Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Noochin' Lanterns

A day early, here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, continuing our monthly look at randomly selected local metal, hard rock, or punk artists from the past, all picked from our band links on the SMS, in order to spotlight them for current readers! This month's pick is a relatively recent one, and while somewhat short lived, their sound and membership will be familiar to many, so here's what you should know on them!

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The Noochin' Lanterns

Genre: Power Pop/Hard Rock
 
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last known lineup in italics)

Paul Stanghetta (The Apocalypse Afterparty, The Fury), vocals/guitar
Tyler Gibson (Crucify The Whore, Rotopsy), guitar
Matthew Forster, bass
Amanda Brown* (The Apocalypse Afterparty), drums
Sarah Jackson, keyboard
Amber McKay (The Apocalypse Afterparty), synth

(*Amanda and Paul would get later get married, with Amanda taking Paul's last name, though this occurred shortly after The Noochin' Lanterns' final public update.) 

Audio/Video: The Noochin' Lanterns would release one studio track, entitled "Drop The Gloves", to YouTube in October 2017, which their sister band The Apocalypse Afterparty would perform at The Soo's Got Talent two years later. Other media is limited, partly owing to their minimal live appearances, with one surviving clip being this 30 minute jam session video shared from Paul's personal Facebook page of their January 2017 trio lineup, albeit with obscured heads. Here are The Noochin' Lanterns playing their original song "2, 3, 4" at Live705's Easter Bash at The Rockstar Bar!

Info/Analysis: Launched under the slightly modified name The Noochy Lanterns by December 2016, this band was effectively a side project for the primary members of The Apocalypse Afterparty, albeit out of their masked alter egos and donning pajamas in concert. Self-described as bringing "a fresh, hard spin to an otherwise dull & E-minory local scene", the band would primarily be seen at private house parties (often at the former Mellow D's Underground) and a series of mid-year "pop-up" concerts with intentionally minimal advertising. The Noochin' Lanterns' highest profile gig was an abbreviated synth-free set at Live705's Easter Bash at The Rockstar Bar that April, which was notably delayed and led to a divisive response that I won't get into here. Despite the release of the professionally recorded "Drop The Gloves" that October, The Noochin' Lanterns quietly fell inactive by 2018.

Sonically, The Noochin' Lanterns resembled Paul's old band The Fury, albeit including guitars here, and their energetic sound had some eclectic covers to go along with their often hard-edged brand of power pop, and they definitely stood out locally back in 2017, especially if you saw one of their private or unannounced gigs. Of course, The Apocalypse Afterparty shared a lot of obvious similarities that carried over to their mask-free resurgence in 2019 & 2020, so follow the Stanghettas there to see what they've been up to!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return to Sault Michigan for the first time in 2021 next month, as our latest random selection is of a relatively recent band, namely local classic/hard rock cover band Highway 63, who just disbanded last summer! Look for this on or around March 10th, and for more news and notes on the site this week, with a post guaranteed by Friday! Thanks everyone!