By Cathy Miller

The Noble family is a multi-generational clan of Warren County musicians, ready to remake any big family gathering into a joyful noise. At its helm is Harry Noble, Jr., aka Hap.

Hap

Hap, known to generations of students as a teacher at Liberty Township School and then Hackettstown High School until his retirement in 2005, was born in Morristown and grew up on the grounds of Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, where his parents worked.

“We lived in a cluster of refurbished army barracks from WWII. You had to be a veteran to live on the grounds in the ‘veterans’ barracks,’ as they were called, and the neighborhood was filled with baby boomer kids of all races and creeds. Great place to grow up, adventures every day,” Hap shared.

“Greystone was a self-sustaining community, with it’s own farm, dairy, stables and trade shops, and produced much of the food for other state institutions, including the prison system. If you didn’t work on the wards, you worked in the kitchens, as my mom did, or on the farm and grounds, as my father did.”

His father, “Pop” Noble, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 88, played several instruments, including banjo, and was dedicated to teaching his four children to play music.

“My brother John learned guitar, banjo, piano and drums. Later I picked up the upright bass. My sisters never followed that path,” Hap recalled. “There was always music in the house. My father even encouraged some neighborhood kids to play, especially Grover Kemble, who became a recognized jazz guitarist, and ultimately a mentor to my two sons, Harry and Bob.”  

After teaching in Bermuda in the ’70s, Hap and his wife, Norma, moved to Warren County.

As may be expected, Norma has the musical spirit, too: “Norma plays piano and sings with me, Grover, my brother, and the Brill sisters, Laura and Anne, in a glee club we formed 20 years ago singing mostly doo-wop. … I also play and sing gospel music in and out of church with Norma.”

Harry and Bob were offered music lessons from the time they were in fourth grade, becoming hooked on guitar and bass. Hap said, “The boys had as many opportunities as we could give them, from bluegrass camp in Nashville to individual lessons with Grover and local legend, Phil Cirotti [another musical family, which includes son, Joe, and daughter, Cat], who guided Bob on bass until he couldn’t teach him any more.”

Beyond music and education, Hap’s hobbies include demolition, salvage and restoration of historic buildings, which he and Norma became involved with over 40 years ago when they renovated the original Vienna Academy, the first school in Independence Township.

“It became the house where our kids were raised and is now occupied and further improved by my son, Harry.” Hap added, “In 2008, we bought a ruined stone barn on Petersburg Road in Independence Township. It dates from 1754 and had been used as a jail to house Hessian POWs in their march from Saratoga to Philadelphia in 1777. After four years of daily work, we had restored it to a livable stone house.”

Harry

Hap’s older son Harry Noble III, was born at Hackettstown Hospital and calls Vienna home, where he lives with his wife, Taylor, and their children. He is a behavioral therapist at Greystone Psychiatric Hospital.

Harry grew up listening to classic rock, punk rock and even some metal, and now favors soul/R&B, jazz, blues, hip-hop, country, bluegrass, or classical, noting, “It depends on my mood.”

His primary instrument for 25 years has been guitar. For 10 years, he’s “dabbled” in banjo, dobro, and mandolin, but playing guitar and getting better at it was always his goal.

“I suppose my favorite style of music to play is rock, particularly if it has a deep groove, but,” he added, “I also reeaally enjoy playing bluegrass songs at Mach-speed.” Harry doesn’t consider himself a composer. “I like to come up with original stuff on the guitar, which sometimes takes the form of a complete composition.”

“Quimby Mountain Band is definitely where I got my legs,” Harry remarked, referring to the quintet that included his brother, Bob, Matt DiPaolo [drums], Matt Schmidt [guitar] and Jesse Bardwell [vocals]. The band was established in 2005 and continued to play together for 11 years. But he already had musical chops before that.

“Matt DiPaolo and I had a trio in middle school – we played our eighth grade graduation ceremony – pretty pitifully – and a party or two. I played a couple shows with my buddies Joe Cirotti and Eric Curley in high school. They went on to form the band Only Living Boy and often shared the stage with QMB.” Harry also fondly remembers playing a couple gigs with his father and grandfather at a retirement home.

When QMB split up, its members spread their musical talents in many directions. Harry said The Noble Brothers Band (Harry and Bob, with Matt DiPaolo on drums and Amir Mortezai on keys) is his key focus nowadays, but “I always keep the phone line open.”

Revisiting his musical childhood, Harry shared, “My dad played upright bass and sang. My mom played piano and sang. Their friends, it seemed, were all performers. Grover Kemble was and is an incredibly close friend of our family and he ultimately would teach me guitar. He also mentored QMB in the very early stages. My Uncle John played guitar and banjo, as did my grandpa. I’m pretty sure my Uncle John gave me my first guitar and taught me my first few chords – “Break on Through” by The Doors. My parents were always supportive and let me make a lot of noise.”

He contemplated the pros and cons of playing with his family. The pros? “Simply put, just having a good connection both personally and musically. Cons? If he takes a good solo, as the older brother I feel the need to one up my younger brother, Bob!”

Harry can’t imagine life without music. “I’ve experienced how music translates beautifully into other areas of my life. It’s been an invaluable tool while working in behavioral health. Playing guitar for my kids is wonderful. I’ve made lifelong friends and have tons of great memories. It’s also a tremendous creative outlet to keep me learning.”

Bob

Hap’s younger son Bob, is a Warren County native. He and his wife, Lara, reside in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with their two dogs, a cat, and some fish. He enjoys studying and writing about history, especially the American Civil War. He is the Assistant Director of RHD Mainstay United, a residential nonprofit that serves people with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Bob has played for 22 years, mostly upright bass and bass guitar, but he also plays cello, piano, guitar, mandolin, and a little banjo. “During the quarantine, I’ve been focusing most of my effort on the cello,” he said.

“When I’m home by myself, I spend most of my time practicing classical music. I really enjoy playing jazz or anything with a strong improvisational component when I’m with other musicians.” When he wants to listen, Bob turns to his favorite band, the Grateful Dead. Nowadays, he’s savoring old Russian masters like Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Shostakovich.

Like his brother, Bob is a Quimby Mountain Band alumnus.

Bob, Matt DiPaolo and Matt Schmidt had been playing together before morphing into the Quimby Mountain Band after Harry and Jesse Bardwell joined them.

“Before that, my first gig was playing Green Day songs at the County Fair in Hackettstown when I was 12 with Eric Dryburgh and some other kids I went to grade school with.”

Besides The Noble Brothers Band, Bob stays busy working with countless musicians: “Harry and I sometimes do gigs with Grover or as a duo. I’ve been playing with the jam band, Albert Savage (aka Mike Frank & Friends) and with two modern folk groups – Copper Fields and John Brown & The Hatchets. Occasionally I work with Joe Cirotti. Recently, I recorded an album with Rameen Shayegan, which featured some really great musicians. Rameen and I have a couple shows coming up together. There’s my jazz trio and I also do pickup gigs with Bovine Social Club, Eric McClellen, Pentley Holmes, Brett Andrew, Dan Dechellis, Ricky Delgado, and many others.”

What was it like growing up in a house of music? Bob answered, “We were surrounded by it. I definitely learned to love music because of the way we were raised. I have a lot of memories of my dad playing bass while my grandfather crooned and played tenor banjo.

“It’s amazing, playing music with your family! It’s one of the things I enjoy most in life. Pretty much every family party, holiday, or vacation ends with a big jam and the whole family singing and playing and laughing together.”

As Hap said, “Music being the universal language, there is no better way to speak to all.”