An Interview With Good Job
A massive new single from Good Job blends a dark-edged alternative rock with industrial undertones that bring up slightly nostalgic soundscapes for some of us and utilize a very unique blending of textures to build an atmosphere that takes you over.
"Porch Light" feels with sounds that stretch across the span of the entire track bringing on a spiciness that you can really float in and out of a free will.
Vocals have a really cool and quirky Swagger to them that makes them unique and tasteful which also adds to that edginess and the alternative tones of the whole thing.
This is very catchy and it comes with a radio friendliness that you can connect with as it utilizes gigantic guitar tones and floating synth pads that lay beneath melodic vocal performances and outstanding progression changes.
This track has a great way of building and also boasts a cinematic feel a lot of the time which lets it sort of wrap itself around you.
You get this alt-pop and post-punk guitar lines that also swim through the song's ether and plays a big part in that huge tonality.
The other thing is just the way that it's arranged which is quite brilliant actually as you get these little breathers during certain verses and the music becomes slightly more subtle before exploding into these giant epic climaxes.
All of this gives this alive and breathing feeling to the track and that's something that you don't get a lot.
After you listen to this track you kind of feel like you've just seen a movie and when it's over you have to shake it off to ground yourself again.
I love songs that take you out of reality like that. I think we all like songs like that because they are a form of escapism and that's something that we all want from music some of the time if not all of the time.
You get that chorus kind of stuck in your head and it stays bouncing around for quite some time after the song is ended which is also quite cool.
This was definitely on a level all its own and even though it breeds a combination of sounds that feel familiar and comfortable, it also is done with a lot less boundaries than you'd expect which is refreshing.
With the release of such an awesome single, we wanted to have a sit-down with Good job to find out where this came from and what might be coming up next for them.
Here's what went down.
We are here with the members of Good Job.
Nick: Hi my name is Nick I play the bass and I bring the energy.
Jon: I’m Jon. Drums.
Erik: My name is Erik Sanchez and I am me. Oh and I also play guitar.
Michael: I’m Michael and I play guitar and sing.
TSWS:Let’s kick things off with “Porchlight”. This single has a great edginess to it and touched on pop
punk at times! Where did this track come from?
Michael: So I wrote this song after I went to a party and I was outside catching some fresh air and this
guy just wouldn’t leave me alone. Kept asking me random questions. The conversation wasn’t going
anywhere. I felt like I was suffocating little bit. I gave him some pretty clear social clues I didn’t want to
talk.
TSWS:When did this all start for you guys?
Jon: So I have been in bands since I was 13 back in Virginia. I moved out here in 2013 for a girl and it
didn’t work out. I ended up meeting Mikey and we ended up moving in together and living together for
5 years. So I had been bugging Mikey to start a band since we moved in together. So we started this.
Mikey had been doing solo stuff for a long time and I just wanted to see him grow and turn it into
something I thought it could be. Into something bigger and better and to just push his talents. So then
we met Nick over Facebook, he had a really interesting profile. We also had a different guitar player
named Adam. We don’t talk about him very much, he was a very helpful but also not a very helpful
person. He decided to leave the band right before COVID after we finished out first EP. We then went
into the studio at Nick’s dad’s house who has a full studio in the garage. We recorded the album
“Momento Mori”. Right after we recorded the album Erik joined the band.
Erik: yeah I joined the band right after they finished recording. I had known the guys for a few years,
Nick and I have been best friends since Jr. High. Before COVID I was just out there doing my own stuff
and then when COVID came about that kind of opened my schedule. When I went to jam with the guys I
didn’t know it was an audition.
Jon: Yeah he didn’t know it was an audition but he knew every single song….
Michael: Yeah he came with his resume…
TSWS:What inspires you to write a song?
Michael: Personal experience. I see it as a way of processing what is on my mind at the time. I try to
write as honestly as possible and I think that comes through in the songs. Every song is a moment of my
life that we get to capture on tape.
