Biography and Pictures

Biography

Jeff Noller has been the creative force behind the band Skittish for over 10 years. Sprung from the lake country of Minnesota in 2007, Skittish has earned critical acclaim for the Paul Simon meets Arcade Fire blend of bedroom folk-rock. Choosing the name Skittish was a nod to the kinship and calm Noller has found around animals, and less so around people. Other musicians seem to be the exception to that preference, because although he writes and records on his own, many talented Midwest musicians have joined Noller in the Skittish lineup over the years.

Written and recorded by Jeff Noller in 2021, the latest Skittish release is “Everything Loose Slides to California.” Also featuring vocals by Brianna Tagg, live drums by Jeremy Krueth, and slick piano licks by Chris Lahn. This EP was recorded and mixed in a bedroom and mastered by Greg Reierson (Sufjan Stevens, Prince, The Cure) Noller describes the new release below.

Indoors, time expands and contracts like the accordion of some cruelly trained monkey. I couldn’t tell how long I’d been in Minnesota, but my ever-bouncing right leg was joined by my left, and before I knew it, I was living in a guest house in Los Angeles. This trek westward inspired the new Skittish EP “Everything Loose Slides to California.”

Taken from the Mark Twain quote “America is built on a tilt and everything loose slides to California,” the title seemed appropriate for the last few years, when America was less on a tilt and more like a cliff. Thousands became untethered from jobs and relationships, left to shift with the unpredictable, and I was no different.

The new Skittish EP speaks to obscene class divides, the strange places we find ourselves in, and the longing nostalgia for less chaotic days. Its simple and honest. I’ve learned that being grounded and stable are just fleeting moments on an arch, bent toward the coasts, where you end up sliding when nothing’s left to tie you down. Good or bad, change is always an adventure, and I’m living mine while I can.

I hope others find a little well-earned adventure too.

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