Daily Inspiration: Meet Luke Galloway

Today we’d like to introduce you to Luke Galloway.

Hi Luke, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m Luke Galloway. I’m a surgery resident at Emory University, and I make music with my best friend, Brett Batson, in a band called Novanauts. We blend electronic music and alternative rock styles into our own brand of high-energy, expansive music featuring me on guitar and vocals and Brett on the drums. In the mid-2000s, Brett and I started playing music together in high school. We had a small recording studio in my bedroom. I would flip my mattress against the wall to make room for his drum kit. We would use rudimentary equipment to record demos and explore creation together. As we gained equipment, I moved into the closet and used the bedroom as a studio most of the time. What started from there was a long-lasting friendship of music making. We continued to play in several bands around our hometown of Valdosta, GA, and performing local shows before Brett moved away to South Carolina with his family. I continued to create in a band called Kalvinova. Our music blended a lot genres, including alternative rock and electronic music. We took a lot of inspiration from DJ Shadow, Gorillaz, Eifel 65, Muse, Coldplay, just to name a few! Very diverse… During that time, I was writing music ferociously and archiving songs for possible use in the future. I worked a lot with my friend Mason Lusk, who I credit with really expanding my musical mind from just focusing on rock music to a much wider, expansive musical landscape. I later went to college at the University of Georgia and studied Mass Media Arts and Music Business. I gigged with Kavlinova in Athens, GA, for some time, but when that ended, I called up Brett to continue on as Novanauts. Brett was close by in Greenville, so it only made sense to reach out. We recorded with Lee Dyess at Earthsound Recording and continued to develop our sound, playing with blending alternative rock stylings and electronic music and really focusing on more vocal-centric songwriting. We went on hiatus, and I spent some time producing and performing pop and hip-hop in Atlanta before going off to medical school at Wake Forest. During my last year of medical school, I felt the urge to create and add music back into my life, so I called up Brett and proposed the idea of Novanauts becoming a reality again and working through the archive of tunes I’d built up over the years as well as making something new. The next year the world shut down for COVID, but we were able to get back into Earthsound with Lee to record and release our first album ‘Decade Mosaic’. It was an ode to the past 10 years of creation both of us had experienced, with some new spice thrown in. We were thrilled to finally be back together, creating and releasing music to the world that we really believed in, and felt that special drive to continue. Since then, we’ve been continuing to write, record, and perform in the southeast. It brings us so much joy to tell stories through music, express ourselves, bring our energy to live performance and share with others. We’re so grateful for all the support we’ve been shown thus far and the serendipitous moments that have kept this project alive. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
We’ve had several struggles along the way. Namely, when Brett had to relocate and I went to medical school. School was tough, and a career in medicine is demanding, but having music a part of my life contributes to keeping me well and living a full life! We both have day jobs but are so thankful to be able to make music a part of our lives in addition. Music adds so much energy and beauty to both of our experiences. The music and friendship kept bringing Brett, and I back together despite what was going on in our lives individually. Even now, we are separated by a few hours of distance but intentionally join together using technology and in person on a regular basis. We realize when you have a friendship and a connection with music, there really isn’t a limiting factor. You can work within your constraints, and as long as you communicate and plan, you can continue to create together. I’ve had many music projects in the past that haven’t worked out for various reasons, but each time coming back to friendship and making music we believe in and feel good about has kept us going. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We make original alternative rock music with an electronic edge and perform live. We are currently trying to connect with like-minded bands and creatives to really celebrate what we can bring into the world when together. We’ve really been enjoying playing shows in our region and releasing music online to listeners around the world. We try to release new music every 4-6 weeks and play live on a similar schedule. We take our craft seriously and give powerful performances because we really love sharing our music and performing. We want people to walk away from our shows with a heightened sense of life, and we want to deliver a great time! 

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Authenticity in the music we make and the sounds we create is so important. We’ve both been through many musical projects, and despite a big exploration of genre-blending and the diversity in our tunes, we are guided by principles that prove themselves time and time again: write good songs that feel good to play live, have fun, and celebrate togetherness and friendship. 

Contact Info:

• Website: linktr.ee/novanauts
• Instagram: instagram.com/novanautsband
• Facebook: facebook.com/novanauts

Image Credits
Ally Troy