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WHAT HAPPENED?
Q: Why
don't lobsters share? Songwriters Tony Rogers & Devin Arkin met in Chicago at a job where they wrote, among other things, jokes for McDonald's Happy Meals. Eager to connect with audiences over the age of 5, they bought a used 4-track and began to write and record material that tapped into their shared love for The Beatles, the Velvet Underground, and Hair. They recruited a band of musicians from the local want ads ("no metalheads please"), and in June of 1993, The Good made their live debut at a summer festival in Tony's hometown of Lanark, Illinois. Plagued by poor musicianship and the kind of ill tempers typically fostered by years of high-pressure success, the original Good lineup lasted three shows.
But by early 1994, The Good had reformed and built up a sizable local following through shows at the Elbo Room, the Double Door, the now-defunct Avalon Niteclub, Schubas, the Vic Theater, and lots of other places where thirsty Chicagoans pay to drink and shout at live music. Trading songwriting and lead singing duties, Devin & Tony fronted a three-guitar attack that featured bassist Scott Hedrick, drummer Greg Newman, and guitarist John Scholvin.
In the spring of '94, Tony & Devin were commissioned to compose and record two songs for the Los Angeles production of an original stage drama, "Reality & Other Nightmares." The title song and "Cradle to Fall" were recorded and mixed by Scott Ramsayer at Warzone Recorders in Chicago. The play lasted slightly longer than the original lineup of The Good, but the band was pleased with what they heard, and decided to record their full-length debut at Warzone.
"Oft Interred With Their Bones" was released in September, 1994 on the band's own Jumbo Records label, named after Devin's alma mater, the Tuft Jumbos, whose sailing team can beat up their football team. Local radio stations played the record and the local press said lots of nice things about it. The Illinois Entertainer's Gwen Ihnat praised both the music and lyrics, declaring that The Good "would never rhyme fire with desire." (Of course, they had already done so on the very record she was reviewing. See "Pygmalion") Playboy magazine columnist Denis Boyles even wrote a glowing review of the record for Men's Health magazine, although the review was scrapped by his editor for a blurb about an exciting new rocking chair.
The Good started to get lots of really low-paying work, including shows throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa. They played in L.A., they played in N.Y.C. and Superstation WGN-TV's morning show featured a live performance of "There Oughta Be A Law," during which Tony's "vintage" amp crapped out on the very first note. In early 1995 the band was officially asked to sell out. They did so quickly, writing and performing an original song for a Budweiser beer (which they occasionally drink) radio commercial. The song was called "If I Didn't Have to Work" and was played on stations all over the country. Tony got paid extra money for saying "Anheiser Busch, St. Louis, Missouri" at the end of the song, but unfortunately, he still did have to work.
In late '95 two more bandmembers chose early retirement, and in early '96 new drummer John Goodman (not the fat actor) and new bassist Ryan Olbrysh travelled with the band to Austin, Texas to showcase at the infamous South by Southwest Music Conference. On March 14, 1996, at 8pm, the festival, known for attracting major label attention for worthy independent bands, offered two competing shows that provided a true dilemma for partying industry types: pay to see virtual unknowns The Good in a dank, windowless bar or watch a free outdoor show by major label veteran Iggy Pop on the street right in front of the bar. The Good were not signed that weekend, but thankfully Iggy Pop is still making major label records.
Shortly after the conference, the band heard an early mix of songs from Wilco's "Being There" recorded by Chris Shepard. Impressed by Chris' knowledge of knobs and just how far to turn them, The Good hired Chris to co-produce their 2nd full-length album. "Milky White" was recorded by Shepard and Scott Ramsayer in the summer of '96 at Chicago Recording Company and in Tony's 3rd floor apartment. It was mixed at CRC. Chicago indie label Whitehouse Records was so impressed by the recording, and so annoyed by nagging phone calls from the band, they included the song "Tinky McVieux" as the lead track on their 1997 compilation, "Come In 773" and eventually released the full "Milky White" album in April of 1997. The Good began touring heavily throughout the midwest to promote the album, and "Milky White" was played on almost every commercial rock station within 150 miles of Chicago. The list of radio supporters was over 80 stations long, including Chicago's WXRT, Q101, WCBR, and Rock 103.5, which added "Hang" into its regular rotation not long before it went belly-up with a bullet.
Finally, the band was starting to share stages (if not dressing rooms) with high profile acts. In July of 1997 they opened for Collective Soul before a crowd of thousands at Milwaukee's Summerfest. In the next year, they played with Jonny Lang, Moxy Fruvous, Colonel Bruce Hampton, Jonathon Richman, Great Big Sea, Michael McDermott, The Fixx, and Curt Smith from Tears for Fears. In Champaign, IL, they opened for Dave Davies of the Kinks and played such a rousing version of "David Watts" that Dave struck it from his own set. They continued touring, making live radio appearances, and playing on TV shows watched by dozens, including "Rock My Ass" and "The Rob Linkhart Show." In late '97, bassist Ryan Olbrysh was replaced by Dave Rothkopf, who made his Chicago debut with the band in their inaugural "Ghosts of Rock & Roll Past" Halloween show, wearing an Elvis jumpsuit that unfortunately became transparent with sweat.
In the fall of '98, The Good signed a totally non-lucrative deal with MTV, who licensed the entire "Milky White" album for use in their popular show Road Rules. Through several episodes, if you worked hard to tune out the insufferable drone of obnoxious teens on parade, you could hear strains of "Harry & the Mushroom," "Canyon," and "I Know." One episode rolled credits over the orchestral climax of "Building on Graves." In January of 1999, they performed on the "Jenny Jones Show," playing second fiddle only to a rag-tag group of former high school rejects out to prove that they had gone from "geek" to "chic." (The band would soon use the paycheck to help finance the recording of their third CD, including the song "Jenny's Jones.")
In early '99, guitarist John Scholvin left to start his own spin-off group, Pound Foolish. The Good decided to continue as a foursome, with Tony, Devin, and Dave (an accomplished guitarist in his own right) contributing the necessary guitar work. They scrapped two years and a whole album's worth of unreleased material, including live favorites "Shiny Ass Pants" and "God Couldn't Save The Princess." Tony & Devin squirreled themselves away in a borrowed Michigan cabin and began writing eyeball to eyeball for the first time in Good history. They focused on crafting efficient, memorable pop melodies that would not rely on guitar theatrics, and on trying to find decent movies from the video rack of the local mom and pop store. By the summer of '99, they had finished 15 brand new compositions; the band tested the material in a showcase performance at the North by Northeast music fest in Toronto and again at a single Chicago show. The response was overwhelmingly positive. With longtime engineer Scott Ramsayer again at the helm, Tony, Devin, Dave, and John Goodman set about recording the first all-digital Good album.
"Breaking Up and Down" was released in April 2000 on the band's own Jumbo Records, and was immediately hailed by WXRT's Richard Milne as "amazing," featuring several songs he called "absolutely masterful." "I'm A Boy" was featured on the radio station's midday local music capsule. Q101 played "Rebounder" on its Local 101 show. They made a live in-store appearance at Tower Records on Clark, and kicked off a spate of regional CD release shows with a Good Friday performance at Martyrs in Chicago. That's all for now. If you want to hear the whole story, you'll have to outlive the band, which won't be easy, since they're all fiendishly young and in excellent health.
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