Good Old War

One of the largest crowds of the NonCom convention packed in to catch a set from Philadelphia’s native sons, Good Old War. With their name derived from the band member’s own names – Keith Goodwin, Tim Arnold, and Daniel Schwartz – the band formed in 2008 but has already released three records. They were one of the most buzzed about acts at NonCommvention and the general consensus seems to be that they’re going to become a much bigger blip on music’s radar screen in the near future. Last night, the boys of Good Old War treated the crowd to a few tracks from their latest album Come Back As Rain as well as a few of their “better” known tunes and even a cover of “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”.

Seriously.

In case you couldn’t tell by now, Good Old War is not burdened by self-consciousness. Playful and engaging throughout their set, the three members interacted with the crowd, goof-ily danced around, and generally were just very entertaining. Oh, and they played some great music, too. Earlier in the day, among the chatter on the convention floor was that “you simply have to see Good Old War Live to really appreciate them” and that their vocal harmonies were “on the level of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.” Clearly, that kind of high praise was setting quite the bar for a band that still hasn’t shaken the label “up-and-coming”. Even considering that, they did not disappoint. The harmonies that formed the core of their folk-pop truly were something to behold in a live setting.

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Good Old War are honored to have been handpicked to play direct support to Counting Crows  this Summer on the first leg of The Outlaw Roadshow Tour along with Foreign Friends & Filligar opening. So, get ready people, it’s going to be on heck of a good show every night! 

COUNTING CROWS / GOOD OLD WAR / FOREIGN FRIENDS / FILLIGAR
Jun 09 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony Summer Stage
Jun 12 - Danbury, CT @ Ives Concert Park
Jun 13 - Utica, NY @ Saranac Brewery
Jun 15 - Toronto, Canada @ Echo Beach/Molson Amphitheater
Jun 16 - Sylvania, OH @ Centennial Terrace
Jun 18 - Cleveland, OH @ Cain Park
Jun 20 - Vienna, VA @ Filene Center At Wolf Trap
Jun 22 - Rochester Hills, MI @ Meadow Brook
Jun 23 - Columbus, OH @ LC Pavillion
Jun 25 - Louisville, KY @ Iroquois Amphitheater
Jun 26 - Simpsonville, SC @  Charter Amphitheater Heritage Park
Jun 28 - Tuscaloosa, AL @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
Jun 29 - Southaven, MS @ Snowden Grove Park & Amphitheater
Jul 01 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Lawn at White River State Park

See All Good Old War Shows, Ticket Links & Details

Good Old War have just announced they will be joining Dispatch on their October shows. Good Old War is currently on their own US Headlining Tour, and will also be playing this year’s Bunbury Music Festival in July.  - SEE ALL DATES HERE

Jul 15, 2012 - Cincinnati, OH (US) - Bunbury Music Festival @ Sawyer Point at Yeatman’s Cove  w/ Death Cab For Cutie & Guided By Voices & And Many More

DISPATCH & GOOD OLD WAR
Sep 29, 2012 - Broomfield, CO (US) @ 1STBANK Center
Oct 01, 2012 - Minneapolis, MN (US) @ Orpheum Theatre
Oct 02, 2012 - Chicago, IL (US) @ Aragon Ballroom
Oct 03, 2012 - Chicago, IL (US) @ Aragon Ballroom
Oct 05, 2012 - New York, NY (US) @ Radio City Music Hall *
Oct 06, 2012 - Boston, MA (US) @ Agganis Arena *
Oct 08, 2012 - Toronto, ON (CA) @ Sound Academy
Oct 09, 2012 - Upper Darby, PA (US) @ Tower Theatre *
Oct 11, 2012 - Washington D.C., DC (US) @ Constitution Hall *
Oct 12, 2012 - Atlanta, GA (US) @ The Fox Theatre

* also appearing on show: The Parkington Sisters

(Source: goodoldwar.com)

Good Old War’s “Come Back As Rain” is featured as AmazonMP3’s “Daily Deal” today only for just $4.99 so if you don’t have it yet, now is a great time to grab it or turn your friends on to it so they can come dance and sing with you at a show!

Link - http://amzn.com/B0071YHV6Y

Good Old War’s new album Come Back As Rain features a HuffPost exclusive, “Lost At Sea,” that’s presented below, on its deluxe edition. The band has also just announced a series of dates with Dispatch.

Here are some thoughts by the group’s vocalist and guitarist, Dan Schwartz: “‘Lost At Sea’ was written on the ukulele actually. I found that the riff sounded almost like a pizzicato violin and so I recorded that and then added two counterpoint parts, one on the guitar and one on a 12 string guitar. It sounded like so much was going on and it was so orchestral and big with so few instruments. We took that counterpoint idea even further in the studio when Tim added a kalimba (thumb piano) which became the first thing you hear in the song. Tim then added some beautiful percussion that builds as the song goes on. Keith laid down a bass line on the piano and that wrapped everything up so nicely. The song itself was actually a birthday gift to someone, but many lyrics changed when it became a Good Old War song. It became more like little vignettes of a relationship.”

