Extended Biography

Noah Wotherspoon was born in Kettering, OH in 1982. His father Paul, was an educator, working in various schools systems through the years. Growing up, Noah’s mother Beatrice was very into literature and collected antique books, introducing Noah to the likes of Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Noah grew up with 2 older siblings, Adam & Sascha. Wotherspoon became increasingly interested in music around the age of 10. His older brother and his best friend, Greg Balog, were into guitar-oriented music: Guns ‘n Roses, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan… This sparked something in Noah, his brother picked up on it and bought him a guitar for his 11th birthday. Noah’s first guitar teacher was Michael Harris, a virtuosic guitarist from Dayton, OH. A few years later, when he was about 13, per someone’s suggestion, his mom took him to a blues jam in downtown Dayton, where he’d first meet Tim Arnold – a local blues guitarist. He started taking weekly lessons with him and Arnold introduced him to the world of the blues, the stories and styles of all the great players. Noah soon after his first official working band “Noah & the Stratocats” (featuring Griffin Hussong - bass and Josh Johnson - drums) and started playing gigs in and around Dayton.

When Noah was 16, a local club owner recommended Noah + the Stratocats as a replacement for a band that canceled their headline time slot at the Chicago Blues Festival (1998). They found themselves playing for a giant crowd and selling out of their first debut album (a compilation CD of live recordings). They were invited to play again the next morning, and Jimmy D. Lane (son of Muddy Waters guitarist Jimmy Rogers) saw them play, which led to Noah and band recording an album with APO Records in Salina, KS. The album “Buzz Me” – featuring the legendary Hubert Sumlin (guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf) on two tracks and reached #10 on Living Blues Radio Chart. Noah was fortunate enough to work with Hubert on a number of occasions over the course of thenext few years. As Noah’s blues career progressed, he had a concurrent musical life/interest in The Beatles, indie songwriters, and various music outside the blues realm. In his mid 20’s, he floated between Providence, RI, NYC, and State College, PA – developing his songwriting and exploring other styles with various projects. This culminated with a studio album of psychedelic pop/rock called “Elusiville” under the name “Noah + the Rescue Radio”, featuring an early incarnation of the band that included Ted McCloskey & the Hi-Fi’s in the role of the Rescue Radio. In 2009, Noah met his girlfriend Jessi Bair (also a singer/songwriter/guitarist), and they moved to Cincinnati together. He soon after put together a new blues/rock trio, the Noah Wotherspoon Band (Rob Thaxton - bass, Brian Aylor - Drums) and began working frequently in the Midwest for the next few years. In 2015, the NWB participated in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, where Wotherspoon received the Best Guitarist Award (aka Albert King Award); and the band placed 2nd. This opened up a lot of doors for Noah and band, as far as playing festivals nationally and abroad (Eastern Europe/Iceland/Mexico). Since then, they’ve released 2 studio albums (Mystic Mud and Mobile Juke House Theater) and have had the opportunity to tour Europe every year between 2016 and 2020. In the last few years, the band has expanded for most shows and recording sessions with the “Just Strange Brothers Horns” from Cincinnati, and Da’Rosa Richardson on Keys. They are planning a new album for 2023 as well as more touring. 

Noah, now 41, continues to evolve as a musician, while integrating other creative passion projects as well. He has new recording projects and select shows in the works with a new incarnation of the Rescue Radio (Tom Rastikis, Josh Johnson, Erich Reith, Jessi Bair, and a rotatating cast of honorary members, new recordings with Jessi Bair, as well as a long-conjured Multi-Media project called “Ishkabibble”. Visit the “Other-Spoon” section on this site for more info and links to Noah’s other projects.