Photo Credit: Corey Poluk

From the Bay Area to the sweet sounds of the past, we caught up with Rob Good of The Goods to discuss all of that and then some, like the time he was in a bar with one of today’s biggest names in music – and didn’t realize it. Find out who that was, as well as more about The Goods’ self-titled debut EP, and more below! 

Kendra: So not too long before 2020 rocked us to our core, you had a bit of a reconnection at a show. Do you ever look back to that night as one of those moments of fate?

Rob Good: I don’t know about fate, but it was a fortunate coincidence that allowed our drummer Paul and me to reconnect. It does illustrate to me the importance of putting yourself out there because you never know who you’re going to meet and what coincidences will end up shaping your life. I tend to be pretty introverted and my natural inclination is to hide away, but I fight that natural inclination all the time because “out there” is where all amazing things are actually happening.

Kendra: Fast forward to the present and The Goods are working on the self-titled EP up in the Bay Area. We’ll talk about the musical influences, but I’d love to know if you ever felt inspired by your surroundings; are there any local spots you like to go to, to clear your head when you need to focus on music?

Rob Good: I’ve lived in the East Bay my whole life, and I love Oakland, and the musical history of the Bay Area punk scene factors heavily into our music. I believe Oakland has the best tacos in the United States and I will absolutely die on that hill. There’s nothing more inspiring than a good taco. Oakland is also like the underdog to San Francisco, and I guess we kinda feel like underdogs too.

Kendra: Now the music, it’s clear that the ‘60s played a heavy hand in helping create the foundation for this EP. Which I found interesting because I talked to another band this month, SUSU out of New York City, whose latest single harkens back to classic ‘50s girl groups. Why do you think that era speaks to modern-day artists?

Rob Good: So much has been said about the music of the ‘60s that it’s hard to even talk about it without resorting to cliches. For me, I see the ‘60s as the time when pop music really became a medium of artistic expression, and great artists had the opportunity to essentially create their own idioms, and that’s when so many of the blueprints that artists still follow to this day were written. The medium of recorded music also went through a huge revolution at that time, with artists, producers, and engineers really expanding the limits of what was possible in the recording studio. Recorded music went from being more of a document of the live sound of the band to an art form all its own.

Kendra: That ‘60s vibe was ever present on “David Jones Is Dead,” but what I found interesting was what led you towards this track. We are losing icon after icon, and I often think – do we have those types of artists today? Like when Michael Jackson passed the world stopped. And, yes – Beyonce and Billie Eilish are huge artists but at the same time, we’re not all singing their songs like we were Michael’s. I think that’s just because music is consumed so differently now. It feels less communal in many ways. All of that said, do you think we’ll ever have another Michael, Whitney, an artist like that?

Rob Good: That one I’m not sure about…I’m probably one of the worst people to ask about contemporary music because I listen to so little of it. It does seem to me like we’re past the point where everyone in the world is listening to the same record, like they were with The Beatles or Michael Jackson, and so in that sense maybe it would be tough for a single artist to have that kind of effect. But who knows? Certainly not me. 

Funny story…I was at a bar in Nashville a few years ago and there was a really distinct-looking guy partying there that caught my attention – tattooed head to toe, face tattoos, the whole deal. I didn’t think too much of it but after I got back to the Bay Area, I happened to see a Rolling Stone magazine somewhere and that guy was on the cover! Turns out it was Post Malone. I’d heard the name but had no idea who he was.

Kendra: Time for a side note – August is a huge month for me, with so many loved ones’ birthdays being celebrated, so I’d love to know what song you’d dedicate to your loved ones, be it friends, family, or both…

Rob Good: My birthday is in August so it’s a special time for me too! Our catalog is pretty limited at the moment, so I don’t think The Goods has a song that would be a fitting dedication. But if I was going to sing a song for my loved ones, I’d choose “In My Life” by The Beatles.

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘The Goods’ out now, what else can the people out there expect from you as 2023 rolls along?

Rob Good: We’re just trying to play as much as possible, and lay the groundwork for some future touring. We’re also starting work on our first full-length LP!