Band Bio
The Unlucky Shots™ are a Western Massachusetts band built around strong songwriting, memorable melodies, and arrangements that reward repeat listening. Principal songwriter Noam Schatz has written a new song every two weeks for the past ten years, a long running practice that shapes the band’s steady output and craft focused approach.
Featuring veteran local musicians Anand Nayak, Jim Bliss, and Mike Benoit, the band draws on decades of musical experience and collaboration. The Unlucky Shots favor curiosity, emotional honesty, and musical depth, making songs that feel comfortably lived in.
The Unlucky Shots™ are:
Noam Schatz: songwriting, lead vocals, and rhythm guitar.
Anand Nayak: lead guitar and harmony vocals
Mike Benoit: Drums
Jim Bliss: Bass
About Me
My name is Noam Schatz.
I first fell in love with music in the back of my father’s car, listening to cassette tapes of classics like Bill Withers, CSNY, and the Beatles.
I picked up drums at nine and began to understand my place in the world by mercilessly beating things with sticks.
I started bands in High School, taught myself guitar, played music with my best friends, began writing songs.
Went to Wesleyan to study music. I played West African drums with Abraham Adzenyah and New Music with Anthony Braxton. Many hours of devoted practice; Highlife, Hip Hop, Rock, and Jazz. It was there that we formed Mobius Band.
After we graduated, my comrades in Mobius Band and I decided to move to Western Mass and take a stab at the impossible music business. We went up. we went down, we went sideways.
Spent my thirties being a dad and playing in a variety of Western Mass bands. Got into circuit bending, learned the names of 1000 wild mushrooms, and ran a couple marathons before picking up the idea of songwriting again.
Since 2016, every two weeks, without exception, I have written and recorded a new song, over 200 and counting.