TSWS:The single has some great Styles! Can you give us some of your top musical influences?
Jon: My influence is mainly the 1975. Really groove driven. Very rhythmic but also nostalgic in the way
they cover like every single time period. First album was very 80s. Second album they leaned into that
Prince vibe. Then the 3 rd and 4 th album very Radiohead and OK Computer. Then with the new album it’s
very folky because it’s all real instruments.
Erik: Before I joined this group I almost exclusively played acoustic guitar so my biggest influence overall
is probably Nick Drake. Which may be hard to hear in the single but I think it comes from fusing that
with my love for Taking Back Sunday. So I think if you take that and somewhere in the middle you will
find me.
Nick: So for me as far as how I play bass in the band my biggest influence would be Nick Harmer from
Deathcab for Cutie. I think he’s probably my biggest bass influence for this style.
Michael: And for my I pull a lot from shoegaze bands. Like my Bloody Valentine, Slowdive. Heavy pull
form Interpol one of my favorite bands of all time and my Chemical Romance.
TSWS:What are you all doing when you’re NOT working on music?
Nick: Working, spending time with family. Jon and I both have kids so we both spend a lot of time at
home.
Erik: Yeah I spend a lot of time with my dog or playing video games. I also go to a lot of techno and
house shows. I actually work door at some of those.
Michael: I really enjoy thinking about writing music….. Just kidding. I try to stay creative whether that’s
projects around the house, or like painting. I spend a lot of time taking care of my dogs because their
ancient. One just turned 16. I’m also preparing for my wedding which is coming up.
Jon: Yeah we’re from Seattle so it rains a lot here. So we stay inside for the most part
Erik: Yeah that’s why music is so important to us.
TSWS:Who’s in all your headphones right now?
Erik: I’ve been really into Nilufer Yanya. She’s from the UK. Really great vocals meshing R&B, soul and
indie electronics. Very much an up and coming rising star. Also really discovered. Bombay bicycle club.
(everyone: YES!!!)
Nick: Obviously Deathcab for Cutie, Sean McVerry. JB Boone and the Winnetka Bowling League.
Jon: the 1975 definitely. Also I listened to the Black Parade in full for the first time the other day so I’m
in this My Chemical Romance binge right now. Very sad right now.
Michael: I’ve been listening over the last few months I’ve been diving deep back into the Def Tones. I’ve
been really not the Def Tones and the talking heads. Because that’s what we’re trying to model our next
album after. Also I have been listening to the entire catalogue of the Gorillaz because I’m getting ready
for their new album.
TSWS:Are you guys going any live performances right now?
Michael; Yeah we will be playing at Chop Suey on March 8 th with Modern Daze and Lane lines which will
be a very fun show. And we also just got booked for the Skagit Country Tulip Festival on the 22 nd of April.
TSWS:The single feels like a big undertaking, is there any advice you’d give to other up and coming
bands out there?
Michael: Take your time. Don’t over think it. And know you’ll never have a perfect take. It’s the
imperfections that make something special when it comes to recording.
Nick: Be genuine.
Erik: Also work with people you like and that you vibe with. If those things aren’t meshing then you
won’t have a solid foundation to work with. We found that it’s easier to be more inspired when
everyone enjoys being around each other.
Michael: Shout out to Cade Legat who produced these singles.
Jon: Yeah everyone has a piece in this band that we work with. Whether it’s someone that’s recording
the band and producing or taking photo, or running a light show, running a promotion. We look at those
people as if they’re in the band. With us it’s more like a big family or collective of people that we really
value and we want to grow with in this Seattle scene.
TSWS:What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
Michael” Definitely another single coming out later this year. And word on the street is there might be
an album on the way.
TSWS:Before we go, what would you like to say to fans of the music?
Erik: Come say hi.
Michael: I love you, I appreciate each and every one of you. And remember that you matter.