Good Old War is a band that has a huge future ahead of them. Their music has a feel good quality to it that can cheer up the darkest of moods, which is an attitude that fits singer/bassist/keyboardist Keith Goodwin. This interview took place on May 19, 2009 in Cambridge, MA.

PL: Introduce yourself.
KG: My name is Keith, and I sing, play bass and keyboards in Good Old War.

PL: Do you ever feel that you’re not prepared for a show?
KG: I used to, but not in this band. We play every day for four hours a day. We warm up before the shows and we’re pretty well prepared. The only time I get nervous is if I have a cold or something, but because we warm up, I feel prepared.
PL: Where do you warm up?
KG: Anywhere we can find. We find a quiet place. Today, we warmed up in a bathroom that smelled so bad I had to put a shirt over my face. If we can’t find a spot, we’ll just sit in the van and do it, but I like to be standing and do everything the way we would on stage.

PL: What’s helped you the most in getting your name out there so far?
KG: Anthony Greene has played a huge roll in getting our name out there so far. He took us on tour and he’s got a pretty good fan base. We were his band and we played a set as our band on tour. It was six weeks long and we hit every major city. When we got back to those places, we had a hundred kids coming out to those shows. Gaslight Anthem just took us out on tour. They had a huge affect on the draw. Our label, Sargeant House, has done everything they can to get our name out there. Videos, radio play-we’ve been getting played on AAA radio. It’s not commercial; it’s a station that has members and is funded that way. That helps a lot. All those combined is what brought us here.

PL: Which region would you say has the best record shopping?
KG: I don’t do a lot of record shopping. I have a house and a fiancé and I try to save all my money because she works so hard when I’m not there. When I leave her, I can’t start spending stuff on myself. I have a goal to save up and make enough money where she doesn’t have to work anymore. She’s saving and I’m saving. If someone has stuff on their computer, I’ll take it from them. Its where I am in life right now. I want to buy things for myself, but I hold back right now. I went through a time where I had no money at all, so I’m used to not having those things.

PL: What do you guys do on a night where nobody wants to drive?
KG: We haven’t had any of those nights, but I’d say we’d probably end up getting a hotel room. Its important for us to get a proper night’s sleep; a good eight hours if we can. As singers, we have to take care of our bodies.

PL: How do you resolve arguments within the band?
KG: With me, any time something negative pops into my brain, I apologize to myself. I try to tap into a higher power and think that everyone is a divine human being. That eliminates everything and gives me a clear head. I’m not angry or frustrated or anything like that.
PL: I think that positivity comes through in your music.
KG: That’s awesome. For me, that seems to help. I haven’t always done that, but there’s been a big change since I have done that. I feel stress free. If Tim and Dan have a little thing, I stay out of it. I don’t judge them for arguing or anything like that. I think that’s a good thing not to do.

PL: How do you kill boredom?
KG: I guess sleeping kills it sometimes, but there’s not a lot of free time. We plan it out so we travel, we get to the venue, we eat, we warm up, we play, we watch the other bands and hang out. Its good when we’re playing with good bands because we don’t get bored at all. Movies on the computer help, but when we leave, we drive to wherever we’re gonna stay, sleep, get up and do it all again. I know Tim gets restless sometimes, and jamming and being musical helps. He’ll tap on things. Most of the time if we’re bored, we’ll kill that time with music, either listening to it or playing it.

PL: What do you learn from the other bands that you tour with?
KG: You can learn what to do and what not to do just by talking to people. I think its good to talk to other bands to find out what they’ve done to get to where they’ve gotten so far. It could inspire to do certain things and it could inspire us not to do certain things.

PL: What type of legacy would you like Good Old War to have when its over?
KG: Sweet songs, sweet melodies, sweet harmonies. A good live band. I’d like to see us playing as long as we possibly can and having people come out and enjoy themselves and we can enjoy it together. If I could do what Tom Petty is doing right now, that would be the greatest thing I could possibly do with my life besides getting married to my fiancé and having children. We’re just gonna keep plugging away.

PL: Is there anything else you want to say?
KG: Come out to the shows and we’ll have a good time.

Written by: RF
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