Punk and jazz fusion are two of the most contrasting music genres out there. One has stripped-down arrangements with aggressive delivery, while the other has long, improvisatory passages with dynamic changes. Given these differences, it would be rare — maybe even shocking — to find someone in bands that plays both of these wildly different styles.
Noah Bielecki is that rare case. Bielecki defies this logic, as he’s currently the bassist for indie punk group Overlöded and the guitarist and founder of AshBaby, a jazz fusion-inspired jam band. As a multi-instrumentalist who regularly flexes his talent in the Storrs music scene, he brings versatility and creativity to a scene that can often be bogged down in repetitiveness.
Bielecki’s journey started with the trumpet before picking up a guitar during sixth grade, though starting to learn bass in ninth grade is what opened up his creativity and confidence. He said that “bass was my first instrument that I actually felt confident to play standing up,” as he referred to himself as a “sit-down guitarist” at the time. He sharpened his chops over the next few years by playing both instruments in the jazz band at Bolton High School.
As both a guitarist and bassist, Bielecki explained that he’s applied guitar techniques to his bass playing, something that gives him more room to create more flowing basslines.
“It’s not an instant switch, but sometimes, I’ll try to apply guitar stuff [to bass],” he said. “In a lot of my more recent Overlöded performances, I’ve been trying to use a lot of triads and arpeggios.”
Bielecki started college at the University of Connecticut’s Hartford campus during the Fall 2023 semester, where he would commute to from home. Life as a commuter was isolating, as he felt he was missing out on musical opportunities he was trying to find.
“One thing [commuting] did to me was make me sort of pessimistically lonely,” he said. “I always heard about my Berklee [College of Music] friends’ adventures, and I was always like ‘Man, I missed the boat to get better with guitar to play with people.’”
Opportunity came knocking when later that fall, he connected with Overlöded frontman Aiden Bonilla on Vamper, an app designed for musicians to connect. Bonilla was looking for a bassist to bring his music to life with a full band, and recruited Bielecki to join the new lineup. Bielecki shared that he was “kind of nervous” going into the band since he had never been in a punk band or even considered himself a punk fan, much less a punk bassist.
“It was a little scary. I didn’t know what the standard was or if I was going to come off as a poser, but I knew that there’s no genre that’s below you, it’s all stuff that’s going to help you become a better player,” he said.
After a few short weeks of rehearsal, the new-look Overlöded lineup augmented by Bielecki and lead guitarist Nathan McKenna took to the stage at WHUS Radio’s Battle of The Bands in February 2024. For Bielecki, this first show was a trial by fire: Not only was it his first time performing in a rock band, but there were hundreds of people staring back at him.
“I just rehearsed with these people less than two weeks ago, and now I’m on a stage in front of 400 people,” he said. “And I had never played in front of a crowd like that before.”
Since that first show, Bielecki has played nearly two dozen shows with the band and appeared on the group’s third album, “Miss President.” He expressed his gratitude for how welcoming the band was to him and that being in the band allowed him to get into and make connections in the local music scene.
“They welcomed me with open arms and got me into the scene,” he said. “It was really cool to be able to make connections. I tried to talk to every venue owner and get their information too.”
While his tenure with Overlöded was taking off, the seeds of a new project began to grow in Bielecki’s mind. He was itching to play guitar again and wanted to do something more jam-focused, so he made some calls and rounded up some friends to jam in February 2024.
“I got a bunch of guys because I thought ‘It’s cool to do punk stuff, but I still want to play guitar,’” he said. “And part of it was that I was sick of playing to a backing track. I wanted to get people together in a room.”
Bielecki recalled that in that jam session, “I don’t think we played particularly well, but I had a lot of fun playing.” Two of the attendees, bassist Judah Friedman and drummer Sam Brudz, would soon join Noah in AshBaby, with the trio making their debut at Storrs house venue, The Dog P0und, in September.
Bielecki recalled being “nervous out of my mind” that night, as it was the first time he would be singing live. He stepped into the role out of necessity, explaining that “unless you’re a really good guitar player, no one’s going to go see a fusion band.” However, the night ended up being a success, with the crowd dancing and swaying along to their grooves.
Since then, the now four-piece group has continued to expand their presence in the UConn music scene. He said that being a jazz fusion-inspired jam band in a scene largely made up of punk and heavier bands has gone better than expected, as “there’s not really a gatekeeping of genres” at venues.
With his work in both Overlöded and AshBaby, it has certainly been a very busy past year for Bielecki. But he’s shown little signs of slowing down anytime soon, with more shows on the way with both groups.