Pardon the Interruption is:

David Noble : Guitar, Lead Vocals.

David’s first instrument was the drums — as a kid he’d make a drum set out of whatever he could get his hands on (e.g. car seats, school desks, etc.). His parents quickly figured out that his “drum phase” wasn't going away anytime soon so at age 6 he started taking lessons. A few years later he went on to tackle another percussive instrument . . .  the piano. Writing songs and improvising captured his interest, and he often shirked practicing in favor of creating original compositions (much to the chagrin of his piano instructor). Around this same time David joined the school choir and participated in several school musicals (including Oliver! and The Mikado). 

And then . . . ’round about the 7th grade, David inherited his cousin’s electric guitar, and so began a life-long obsession with the instrument. As a kid, David had struggled with a stutter that made him reluctant to speak up — at school or with friends — but when he discovered that singing minimized the stutter, David understood he’d found a conduit for connecting with people and expressing his ideas — so with electric guitar in hand, David’s songwriting career was born.  

In 1995, while attending college in Denver, David was asked to join the band Electric Swingset (think Phish, Mr. Bungle, and the Average White Band) — his first professional band experience, and he toured Colorado, Wyoming, and Arizona with them, opening up for such acts as Zero, The Freddy Jones Band, and Col. Bruce Hampton. 

In 2002 while living in L.A. David was asked to play with the German singer, songwriter, and actress Nina Hagen aka “Queen of Punk” and became part of her North American touring band, playing sold out shows across the US and Canada. Enthralled by Nina’s theatrical performances and her ability to capture an audience, not only did David learn the nuances of punk music, he found a musical soulmate who’s continued to inspire him to this day.       

In 2015 David joined the Bay Area band Poor Man’s Whiskey (PMW) — a fusion of bluegrass/Americana, jam band, and southern rock. Although he’d had years of experience playing in the Colorado “jam band scene”, bluegrass and Americana music were unfamiliar territory for him. He quickly became a part of the “Whiskey Family” and toured the US with them playing bluegrass versions of Paul Simon, Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd, and Eagles songs (plus PMW original material). David is forever grateful to have had the chance to play with PMW, expand his musical palette, and share amazing adventures with some of the hardest working musicians in the business.

Rob Fordyce : bass, Vocals.

Rob’s real draw for rhythm was obvious at a young age. He used to put on “utensil drum” concerts with a childhood pal for their parents, and when his mother said “uhm . . . yeah, no” to a drum kit, he went with the bass. Rob really began rockin’ the bass in 6th grade, mostly out of necessity — the school Jazz band needed a Bassist! P.S. Ask him the story about his escapades choregraphing dance moves with a stand up bass.

He’s performed in a number of projects over the years, one of the first being Peer Pressure, a mod-esque punk-jam band that sounded like “The Jam” meets “The Who”. Then Free Verse, had Fordyce hittin’ the bass on tracks with a Genesis/Yes influence to boot — this genre stuck with Rob. He’s been a member of The Ring — a heavy, intricate Prog Rock band for more than 20 years. He’s worked with Big Brother and the Holding Company, New World, The Connection, Cairo, and If Walls Could Talk . . . He currently teaches at Crossroads Music Program in addition to performing with PTI, Donna D’acuti, Fuzzy Slippers and Michael Aragon.

Jamison Smeltz : Sax, Percussion, Vocals.

Jamison began playing the saxophone at the ripe age of 13. Though he had been taking piano lessons for a while, the keys weren’t quite the right fit. Turns out the Horns were. For Christmas in 1976, Jamison’s dad bought him a Bundy student model sax, while his brother bought him the YES album – a great combo for a new student! By the next year, Jamison had become proficient enough on Sax to begin performing in the all-state marching band. Jamison has shared his skills with a plethora of bands, namely D*FeX, a blues rock reggae group in his college days, mRthKon,a Zappa-esque avant rock band (for 9 years) and Ten Ton chicken, a jam/ funk rock group with hints of the Grateful Dead and Phish. He currently performs with The Purple Ones, Haulin’ Oats, The Connell-Purves Group, The Jean Genies, Heavy Metal Brass Band: The CamelTones: Hop Sauce, and Prima Volta Sax Quartet.

Rob Hooper : Drums, Vocals.

Rob Hooper started playing drums at age 11, doing private lessons and playing along with Beatles and KISS songs (though rumor has it Rob was beating the snot out of Tupperware containers waaaaay earlier). One project Rob looks back on most fondly is playing with Jimmie Dale Gilmore from ’96-’99.  For Rob there were a lot of personal firsts with that band, including touring a lot outside of the country, a bunch of televised/radio performances, and playing a variety of world-class venues. 

Another favorite project of Rob’s was playing with The Resentments between ’04-’14.  The Austin band consisted of several legendary singer/songwriters and players from the area. For Rob, The Resentments was a concoction of high-level musicianship mixed with fun and spontaneous performances.

Last but not least, Rob played with Carolyn Wonderland from ’09-’14. Relentless touring made this band super-strong, and Rob is quoted as saying: “Carolyn is my musical sister and a total ninja of a singer/guitarist”. In addition, Rob did orchestral/marching band/jazz band/ symphonic study in school, moved to Austin from '09-'14, and relocating to the Bay Area in ’14, and has been a full-time professional musician since ’93.