bn a mainstay in
ally Vancouver,
of the Ghetto
dently to rave
b. The Matthew
pase three more
ersing in 2002.
p albums on his
ess commercial-
y and musically
—not to men-
Good has also
ved over time.
with Amnesty

dless hours of

readers of his
every kind. And
ugh. When told
Get Your Vote
Good was vot-
he to vote, Matt
that says: Matt
f you don’t get

ist-turned-arts
d, another guy
an often-light-

pod at the Get
he spoke along
ras surprised he
kactly one year
where Noam
+ Matt negotiat-

fans wanting
autographs, to
litical whatnot.
he back of the
tre and we got

topics. When
that evening,
essed the value
the political
portunity to go
safe to engage
d questions we
y things. Good
al forums such
ing places to sit
hey youth vot-
portion or gay
he role religion
ave to look at
government
P gay-marriage
t far more reli-
ouldn’t have
atsoever.”
reform, such
Ss coming elec-

tion, Good emphasized a need for improved
representation during the forum, and most of all
for the people to hold government accountable.
From this perspective, one could assume that he
is enjoying the current system. Good, however,
is a big proponent of proportional representa-
tion. Thus, he will be voting yes to STV. Besides
the increase of representation, Matt says that
consistent minority governments could well be a
good thing, “It places people from different par-
ties in the awkward [position] of having to work

together, which could be disastrous as well as

positive.” Matt resisted calls from the crowd to
run for office, saying musicians should never
become politicians. I guess that ruins my
chances.

I asked Good, a well-travelled bloke who has
been across this country dozens of times, what
Canada’s best-kept secret was. “Quebec City” he
answered bluntly, “the old part of Quebec city is
like going back in a time warp, it’s better than
Europe, but in Canada.” He went on to take this

opportunity to encourage all Canadians who do
not understand Quebec’s attempts to achieve
distinct-society status to go there and experience
it for themselves. “Quebec is such a vital part of
this country, and so few Canadians go there. You
understand distinct society when you spend time
in that province,”
~We.moved on to chat a little bit about sepa-
ratism. Good ‘thinks that the logistical
probability of Quebec separation is small, but
that it should“never have to come to that. We
sHiould just be,6pen to what they want. After all,
we've got the rest of the country.
If you’re interested in hearing more about

Good’s crazy political opinions (referred to by
our good friend J.J. McCullough as neo-marxist),
you may want to visit www.matthewgood.net
and see just how much reading and writing this
man does. Makes you wonder where he fits in
the music. Well, worry not kids. We talked about
that too.

So, what do you do after ten years of Canadian
rock notoriety and having gone through myriad
phases that had you loved and hated by just
about everyone who listened? You do what any
self-respecting musician would do in your situa-
tion: release a greatest-hits album! But for Good
this is about more than just nostalgia and, per-

haps, the wondrous paycheque that comes along —

with a Christmas-season greatest-hits disc. I

 

v
zu
3°
Oo
&
Mm

asked him why now was the best time in his
career to do this, why not when the MGB broke
up? “For me, right now the record company ’m
with, I have one option left with my contract
after this record. So I kinda really wanted to give
them a record that would do well so I could go
and make a really freaky, fucked-up album.” Ah,
the clever art of kissing up when necessary to
get what you want in the end. This guy has been
around a while. So the lowdown on the greatest
hits is that, as you read this Good is recording
two new songs to go on a 16-track album of
radio hits. However, and this is unconfirmed
mind you, there is a good chance of a box set

which will also include a DVD with all the music
videos, and another disc of Good’s favourites,
and perhaps some unreleased fun. It should be
released around September. What more could a
fan ask for? Well, Matt says he could have done
four discs, but the company is only so gracious.

Also being discussed is the new lineup that
will be following Matty into the studio and on
tour. You can get a look at them in a-week or so
at Arts County Fair at UBC. The new lineup fea-
tures Limblifter front man Ryan Dahle, as well
as bassist Meegee Bradfield. I asked Good why
he joined up with Dahle now, after they had
known each other for so long. Good felt that the
past band, featuring former Copyright guitarist
Christian Thor Valdson, last remaining MGB
member Rich Priske, and drummer Pat Stewart,
who still remains, had run its course. “When
you're touring a catalogue, you can only expect
people to pay $30 to come see the same guys
play it for so long.” Beyond some serious musi-
cal chemistry, and years of friendship, Good
says he can relate to Ryan wanting to just lie
back and worry about playing guitar. Good also
says he always wants to play with musicians who
he feels have not gotten their spotlight. Glad to
know we'll be able to see more of our favourite
pocket-sized Vancouver guitarist.

Next on the agenda was music-business pol-
itics. While Good attests to having a lot of
creative control—his first two albums were
independently released and after Apparitions
Universal came to him—one must still play the
game to a degree. He spoke of choosing radio
singles. “The radio department pushes what
they want to push,” he said. “But if you don’t
agree with it and you want to go with something
you think would be relevant, they’re going to
work it less hard.” He then explains one of the
big advantages in the US over Canada—college
radio. While an indie band in the States can
make a healthy living off college radio, here in
Canada artists must rely on the major rock sta-
tions in each city. “If you don’t do radio (in
Canada), you're selling 5,000 records.”

As far as the next album, who knows? Good
says he will go into the studio, perhaps late this
year, to record the next full-length, and will con-
tinue to focus on a spontaneous, organic, and
natural recording style, though the exact sound
is as much a mystery to Good. We talked about
the effect technology has had on music produc-
tion for the better and worse. While Good
recognizes and appreciates the uses of digital
recording, he hates the decline of musicianship
that has occurred as a result. “A lot of the dar-
ling indie bands in Canada, I’m not going to
name which ones, can barely play. And they go
on the road and people are like, ‘they're the
GREATEST!’ And it’s like, fucking shut up,
learn to play your instrument at least.” Ah, good
old Good. At least he has moved on and learned
to slag other bands anonymously. A tactic I may
one day learn to use.

So, here’s to ten more years of Matt Good.
May he continue to rock, enlighten, and piss us
off in true Canadian fashion.

 

April 6/2005 www.theotherpress.ca | 13