Some musicians are rock stars and let the lights separate them from the crowd. A number are inverted cabin dwellers, too timid to engage with the crowd. Others are worried about their future and plan every sentence they will say onstage. But folk band Good Old War is none of these; they’re a family with open invitations. The Philadelphia trio formed in 2008 and have released three albums full of feel-good tracks. Fans are never disappointed by Good Old War’s live shows since they offer their optimism and love for the crowd to enjoy. The best part is that what winds up happening is a complete reciprocation: everyone gets adoration.

“What’s up, party people,” asked singer and keyboardist Goodwin. “We’re about to rock out,” he said as they launched into “Window,” “Just Another Day,” and “Better Weather”. The crowd sang along to each song, never shouting but still making sure to voice the words loud enough so they rang like back-up vocals. It was as if Arnold’s bass drum turned each song into a dance folk tune and Goodwin’s hunched-over dancing encouraged everyone to feel at home.

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As much as they’re known for their recordings, GOOD OLD WAR’s intimate performances are difficult to forget. Whether it’s inside of a church, out in a small studio or at an average-sized venue that’s cozy and personal, they’re songs are hard to brush off due to the experiences they create. Before their recent set last week at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, we met up with the Philadelphia trio to document an acoustic session where they performed numbers from Come Back As Rain such as “Not Quite Happiness” and “Better Weather”.


Come Back As Rain is available now via Sargent House // iTunes | Insound

One of the most powerful features of music is being able to relate to an artist’s work and feel connected to the musician themselves. With honesty being their most dominant attribute, indie folk group GOOD OLD WAR have penned songs that have been so brutally sincere, it’s been difficult for fans and new listeners to shake off the acoustic bliss embedded in the trio’s first two releases and past projects. While camped out in Omaha, Nebraska, during the middle of their current tour, we caught up with vocalist Keith Goodwin via phone to discuss the band’s third album, what it’s like to be a part of the Sargent House family and their unique approach to songwriting.

There’s a short documentary online of you guys in the studio recording Come Back As Rain and, in it, Dan says a great deal of the songs were recorded live.
Did your surroundings influence what you were recording?

Yeah, when you’re in a good place with good vibes and no distractions I feel like you get good takes. The studio has great equipment, so the sound of the record I think is better than anything we’ve done so far. There are only two tracks that we did fully live. For the rest of them we did all the music live and then the vocals after that. But it was still cool. The way the room was set up, everybody could see each other and we could communicate while we were playing and that was cool. “Loud Love” was one of the songs recorded all live, and the other was a bonus track. There has been about three different names for this song so far, but I think it’s called “Take it Slow” now.
 

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Good Old War perform “Calling Me Names” from their new album Come Back As Rain in the Sargent House glassroom. Thanks to Behn Fannin for shooting and directing the session for us.

“One of the ingenious things about having three-part harmonies and significant vocal contributions from all three members of a group can lead you perfectly astray when trying - or attempting - to get at the crux of a lyrical idea. Good Old War’s Keith Goodwin might, technically, be considered the band’s lead singer, but the way that the songs here on the band’s first session with us play out, we can’t be sure if we’re just hearing about a specific girl or we’re hearing about a whole cluster of them. We don’t necessarily hope that there are numerous ladies being described here because we’re not sure that they’re all that great (or, more specifically, we’re not sure that they’re painted in the most flattering of lights), but it would take the air out of what could be a real mountain of tension, allowing it to be distributed evenly over everyone in the group. It could just be an interesting group dynamic that they’re all involved with women who give them nothing but horribly mixed signals. They’re great one day and then they’re driving them to the loony bin the next day, only to circle back around and find a way or ways to win them back over on the third day, reinstating the cycle.

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The boys from Good Old War perform “Better Weather” from their new album Come Back as Rain out now on Sargent House. Don’t miss them live they are on tour now! All dates HERE

(Source: teamcoco.com)

Good Old War was started by former Days Away members Keith Goodwin and Tim Arnold along with former Unlikely Cowboy member Dan Schwartz. They spent time as the studio & touring band for Anthony Green (Circa Survive) and the logical next step was to get serious as a three-piece. They already knew the musical direction would be acoustic driven with the vocals being a major part of the sound. The three-part harmonies would fall into place as a “happy accident”. The third Good Old War album Come Back As Rain was produced and engineered by Jason Cupp. It was recorded in Omaha, NE at Another Recording Company Studios. In the five weeks Good Old War spent there, 30 songs were recorded and eleven made it onto the album. Watch the guys in performance at our studio in NYC as they do three songs from the new record as well as a fan favorite from the debut album Only Way To Be Alone of 2008.

“Amazing Eyes” - A song that goes back 3 years that Keith could never finish. He loved the chorus part, but couldn’t put it all together. Upon meeting and working with Matt Hales (aka Aqualung), he helped him finally finish the song in about 2 hours.

“Calling Me Names” - One of the last songs recorded for the album. While cruising in the car, Tim and Keith would eventually work this one out. Tim couldn’t get the chorus out of his head. They took that hook, added the groove and the beat, as if they were making a hip-hop song, and would go back to the studio in Omaha and knock this one out.

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Good Old War backs the Keep A Breast foundation. Find out more about their important and great work and show your support too!
KAB Facebook // @keepabreast

Good Old War will be playing on the Conan O’Brien show with a GREAT lineup of guests including Aziz Ansari and Christina Hendricks. Thursday, April 5th 2012. Tune in!