Dead, Dead, GOOSE!!!

“May all your favorite bands stay together”

-Dawes 

If you’re ever at a loss for words when writing a closing salutation or birthday card, just throw in this classic Dawes lyric, “May all your favorite bands stay together.” Is there a better way to wish someone happiness? I’ve (Kody) actually started to make this a practice and it feels more right than anything I’ve ever closed a note with.

This song will no doubt receive a deeper dive on a future edition of The Music Swap. We’ll save that for later. By the way, you can catch all of our favorite bands mentioned here on a playlist we’ve created.

Also available on Apple Music.

Thank you for reading this. We enjoyed our first edition a lot and we’re glad that folks have welcomed the idea of a newsletter aimed at sharing songs and the sense they make of our lives. Our sophomore email is looking pretty fun too, branching out beyond my Mount Rushmore to showcase a little more diversity and eclecticism (had to verify that it’s a word). Make sure you stay for the entire show. We have a bonus track section from a big Deadhead. As always, join us in the swapping by leaving a reply or responding to the email.

And may all your favorite bands stay together!!! 

Hey Stranger by the Watchhouse (Ben)

Hey Stranger, by Watchhouse (the artist formerly known as Prince, or was it Mandolin Orange) 

This is a terribly easy song to listen to - lots of space for the strings of the banjo and mandolin and violin to do their thing. Emily’s vocals are calming and if you like to try to sing the harmony parts, Watchhouse is your speed. Hard to pick a favorite of theirs so I picked a most recent listen. You will enjoy the “roots” feels all evening if you let it keep spinning.

Also on YouTube and Apple Music.

Psalm 117 by Poor Bishop Hooper (Kody)

I just learned of Poor Bishop Hooper from a colleague at work. The name itself was enough to intrigue me. Like, please tell me this is literally a poor bishop of the Anglican tradition dropping deep theological treatises in song form. Not quite. Poor Bishop Hooper is a duo from central Kansas. But they’ve achieved something extraordinary in writing Psalm-based songs for all 150 Psalms. These songs are legit too. 

Have you heard of Psalms of the Day? Poor Bishop Hooper is a great compliment to praying through the Psalms each day. Give it a try. I’ve put today's Psalms - 27, 57, 87, 117, 147 - into a playlist for you. Also, when we feature a hymn or spiritual song, we’ll drop it into a “For Your Soul” playlist.

“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!” -Psalm 117:1

Also on YouTube and Apple Music.

He Stopped Loving Her Today by George Jones (Jonathan Berry)

As a kid in the 80s the primary music I heard was classic country riding around in my dads work truck with hay bales stacked in the back. I still love classic country, not just because of the nostalgia, but because it’s just some of the best music. One song that would get played often on that push button radio was “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones (which I would contend is the greatest country song ever written). Being a young child and not really catching on to what the Possum was singing about, I had a bad feeling about the song. I hated the fact this husband just stopped being in love with his wife! Then as a teenager realizing what George Jones was truly singing about made the song all that more powerful.  

My dad passed away in the fall of 2012 impressing upon me the brevity of life. With that on my mind and not having seen George Jones live, I went to one of his shows that next April not knowing it would be his last concert ever. He closed the night with “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” singing it with a weak voice with his signature twang bursting out every now and then. It would be the last time he ever performed it. That next week George stopped loving her. Here is a video I made that night of the best country song ever written being sung for the last time. 

Also on YouTube and Apple Music.

Bonus Track - Eclectic Corner: A Reflection on Goose’s Invitation to Jam with the Dead(heads)

My (Kody) good friend Adam Tait has a guest contribution for us this week. I’m so excited about this. Adam is a dear friend, amazing man, and eclectic music listener. We share a love for singer/songwriter music, but he well outpaces me in mastery of other genres, namely rap and jam bands. He surprised me a few years ago when he became a Deadhead (thanks to Mat Alexander). When Adam joins us on The Music Swap, we’ll call it the Eclectic Corner because he’ll make this newsletter feel a lot cooler than it actually is. Have at it Adam….

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What is the recipe for the perfect band? Is it two drummers? Is it that fact that a song can morph and change every time it is performed live? Is it an incredibly talented guitarist? Or is it the delightful rhythm guitarist?

If you haven’t already noticed I am describing two bands. One band is the greatest American band to ever step foot on planet earth, The Grateful Dead. The other is a band that I literally CANNOT stop listening to, Goose.

The similarities in my mind between The Dead and Goose are scary at times. Obviously, jamming is a priority and that is incredibly appealing to me. In addition, a crucial similarity, in my mind, that bonds them together is access. The Dead rose to popularity due to the allowance of fan recordings. Those fan recordings led to cassette tapes which then led to cassette tape trading. By the time the 80s rolled around The Dead could only play stadiums due to their massive popularity. Goose has done the same thing by streaming and recording a majority of all their shows. Big shoutout to Nugs.net by the way! And when the lottery opened for their spring/summer tour this year all the venues sold out immediately.

All of these comparisons reached a boiling point just weeks ago when Goose got the invite to perform at Dead and Company’s Playing in the Sand festival in Mexico. The guys even brought out Bob Weir himself to play a few covers. The magnitude of Bob Weir coming out to play with Goose is monumental. Bobby is a founding member of The Dead and arguably one of the greatest rhythm guitar players known to man. I could talk for days about how epic Bobby is, but I will spare you the torture.

One moment that stood out from the festival in Riviera, MX was an acoustic version of Peggy-O performed by Rick Matarotonda of Goose and Bobby Weir. Peggy-O is an American folk song derived from the traditional Irish ballad “The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie.” Bob Dylan latched on once the song crossed the Atlantic and The Dead played it on 265 known occasions. It’s an all time Dead cover and this rendition is riveting.

If you’re into The Dead you’ll be into Goose, but even if that doesn’t interest you this performance surely should.

“As we rowed up to Fennario

Our captain fell in love

With a lady like a dove

And he called her by name, Pretty Peggy-O”

P.S. If you’re wondering what my favorite Goose song is at the moment it’s Arrow and I think the best version of Arrow was performed live on 2022.03.12 featured on the Philadelphia, PA live album. And if you missed it I did just reference a song performance date, which is the most Deadhead thing someone can do! Groove peacefully my friends.

If you want to be like a Deadhead, watch the entire concert Adam references on YouTube here.

-TheMusicSwap

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