and breweries in and around Austin. I join other bands and artists as a guitar side man. I occasionally play as the Michael Notarthomas Trio. I am a part of a relatively new Johnny Cash tribute band called Cold Heart Cash. We play often in and around Austin at places like Hanover’s, Freddo ATX and The Point. I teach guitar lessons to beginner players and I do songwriting and sound/healing workshops. I recently travelled back to the Syracuse area where I played a tribute to Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley at The Ridge in Chittenango, NY.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve been a full-time employee with many companies over the years as well as a variety of gig jobs. I’ve always been interested in music and strove to make it more and more a part of my life, although largely it was relegated to nights and weekends. Although I was often needing to be at work physically, my heart, soul and mind were always inclined toward my music and songwriting. Having had many jobs which required much in the way of physical effort but little in the way of mental acuity, I would often be working out songs and lyrics as I worked. Lyrics were nearly always in my pockets and when I would get home I would work out the chords to the music I’d been hearing in my head all day. I feel that this was an important part of my musical history. As much as I wanted to do music professionally, being at jobs that I was uninterested in gave me an incentive and a drive to work out my craft and my passion. I believe now that some of those full-time jobs contributed greatly to my musical growth and development and I look back fondly on the times that I was working a job outwardly, but developing artistically inwardly.
In the early 2020’s we all experienced the pandemic. Although this was a difficult time, it also gave me the chance to make the career in music that I’d been wanting. After being laid off from my full-time job I was able to go on unemployment. At this time I knew this afforded me an opportunity. In the time between being laid off and having to go back to work again I focused myself entirely on creating ways to make music my profession. Around the time that the unemployment checks would stop coming I began to get out there and play shows, teach lessons, do workshops and do whatever related work I could do to stay afloat financially while doing what I most wanted to do and what I was best at.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a musician I strive largely to be myself and create what I want to create. As much as I love all forms of music and am a big fan of many artists, I mostly haven’t tried too hard to sound like anyone else. Of course as musicians, our influences are undoubtedly going to come out in our sound and style, but whether we do this or allow this consciously is a different question. There are, however, times when I write what I would consider my version of someone else’s style of writing, and sometimes you might be able to hear that as a listener, but ultimately that is when I’m consciously allowing an artist to influence my writing. This to me is straddling between ideas that have already been created and my own ideas in order to create something new. The biggest compliment I get as a songwriter is when someone says they can hear my sound or that “that sounded like one of your songs”. As a guitar player I do what I do and don’t try to sound like or compete with other guitar players. In today’s world there are millions of other guitar players who are technically incredible and there will always be other guitar players who can play circles around me. I find personally that trying to compete and keep up with that is not something that I’m interested in. The thing that gives me the most satisfaction as a player is not how well I compete, but how well I do my own thing. Often the guitar players that we know and recognize are not the ones that are the most proficient technically but the ones that have their own sound.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up in Syracuse I was often quiet and withdrawn. I had a lot going on behind my eyes and would often live there. It took some time to figure out who I was and what I wanted to be and do. Ultimately I think I always wanted to play music but also realized that being an artist is it’s own unique type of existence. Not everyone is and not everyone understands what it means. Figuring out how everything fits together took time and patience, trial and error. I’m glad now that I’ve grown into who I am and that I’m able to express myself as me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://michaelnotarthomasmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeltnotarthomas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mtnotarthomas
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/michael-notarthomas-95b96916
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@samohtraton
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/michael-t-notarthomas
- Other: https://coldheartcash.com/
Image Credits
Photo 1 Wesley Balli
Photo 3 Mary Notarthomas
