Letting the Music Back In

This post is a little different from my usual reflections on clients and homes. After a 15-year break from performing to focus on building my real estate business, I’ve recently decided to let music back into my life—and into the lives of those around me.

In the past decade and a half, I’ve had the honor of helping over 800 clients buy and sell homes. That focus meant setting my own music aside. But now, after years away, I’ve found my way back to the stage.

From Starfish Studios to Real Estate

From 2000 to 2012, I ran Starfish Studios, a recording studio and music school in SE Portland. I produced albums for local artists, wrote my own songs, and performed regularly at venues like the White Eagle and Laurelthirst.

Before closing the studio to dive full-time into real estate, I had recorded a full-length album of original songs. But perfectionism kept me from releasing it—it sat unfinished on a hard drive through several moves and many years.

Reviving the Lost Album

By 2022, life looked very different: married, four kids, and a thriving team at Living Room Realty. I realized my children had never heard the music from that old album. So I decided to finally do something about it.

Lesson 1: Build your team.
Instead of mixing the album myself, I leaned on the wisdom I’ve gained in real estate: hire specialists. I found a fantastic mixing engineer in Dallas, uploaded the files, and a few weeks later the album was fully mixed and mastered.

The result? My family knows every lyric now, and my twins often fall asleep to it. (Parents—if you use a Yoto device, you can even create a custom card with your own music!)

Here’s a link to that album.

From “No” to Residency

Enter my old friend and drummer, Diego, who suggested we perform the album live. At first, I brushed it off—the logistics felt overwhelming.

Then I had a dream about a songwriter with a long-running local residency. The idea stuck: instead of pouring everything into one big show, what if we created something consistent and community-building?

Real Estate Skills on Stage

My background in real estate turned out to be surprisingly useful in music:

Lesson 2: Negotiate win-wins.
Convincing The Ship Tavern in Multnomah Village to host a weekly show required real negotiation. The owner worried about conflict with NFL broadcasts, but after using some tactical empathy during a conversation about long-term goals, live music won out.

Lesson 3: Define clear goals.
With a September 4th launch date, I broke preparation into manageable steps: rehearse weekly, gather equipment, memorize two hours of music. That structure made showtime feel achievable.

Launching at The Ship

Our first show at The Ship Tavern was a packed, high-energy night (with a few technical hiccups). Each week since has grown smoother and stronger.

• When Diego had to travel, we pivoted into a more acoustic set with violinist Eddie Parente—one of my favorite nights so far.

• After struggling with the acoustics of the venue and their faulty equipment, I brought in another specialist to help me piece together the right sound system to use and some modifications I can do to improve the overall sound.

• The audience has been incredible: friends, clients, neighbors—all gathering to enjoy music together.

Looking Ahead

Performing again has been a gift, both creatively and personally. It’s reconnected me with old friends, introduced me to new collaborators, and given me a chance to contribute to the cultural life of SW Portland.

My hope is that this residency becomes a foundation for more: new musicians joining us on Thursdays, and eventually more nights of live music at The Ship Tavern.

In the meantime, you’ll find me there every Thursday, 6–8pm, guitar in hand—while still helping clients the rest of the week find, sell, and transform their homes.

✦ If you’d like to hear the album: [Short Sweet Crazy Ride – Listen here] or search for it wherever you stream music.
✦ If you’re local: Come join us Thursdays 6-8pm at The Ship Tavern, Multnomah Village.

Yascha Noonberg

Principal Broker | ADU Specialist | OR

He/Him

Consistently featured as one of the Top 50 Brokers in Portland. Certified Residential Investment Specialist "Yascha is absolutely an asset, not only to his clients, but his industry as a whole as an example of how REALTORS® should strive to conduct business." —Past client VISIT MY WEBSITE  I was fortunate enough to move to Portland in the 90s after growing up in Maryland and then attending college in Texas. My professional life started with owning and operating a music school and recording studio in SE Portland. Eventually I was drawn to real estate both as an investor and subsequently as a consultant to homebuyers and sellers as well as fellow real estate investors. My family and I have lived on both sides of the river, and we spend a lot of our down time at the coast in Manzanita. My real estate business and family keep me very busy but whenever possible I get out on the courts to compete in tennis leagues and tournaments, and I recently started playing Pickleball. I also mix in the occasional gig or young audiences performance with local jazz group Trashcan Joe.

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• T: 503-810-6312
• F: 503-961-8224
• yascha@livingroomre.com