Matthew Good - Biography

Taken from official site - www.matthewgood.org

If there is one overriding theme in the career of Matthew Good it is misperception. From his days with the Matthew Good Band to his solo work, Good has weathered a storm of misperception that would have defeated many others were they in his shoes. If anything, it stands as a testament to his ability to produce record after record of quality work while being assaulted by negativity towards him from influences both personal and impersonal.

Born the son of a colonial Englishman from India and a native British Columbian in late June of 1971, Matthew Good grew up in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam where he and his younger brother Chris nurtured a love for all things music. At the insistence of their mother both boys played violin, though neither would remain interested in the instrument past the age of 13. The brothers attention gravitated towards rock and roll, Chris saving money to purchase a turn table on which to play LP’s from a growing collection that spread from the early works of Bob Dylan and Jim Croce to the likes of neighborhood favorites such as Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Who, the Boom Town Rats, and others. Mixed in with these records were older LP’s owned by their parents by classical composers, big band orchestras, and folk musicians, giving the brothers a wide base of appreciation that they would not fully recognize until adulthood.

In the mid 80’s Vancouver was home to a burgeoning hardcore scene, one that Good and his friends gravitated towards in earnest. Local bands such as No Means No, Death Sentence, DOA, Sons Of Freedom, and SNFU dominated his turntable along with the works of international acts such as The Clash, The Jam, The Police, U2, Echo and The Bunnymen, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Billy Bragg and others. Mixed in with these recordings were records by notorious US bands such as the Dead Kennedy’s, Minor Threat, The Descendants, Public Enemey, BDP, and Big Black. Though not obvious musical influences in his work, the attitudes of these bands would be reflected in Good’s own attitude and outspokenness in the years to come.

In the late 80’s his turntable was eating the likes of the Pixies, Afghan Whigs, Talk Talk, and old favorites like Bob Dylan and The Who. It was during this period that the Good family fell on even harder economic times than previously faced, forcing them to rent out several rooms in a three bedroom townhouse. Good left college, lived in the basement, worked days and sometimes nights, painted, wrote, and for the first time in his life picked up a guitar. Circumstances being what they were, he gravitated towards one of his most beloved influences for direction, Bob Dylan, and though he spent some time singing in a short lived band with friends, the majority of his development came by attending open mic nights and struggling through his own compositions.

Since fumbling with a borrowed guitar in that unfinished basement, Matthew Good has recorded six studio LP’s and three EP’s. He has toured Canada ceaselessly since the early 90’s, produced some of the most provocative music videos by a Canadian artist, published three years worth of prose, spoken his mind, stood his ground, influenced young people in Canada and abroad to look at the world in which they live differently, been threatened with violence on numerous occasions, and through it all he has still been able to produce quality work that has grown and diversified. And while he continues to contend with the negative light that many cast him in, he chooses to answer back by using what influence he has to speak out for human rights, true democratic freedoms, and equality for all people.

The boy from Coquitlam may never go along to get along. In the end it may even mean his ruin in a business that is designed to champion those that are willing to. For the time being Matthew Good continues to record and perform music and use his voice to start a dialogue with others about more than just rock and roll. The fact that you’re reading this may mean that his work and his voice have touched you in some way. Ultimately, a shared experience is what it’s all about.

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