Good Boy chat other projects, riders, the magic of imperfect recordings and their favourite up-and-coming acts

Molly with Tom and Rian of Good Boy at Against The Grain.

Interview by Molly Jackson

On a warm Magandjin/Brisbane winter’s day, 5 years on from their packed ‘good bye’ show at The Tivoli and just a few short hours before their reunion at this year’s Against The Grain festival, Tom and Rian of Good Boy sat down with Molly Jackson to catch up and chat about other projects, past hospitality riders, the magic of imperfect recordings and favourite up and coming acts.

★

Molly: I'm interviewing for Somersault today. I’m a big fan, so just so stoked to have a chat with you and see the reunion set tonight! I'm sure you've been asked this before but I wanted to know how it feels reuniting after nearly five years? How are you feeling?

Tom: It feels great! We've been practising for the last little while. We actually did a show for our manager Dom’s 40th. So we started practising for that. Then Chris approached us and asked if we wanted to do this and we said yeah, sure, why not? We've been practising. Can't say no…

Rian: Can't say no to Chris! It's very special for us. It's been an honour to get asked to play Against The Grain when it has been a big part of our early adult years and helped us grow. It's also been really special I think to get back in the room together. Being able to have a bash and have a laugh as well, you know? We weren't really having a laugh too much before [laughs].

Tom: Nah I mean, when you're a touring band, practice is sometimes a bit of a slog! But it's been really nice to remember the songs again. Even playing some of these songs from the album… We only played them a couple of times because we released the album and then we played the one show and that was it [laughs]. So a lot of them don't even feel like our songs! But yeah no, it's been really nice.

Molly: Okay, so a little bit less pressure this time around? How are you feeling being on the lineup tonight?

Tom: …A lot of pressure to be honest [laughs].

Rian: I'm exceptionally anxious [laughs]. I was very anxious this morning. I'm feeling a lot less anxious now.

Molly: Great [laughs].

Tom: Interesting… I'm peaking.

[everyone laughs]

Molly: Does this mean this will be the first of many return shows or is it just like a special ask?

Tom: We'll see. We're keeping things pretty open at the moment. We're not really committing to too much.

Rian: We've spoken about speaking about it [laughs]. But you know, we'll just take every day as it comes.

Molly: See how today goes!

Rian: Yeah, see how today goes! [laughs].

Mol: I was having a bit of a deep dive gents and I saw that 10 years ago you did an interview and they asked what you'd be doing in 10 years…

Tom: You’re joking… [laughs]

Molly: And you said kicking it. I wanted to know if this feels like kicking it to you? [laughs].

Rian: [laughs] Ah look I mean for me personally, every single day feels like a holiday. I consider myself extremely lucky in my personal everyday life. Umm, so yeah I'd say I'm kicking it!

Tom: You definitely did that interview [laughs].

Rian: I definitely did that interview [laughs].

Tom: Yeah I'm kicking it. 

Rian: That's a Kendrick Lamar lyric [laughs].

Tom: It is [laughs].

Molly: Quoting Kendrick in the interviews 10 years ago [laughs]. What have the past few years looked like for you guys?

Rian: Growing up [laughs]. You know, working. Changing careers.

Tom: Still sort of in the music industry here and there. I actually play in a band with Chris. SUPERNEW.

Molly: Oh I see!

Tom: Shout out Rei [laughs]. And I guess we haven't really officially put an end to it, but I used to play in a band called Future Haunts as well.

Rian: Stu, our drummer recently played drums on the new Zach Stephenson record. Zach Stephenson from Hockey Dad. So that's pretty cool for him. I'm playing in a band called Lucky Horowitz & His Lucky Stars.

Molly: Alright so the music's still happening. Just in different ways.

Tom: Just in different ways yeah. And obviously it's not as consuming, I guess as what it was. 

Molly: Beautiful. I really wanted to ask Marli this question because she's been doing some work with the QUBE Effect this year and mentoring emerging artists. But I could ask you guys as well. What's some advice that you might have gotten as an emerging artist back in the day and how that would be different to an emerging artist coming up now? Like how have things changed? Do you think you'd be dishing out different advice?

Tom: That's a really good question because the industry since we left it has changed so much. Just the landscape has changed. I don't want to say COVID but…

Rian: I can't recall any specific advice that I ever got given or that I received. But I thought that - I was never good at it but - I thought that it always needed to be treated like a business. And I definitely didn't see the fun in that or it lost its fun for me because I thought that it needed to be taken so seriously. Where I think for me, and this might apply to many other musicians, but maybe don't take it so seriously and just have fun and people will feel that fun. 

