Gear swap and new musician shop The Noise Floor this Sunday in Joshua Tree
The Noise Floor is a new music shop and teaching facility opening soon in Joshua Tree – and you can go check it out yourself at an event coming up on Sunday. Jef Harmatz spoke with the musicians behind the project.
Kevin Zieber and Justin Worstell are the hi-desert musicians behind the Noise Floor. It’s been under construction since April, but that hasn’t stopped to duo from starting to teach in the massive space. I asked the duo to describe their vision for the shop, practice facility, and community space.
Worstell described the space, saying “The Noise Floor is a music shop, lesson shop, music supplies, instruments, and a hub for the musicians in the community. It’s a place to hang out, network, and learn.
Zieber said, “In the hi-desert, there are a lot of great spaces for musicians to get together, and there’s a lot of really wonderful producers and musicians, but there isn’t like one centralized place where we can have community events, lessons, exchange ideas about music or exchange gear. We also want to provide a space where you can buy all the tools, the little things, the tuners, the strings, the drumsticks, the little things that help you be creative and make your best art. So we really wanted to just centralize that all under one roof. And that’s of the inspiration behind The Noise Floor.”
Zieber and Worstell are currently teaching music lessons for area youngsters out of the space.
Worstell said, “We really wanted to make a space for them to also be able to learn something, be creative, play music with their friends, and, you know, just build community through music. We already had a roster of students, mostly guitar students, a couple of bass players, a couple of drummers now. So though we’re not officially open, we are having lessons and have been since we got in the building in April. We are hoping to add more instructors soon.\
Zieber said, “We want to teach more group lessons and getting people to play together. So basically teaching people how to work together in a band setting. As the music industry has changed to favor streaming, there’s a lot of incentive and pressure on artists to be like sort of solo producers, you know, bedroom musicians who do everything. And some of the art of playing together is being lost. So that’s something we really want to keep alive at The Noise Floor. And we want to make it a place for people who want to learn to play together and enjoy playing together.”
To introduce themselves to the community, Zieber and Worstell are hosting an open house event and gear swap this weekend.
Zieber described the event as “While we’re still a little bit under construction, here’s an opportunity for all the people who already own lots of things that they maybe want to sell or trade. We have a list of vendors already signed up. Some local people in the community, we’ve got some music studios, recording studios, bringing a bunch of stuff that they’re just trying to either sell or trade, whatever. I think you’ll find some really unique gear, some unique guitars, amps, and more. There will be local vendors, rare finds, and pizza from I Fall To Pizzas.”
The Gear Swap is happening on Sunday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m at The Noise Floor, located at 6416 Hallee Road, Suite A in Joshua Tree.
