It might be 15 years later, but it feels no different from the beginning of his band days, writes musician Matthew Good on his blog.
“For me, I don’t feel lost,” said Good, who hasn’t performed with a band since November, 2005. “It’s not something where I have forgotten what to do. I got there the first day of rehearsals and it was like ‘Oh, yeah. OK.’”
After a successful solo tour last year to support his acclaimed release Hospital Music, Good is heading back on the road — including a stop in Halifax — with a full band in tow.
The Juno-award winner recently released a list of songs they will be playing on this eight week tour, and the selections include works from his time fronting one of Canada’s best alternative bands during the 1990s, to his deeply personal recent release, Hospital Music.
It was written after Good overdosed on an anti-anxiety medication he’d become reliant on following his separation from his wife. He was rushed to the hospital by paramedics and was later diagnosed as having type 2 bipolar disorder.
“It is nice, very nice,” said Good about getting to play those solo works with a band. “I am getting a new feeling for the songs.”
The British Columbia-based singer said it was hard to decide what to play on this tour. He not only had to take into account the learning curb of his new band mates, but also his own ability to remember how to play some of his older works.
While the guys — they include Bluenoser Stuart Cameron — came into the 10 day rehearsal period knowing the album versions of songs, Good said there was some fine tuning translating those into a live performance.
“It’s like a guy’s head is so full of information and you just pop the balloon,” Good said. “It’s a challenge, we’ve got you guys second, and I don’t like playing bad shows in your town.”
“I like your town a lot. That’s my problem, I want to go in there and deliver it.”
