Meet Noah Khorey of Colony Collapse

Today we’d like to introduce you to Noah Khorey.

Noah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always been interested in music, like my dad before me. I started playing my first instruments from a young age and always loved singing, which is my role in Colony Collapse. When I was 15, I met Jaxon Stunden, our guitarist, and ever since, he and I have been writing songs, building our chemistry and learning more about what we wanted to achieve together. Music was a great outlet for us. Putting pen to paper and expressing things was a small way to provide some relief through reflection. Lyrically, I can show him anything I’ve written – however much half-baked or typo-riddled – when maybe I wouldn’t feel comfortable showing anyone else. It was Jaxon who eventually decided it was time for a change. He left for Denver that Summer of 2017 and our bassist David Shimenko followed shortly thereafter. Jax promised that when he got there, he’d find a place for us to live and fill out the remaining slots (Drummer, second guitarist) that we’d spent years trying to occupy in the past. He enrolled in a semester of music school at CU, where he poached the multi-talented Keenan Goodwine. Then in the most unlikely of solutions, he found our drummer Mason Kolodziej on Craigslist of all places.

What I love most about those guys is how dedicated they became to a band with no roots in the area simply because they believed in the music. They understood the vision, and now they’re quintessential to it. There’s no coincidence there – they are great musicians and add so much to our group as a collective. At the time Keenan and Mason were learning the material and getting to know Jaxon and Dave, I was back in Pennsylvania hearing updates, meeting the new guys on facetime, thinking to myself… “Jaxon really did it.” I felt the potential as strong as I did when we were in high school, recording our first EP, at that time with Jaxon and myself handling all the instrumental duties. Now, finally, we could be a unit. I vacillated back and forth before finally deciding to drop out of school and join the newly formed group out West. ‘Colony Collapse’ the concept was old – it had been with me all my teenage years but for the first time, it felt complete. I flew into Denver and we played our first show at the Moon Room downtown that same weekend. Since then, we’ve maintained the same line-up.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, I wouldn’t say so. In retrospect, things to me always seem a little smoother than maybe they were. You tower above your lows from a place of newfound confidence and tend to forget how hard some of the stretches were to overcome. There were arguments and nights when I was almost ready to throw it all away. There were days where I had nowhere to be and aimlessly started walking, lost in a new city. You start to wonder how you wound up so far away. I visited home all too often, opening old wounds and finding myself caught between two paths. But eventually, I settled in. Worked a lot, came home to write music. Got closer with my bandmates than ever before. And in time, the people I missed began to move on in lockstep. And I watched them from a distance, happy for them, rather than attaching myself to wherever others roamed. I had a hard time coming to terms with change. Relationships were sacrificed. I missed a lot of things that I wanted to be around for. We all did. It just became fuel for me. The only option was to be all in among such an unpredictable industry, and I’m glad to still be pushing for my career today wherever it takes me from here.

We’d love to hear more about your band.
I feel what makes us unique as a band is the way we try to incorporate lots of influences. No two members of the group like exclusively the same music, and if you listen to one of our albums, I think people will hear that eclectism peek out. But as far as what we’re best known for, I’m not really sure. I think we’re getting a bit more known for our live show and the energy we try to bring on stage. We open a lot of shows with a song called Night Lives, where Keenan swaps his guitar for a trumpet. That sequence always seems to draw people in. From there, all we can do is try to give our best performance and whatever people take away is up to them. Our guarantee remains the same. Personally, I love sharing the music and watching other bands do their thing, so playing live is a favorite part of mine.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success pretty loosely. The main thing I was afraid of when I made the decision to move was the possibility of never knowing how far I could’ve taken this had I chosen to stay behind. Every little accomplishment feels like small success in a sense because I’m letting my story play out instead of being on the sidelines. Even though I’m hungry for more and I’m no stranger to lofty expectations, I’ll be comfortable not making it so long as I opened that door and saw what was on the other side. For the proudest moments in my career, I looked out from the stage to see those I cared about looking back. And if I turned away from them, I’d see my bandmates sharing the moment. Panoramic smiles around the room. That’s meaningful. You can’t put a price on it. Success would be earning the opportunity to see more of that and grow to play another day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.colonycollapseband.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colonycollapseband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colony.collapse.band.official/

Image Credit:
“Full band Promo” and “Keenan trumpet” – photos by Linzey Rae
“fun silly shot” – photo by Will Livingston
“Oriental Live shot” and “Noah shot” – photos by Justin Urban

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.