Mike Noga album launch

Mike Noga was a musician who played in several bands from a young age but is probably best known as drummer for the Drones for 10 years and as an independent singer/songwriter.

Mike passed away on August 26 last year and his death was accidental due to a rare condition which caused a cerebral hemorrhage.

This condition was exacerbated by bouts of heavy drinking. Mike had a lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression which became particularly difficult in the last three years of his life, during which time he often relied on alcohol to self-medicate.

We all know what an outstanding musician Mike was; however, behind his humour and engaging personality was a gentle, sensitive person with a lot of emotional intensity and he often struggled with the lifestyle that came with being in the music industry. Long flights, late nights spent in venues, relentless touring often under exhausting conditions and time spent away from family, friends and loved ones can compound existing mental health issues.

Being on the road constantly made it difficult for Mike to get professional help for his anxiety and depression and often it was all too easy to self-medicate with alcohol in order to board a flight, get through a gig or to deal with stress in general.

The music industry in Australia is highly unregulated and as a band member the lines between friend, work colleague and employer are often blurred. This means it can become more difficult to navigate taking a stand against behaviour that would be unacceptable in any other workplace for fear of losing your livelihood. Please remember that your band mates or those in your music team are often your friends, family, managers and co-workers all rolled into one. As music lovers, we should remember that many of us turn to the arts in order to nurture our own mental wellbeing and we need to have an awareness that the people who create for us may sometimes be suffering themselves.

Support Act is Australia’s only charity delivering crisis relief and mental health & wellbeing services to artists, crew and music workers who are doing it tough. We are asking you to please make a donation to Support Act to help them to continue to support those in the music industry who may be struggling as Mike was.

Be kind and supportive of each other and rock on and spread the love as the more we talk about this stuff, the better.