Q&A with The Good Brother's Bruce Good

With the exciting weekend of the CMT Music Festival looming (it's next weekend!) Bruce Good and his family have been in the music business for over 40 years (his sons, a little less). I had the opportunity to chat with Bruce, who is well-known for his musical talents in the Good Brothers, and The Good Family. He's also in another band with his family members called The Gospel Bluegrass Bunch. This traditional bluegrass band, with a hint of Gospel music, will be performing on day three of CMT Music Festival's festivities on August 28, 2011.


Here's what he had to say:


Taryn: First off, could you tell me a little about yourself and your family?
Bruce Good: We are actually a combination of members of two well-known groups from Canada. One being members from the Good Brothers who have been around for 40 years and then members from a band called The Sadies  who have been around for about 15 years. The tie-in is that two of the four members of The Sadies are my sons. I am Bruce Good, they are Travis and Dallas Good. Myself, Travis, Dallas and their mother Margaret originated a group called The Good Family. We used to do shows on occasion when the Good Brothers and the Sadies weren’t working.

Then later Travis and Dallas cousin Darcy Good and my brother Larry Good also joined in on this musical adventure and thus became the Good Family as it is today!

T: And to readers who have never heard of The Good Family, what would they expect to hear if they were to ever see you live?
B:  That’s where the interest comes from this. The Good Brothers and the Sadies are very different. The Sadies have a high energy leading towards country-rock. You can’t even call it country-rock. It’s been known as surf punk country blues rock. And you can combine that with the more traditional sound of the Good Brothers and the Good Family, and you’ll get bluegrass and straight on rock.

T: I know you've been around for quite some time and have probably performed at many music festivals. Do you think that festivals have changed over the years?
B: It depends on what festival you’re playing – they are very diverse sometimes. I’ve watched festivals grow. For example, There’s a festival called the Havelock Jambouree. We’ve watched it grow from 300 people to 30,00 people. We’ve watched the stage grow from a flack block, to a full on stage. Yeah I see festivals change mainly because I’ve been around so long and I’ve seen it change. And then there is the fact that you play one one weekend and one the next. They are all the same but different. Whether it be the stage, or the music, or the genre of music that’s been played.


T: How important are festivals like the CMT Music Fest, to musicians? New and experienced?
B: I think they are really important for many reasons. They are important for the fans to see that kind of music and support those kinds of shows.  It gives new bands experience they need later on in their careers. We [The Good Brothers] are doing a show on Sept 8^th with The Sadies. Opening our shows are six of Ontario's premier country bands. And this is sponsored by the CMAO [Country Music Association of Ontario].  And this gives a performance opportunity for a showcase of six of Ontario’s up-and-coming country entertainers.
 

T: Do you have any favourite festival memories that you feel has helped shape you as a musician?
B: I remember playing a festival with Roy Orbison. In a small way we befriend him while on tour and I think we were playing a festival in Owen Sound and we had just gotten to know him a little bit. He came down to our dressing room after our performance and he complimented us on our show. To be complimented by him is one of the greatest accolades  for us I guess. It was great to hear him come and comment on something we worked so hard on.

Also, touring with Gordon Lightfoot and learning  big - I was going to say little - tricks of the trade. He was the one who always encouraged us to be original as impossible. We’d probably be doing less if he hadn’t told us to be original.

T: What can fans look forward to hearing when they see you next Sunday with The Gospel Bluegrass Bunch?
B: We will most definitely pepper our show with gospel but it won’t totally be gospel. Because Gospel is very important part of bluegrass, and bluegrass was always an important part of our [The Good family’s] lives so we know a lot gospel songs. If they are coming to hear The Sadies or The Good Brothers songs they will be disappointed.

Here's where we get a little off course from festival talk and I asked him about a few things that a good friend of mine mentioned to me. She just happens to be a fan of music from the 70s and I was interested to hear what he had to say!


T: A friend of mine mentioned that The Good Brothers played in Northern California in the early 70s. Were you ever involved in the Haight-Ashbury scene?
B: We were on the fringe of Ashbury. It was 1971-1972. It was still happening. We were doing hippy folk music and that was when we were involved with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. Yeah we were down in Cali those days. It was a great experience. That’s where we recorded our  very first album with James Ackroyd.  It was an experience with a capital E.

T: You also signed to Columbia records in the 70s. What is your opinion on record labels then vs. now?
B: Record labels to day are struggling with the internet and downloading. It’s a completely different ball game than before. Plus there are so many indie labels out there as well. These indie labels probably carry more weight compared to the major labels and the talent pool is a lot greater. People are being signed all the time, but very few people are breaking the big brink.

As for the music, to each their own. I like certain types of music, as you do. I think everybody likes their music and favourites. I don’t like where music has gone as recording, and tuning voices go. It doesn’t sound real and using synths and getting different sounds. To me that’s getting far beyond the sound of real music. I like hearing real music and real voices...Tell it to Neil Young, Johnny Cash. Their voices have never been changed, never been enhanced, never enriched,  and never tuned.

T: My mom mentioned she used to see you guys perform at The Kee to Bala in Muskoka, and you've also played the legendary El Mocambo in Toronto. Do you ever go back to play these venues? Do you think it's important to remember these roots?
B: Yes we do. The last time we played at the El [Mocambo] was at a fundraiser for someone, which was a little over a year ago. It’s been awhile since we’ve played the Kee, but we have some great memories






Well, that's it! I hope you learned a little bit about somebody who you didn't know before! Bruce was easy to talk to and had lots of stories to tell. It's always a good thing as a writer to have somebody who is so willing to talk and share his past experiences with somebody he doesn't even know!


Thanks Bruce!