Good Boy at Against The Grain. Photo credit: Kelsey Doyle (@kjdoyle)

Molly: Okay, great. And you Tom? Do you agree?

Tom: I totally agree with that. I was actually listening back to, obviously, our early stuff and I'd love to get back to that magic. I don't know, we would record stuff live and we wouldn't really think about it too much. We'd just sort of go into the studio and just…

Rian: Not add too much and just not be like “oh you know, let's go crazy with this.”

Tom: People should be recording live more these days I reckon [laughs].

Rian: Make some more raw, fun stuff.

Molly: Not overthink it, manipulate it less.

Tom: You want to be playing as many shows as you can. I think you want to be as tight as possible.

Rian: But don't burn out! [laughs].

Tom: Yeah, but don't burn out [laughs].

Molly: Always all the advice [laughs].

Rian: Do all these things but then don't do all that [laughs]. There's no one recipe, you know?

Molly: No, of course. Five years ago do you feel like the algorithm was as big as it is now?

Tom: I don't think so [laughs]. I don't even know what the bloody algorithm is! [laughs]. Like when I was talking with Chris about SUPERNEW, I was like I've got no idea how to service a song these days.

Molly: Right!

Tom: Like, I don't know what the process is. Do we still go for PR? Do we still go and pay? I don't even know how much it is these days to get a song through PR. I'm quite out of the loop with that sort of stuff so I reckon I'll be absolutely useless.

Molly: Lucky you've got lots of band mates Tom, in all your projects, that I'm sure will help with those sorts of things.

Rian: Sometimes it is who you know for sure.

Molly: Definitely.

Rian: We wouldn't be anywhere without Dom Miller.

Tom: Exactly.

Rian: We were in the right place at the right time.

Molly: Do you have any emerging Australian acts, outside of the ones that you're in, that we should all be keeping an eye on?

Rian: Antenna. New sort of, I don't know post-rock, hardcore punk, singer of Royal Headache. Really, really, really solid shows. Yeah he's a showman, they're all showmen.

Molly: Okay, great recco, thanks Rian.

Tom: Yeah I mean Special Features. Such a great band. RENO LTD as well. koady’s doing amazing stuff. Shout out koady. I think at least the Brisbane scene is doing some really good stuff at the moment.

Molly: It sure is. There was another question from a previous interview guys. Rian, this was probably you as well… They asked you what your dream rider was…

Rian: …And what did I say? [laughs]

Molly: Do you want to have a guess? [laughs]

Rian: It's probably something to do with pot.

Molly: It is! A nice bowl of weed and some big papers, some sour beers, red snappers and maybe some guac and corn chips.

[everyone laughs]

Molly: What would it be tonight?

Tom: I don’t think it’s changed, has it? [laughs]

Rian: Case of Toohey’s Old. Probably… A little bowl of weed.

Tom: A little bowl, not a nice big bowl [laughs]

Mol: A bit more responsible.

Tom: Stu is actually a wine distributor so…

Rian: Yeah, maybe some natty?

Tom: Maybe he should just be doing our own rider?

Rian: He should be our wine merchant.

Tom: Yeah, he should be sponsoring us.

Molly: Oh lovely. I wanted to ask as well, what have you missed? Obviously you're in such a fun season now and playing these shows has brought out the fun and the magic again. But have you been missing the band for the past few years, do you still see each other regularly?

Tom: I mean… Yes and no. I've definitely been missing Good Boy and the energy and stuff on stage. It's also a totally different thing, playing in Good Boy to playing in all the other bands that I've played in. Being the only guitarist is actually fucking terrifying [laughs].

Molly: You're kind of exposed.

Tom: So exposed, but that also keeps me sharp and I guess I've been missing that too actually.

Molly: Great, what about you Rian?

Rian: I sometimes miss Tom, Stu and Marli. I see Marli socially sometimes, but we mostly don't really see each other outside of the band. I do miss the mateship but they're always a text or a phone call away. The playing music… Not so much. The touring… Not so much. I have different values in my life now I guess. I do still love going to see bands live but I like to get up really, really early and go birding or go for a bike ride.

Molly: Love it.

Rian: It's a bit different now.

Molly: Thanks so much Tom and Rian. Can't wait to see the set!

Rian: Thanks very much for having us.

Molly: Woohoo!

Tom: Thanks!

Listen to Good Boy below.