TOM LINDERMAN OF GOOD BOY

Hi Tom and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology. Firstly congratulations on your latest single CRF. You worked with producer Tim Morrissey of The John Steel Singers fame on this. What did Tim bring to the table that really shines through on this track?

Thanks! Tim helped us out with many aspects of the song. We wrote the bare bones of CRF out at a mate’s farm and then workshopped it with Tim a few weeks afterwards. We rejigged the song structure; most notably turning what we thought was a chorus into what is now a pre-chorus. The sound of the guitar part at the end of the song was also Tim’s doing. We plugged straight into the desk, distorted it and layered the riff with a few alternate versions. At the time I was a bit hesitant but it turned out to be a nice little feature in the song.

In working with Tim were there elements that he wanted to alter that were particularly hard to let go of considering the essential tune had been with you since its inception and now with Tim’s guidance, it began to take on a unfamiliar complexion?

Oh yeah for sure. It’s definitely hard to let go of certain aspects of a song that you’ve created but that’s part of the reason we wanted to work with Tim. He pushes us directions that feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable at the time but after a while you begin to realise it all makes sense. This isn’t usually how we write and record songs so it’s been quite a learning curve.

Are there times during your song writing that you already have some music semi fleshed out but what it is missing is the scenario (situation/instance/subject matter/love tragedy) to occur for it to then meld perfectly with music?

Yeah most of the time we have the instrumentation and structure written without lyrics or even a vocal melody. Rian (King) will usually have lyrics or poetry written beforehand but for no song in particular. CRF was actually the first time that we really tried to incorporate the lyrics and vocal melody into the arrangement of the instrumentation. Once again, this is Tim pushing us into unfamiliar territory.

There is a ‘I Heart Hiroshima’, ‘Peter Bibby’, ‘Dick Diver’ garage vibe to your work, not just musically but also in the biting socio-political commentary with its localised take on the Australian political landscape. As an endless frustration / inspiration, what is currently providing a source of lyrical musing based on Australian poli-tricks?

Honestly, it would be easier to ask “what isn’t providing a source of lyrical musing based on Australian poli-tricks?”. Our political climate has been a joke for many years now and I think that has become quite obvious to a lot of the population.

Aside from the obvious addition to the instrumentation, how has the inclusion of Daniel (Grima) and Matt (Luff) on horns altered the dynamic of the band?

Dan arranged the horns and played trumpet and Matt played sax for both CRF and Sodabread. Having both of them come into the studio and work their magic was an absolute pleasure. We had some ideas of how we wanted the horns to be arranged but they really took it to another level. The three of us are fairly mediocre musicians so it was quite humbling to have both of them come in and blow our minds. There are definitely going to be more tracks on the album with horns from Matt and Dan.

Your upcoming debut album is slated for release in mid-2019 but can we expect any tracks from your ‘No Love For Back Home’ ‘Plum’ EP’s to feature on your forthcoming album in a slightly reworked way?

Not that I know of. It’s never really come up as an option for us. Generally when we write and record a song and release it, that’s the way it will stay. I think we like to move on from a song pretty quickly once we’ve finished with it. In saying that, it would be kind of cool to revisit a song like “Waste Days or Ease your Temper”…

In terms of the writing and lyrical content, is there an overarching narrative tying the album together or an assortment of topics and inspirations that zig zag throughout the record?

Yeah I think the latter at this stage. The album hasn’t been written yet so it’s kind of hard to say. Of late we’ve written quite a few songs with political subject matter and there will definitely be songs on the album with such themes however I don’t think at this stage there will be an overarching narrative.

In what ways did you want to push the sonic boundaries and for that matter yourselves in writing and recording the new album?

We really wanted to push ourselves this time around. In the past the recording process has been quick and easy however we really wanted to work on songs this time and explore different avenues of instrumentation. I think previously we set ourselves these invisible boundaries of “we are a three piece and these are the instruments we play”. This has slowly changed over the years. The album is certainly going to a new sound for us and that’s super exciting.

The last time Musicology caught up with Good Boy was when you supported Grinspoon back in 2017. In performing with Phil and the gang, were there any learning curves that you went through by touring with the band that altered the way you now approach your craft?

I don’t think it really changed the way we write or perform music but it was definitely a learning curve in how the behind-the-scenes of a large production works and the un-spoken rules of approaching techs etc. It was also our first big tour (I think we played over 20 dates) so it definitely taught us a lot about touring in general.