A Dirty Dozen with ALL GOOD THINGS – May 2021

According to a recent press release: “Next-generation rock group All Good Things just dropped a monstrous new version of their anthemic hit “For The Glory,” now featuring Johnny 3 Tears and Charlie Scene of Hollywood Undead. The track, an unapologetic victory song for the underdog, with lyrics like “We celebrate with the city tonight/ Hear the hometown cheer/ It’s the ultimate high,” has already resonated with millions of listeners around the world with its original version reaching over 100M streams across digital platforms to date. This new, amplified rendition comes ahead of the band’s first full-length studio album since signing with Better Noise Music, due later this year. All Good Things creates cinematic epic rock that celebrates the underdog, lifts the fallen, and all out gloats in victory. Pairing post-apocalyptic pump-up rock with powerful lyrics, AGT crafts a massive, bombastic sensory assault of anthemic heavy rock, summoning vistas associated with gaming or blockbuster movies.” We get the band to collectively discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

On first listen to “For The Glory,” you might think “this is some tongue in cheek swagger jock rock right here!” Honestly, that’s kinda how we wrote it initially, but once it started coming together, and since it’s release, it’s become a real anthem for the underdog, and gives you a vibe of unity, camaraderie and team spirit.  We had SO much fun writing and recording this song, and I think you can really feel it in every part.  The new bridge featuring Charlie Scene and Johnny 3 Tears was written during Covid, and it added like an urgency, and an “I survived!!” energy that was so relevant to the time we released it, that it made people identify even more.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I think for most of us we had an older brother, sister or relative that introduced us to music, and you have that, you know 🤯 moment.  You start by listening to recordings of other artists, then someone hands you an instrument when you’re like 5, and says “you could make those sounds if you wanted to. Go ahead”.  It opens up a whole world to you. Then there’s the whole starting out sounding awful, then gradually getting better with practice. That’s a HUGE confidence builder, and you get addicted to the gratification of conquering songs and mastering new skills. Then you start making your OWN music, and it’s like “LOOK WHAT I HAVE CREATED!!” Of course the song you write at 5 is probably shit, but the experience is pretty gratifying.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Specifically for All Good Things, initially we were inspired by super theatrical music like Queen, MCR, Muse, Linkin Park and 30 seconds, because we were primarily writing and recording for film, television and video games.  But dynamic bands with fresh sounds like  like Bring Me the Horizon, Nothing More and Architects have also contributed. And all of their live shows set the bar SUPER high for an exciting performance, both musically AND visually.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

You could pick any from the above list.  One of the reasons why we went with the name All Good Things was because we took all of our many collective influences, picked out the favorite bits of favorite songs,  threw them all in the pot, and then used them as inspiration to create our own sound.  When you listen to our music you can definitely hear us pay homage to our favorites.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Oliver Sykes and Jordan Fish.  They write such great songs. Strong hooks, interesting lyrics, with that quirky self effacing UK humor, and awesome cutting edge programming. They’re clever lads.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We write anthems for the underdog. We’re stadium style, epic, orchestral, rock, with pop hooks and lyrics that make you feel like it’s worth getting up in the morning, without being preachy. We get compared to Linkin Park (LOVE) 30 seconds (LOVE) and for some reason, Def Leppard 🤪 (STILL LOVE).  Somebody reviewing us said we’re the new Bon Jovi. At first we found that cringey, but then we were like “you’re comparing us to one of the most massive American bands of all time? We’ll take it”.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Andrew and Liz cook. Dan is a beer connoisseur so we gladly leave the drinks to him.  Tim and Miles definitely bring out the guitars and the sweet campfire harmonies.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Liz- Robert Plant; Miles – Dave Grohl; Andrew – Anze Kopitar; Tim – Joe Pavelski; Dan- Mike Campbell

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Liz would be helping raise orphan Elephants at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  Andrew would be  a professional poker player and golfer. Tim would be a sports commentator/ Journalist. Miles would be either a zoologist or  a hired assassin.  Or both.  Dan says he’d be a lift operator. 🤣

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

“What would constitute your dream tour? – Where, and with which other bands?” and “What’s your favorite All Good Things song?”

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Haha! We’ve made lots of steps. Waiting to see which ones were “missteps”.  Ask us again in a year 🤣.  But seriously, in this career you go in blind and clueless to ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. So all you can do is make the best decision with the tools and information you have at the time, hope for the best, and if it turns to shit, just learn from it and move on. There’s no do-overs in rock n roll.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Beatles – Abbey Road; Guns ’n’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction; Queen – ANY ALBUM; Michael Jackson – Thriller. Basically any album made in the 70’s or 80’s before there were toys and plug ins, and Protools, and Autotune and all that shit. Seeing how great producers and engineers got such iconic performances and signature sounds would be amazing.

BONUS QUESTION – Due to the current world situation with COVID-19 / quarantine / shelter in place, what have you discovered you miss the most from your life before the pandemic struck?

HUGS (and moshing)

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Category: Interviews