goudie

Bio:

Listen to charismatic front man and Goudie namesake Johnny Goudie on the band's tantalizing opener, "Baby Hello," and you can almost envision him slithering over their trademark blast of scorching guitars. Two more songs into Goudie's astonishing debut effort, 'Peep Show', and you realize another curtain just may be lifting on rock's ever-changing landscape. But being compared to past and present icons like The New York Dolls and Radiohead doesn't phase the Texas group. The wiry foursome would like it to be known, however, that even though the Austin Chronicle has already crowned them "the band to watch in the year 2000," they are much more interested in the kind of spontaneous glimpses they offer up on 'Peep Show'. "The recording process was very organic," says Johnny. "This album was a strong group effort. It came together by the four of us working in a very loose and spontaneous fashion." An example of this unfettered style is how Goudie drummer Bill Lefler came up with the original verses for the band's aforementioned anthem "Baby Hello," at home, and brought it to the rest of the band for their perusal. "We jammed and came up with the chorus. And then I went home and wrote the lyrics and we recorded it," beams Johnny. Goudie also co-wrote a handful of songs with friends such as Kevin Hunter (Wire Train) and ex-Go Go Jane Wiedlin. Peep Show also includes a guest vocal by one of the band's idols, Aimee Mann on the album's dreamy closer "When Will You Be Mine?." From the eerie, pleading "Julia" to the freewheeling "Buy Me," there is something surreptitiously soulful about Goudie. "Maybe it's our diverse influences," says bassist Einar. "I was a huge Kiss fan, a huge Pretenders and Police fan." Johnny has a whole other set of influences. "My mother was a big hippie," says Johnny. "So, I was raised on Dylan, The Beatles and stuff like that. I never studied music, because I wanted to develop my own musical identity. I chose style over technique." On the other hand, drummer Bill Lefler attended the Berklee College of Music where he learned to balance his natural affinity for drumming with skills that would allow him to grow into an accomplished songwriter. Guitarist Jimmy Messer grew up on a steady diet of Zeppelin and Sabbath. However, he credits contemporary film composers such as Danny Elfman with helping shape his cinematic style, which is his special gift to Goudie's overall sound. "We started around September of 1997," recalls Johnny. "We got together and did some demos, and began playing shows around Texas." But the band's real break came in the spring of 1998 when The Music Company's Dan McCarroll caught a bootleg showcase of sorts during the South By Southwest Music Conference (the band was never sanctioned by the music convention). He like their show so much, that he had the group set up another showcase in Los Angeles for The Music Company's founder, Lars Ulrich. With all parties liking what they saw and heard, the group was signed to The Music Company in August of 1998, and soon after began recording the basic tracks in Austin with Dan McCarroll (drummer-Sheryl Crow, The Grays, Aimee Mann) and Mike McCarthy (Sixteen Deluxe) co-producing with the group. After the core sessions were completed in Texas, the band mixed the disc in L.A. with Jack Joseph Puig (No Doubt, Goo Goo Dolls, Jellyfish and Hole.) "I think one of our biggest strengths is our live show," says Johnny. "I'll never forget when I was 13, I went to a Cheap Trick show and there was this great girl there who could not take her eyes off Robin Zander. I knew right then that I wanted to be on stage. I remember saying to myself; 'Okay, so I'll learn to play guitar.'" Einar agrees that it's the Goudie stage show that gives the band its undeniable identity. "I think what we are really about is being a really good live rock band. It's that simple. When we recorded the album we tried to capture that feeling. We would do a song a day. Look, we are audience members ourselves. We perform and record in the spirit that we'd like to see if we were the fans. Our biggest asset is we love what we're doing." With 'Peep Show', Goudie makes that crystal clear.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record Reviews Phases and Stages BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY November 23, 2001: Goudie Effects of Madness (India) With last year's red-light Peep Show, Goudie joined the rolls of Austin bands who made it to a major label -- or at least a Metallica-drummer-owned offshoot -- only to find the suits "forgot" to budget enough money to promote their album. This time, however, it looks like the quartet may get the last laugh, because its locally released follow-up Effects of Madness is loads better anyway. The band still occupies the same hormonally charged glam/grunge territory, only this time out the songs are much better realized -- most come complete with intros, verses, choruses, bridges, and all that good stuff. (A few even feature bells!) Opener "Nobody's Perfect" and "Down" are reminiscent of Spacehog's shambling, platform-heeled sway, while "Upside Down & Pink" couches its showbiz cynicism ("Hollywood is nothing they promised you") in a breezy bassline and rich layers of acoustic guitar. "Don't You Love Him When He's Cruel" and "Cellophane" are stage-ready Cinemascope rockers that beg for flashpots and a wind machine. Elsewhere, there's plenty on hand to satisfy aficionados of the Beatles, Bowie, and pre-Kid A Radiohead, leaving Effects of Madness as the best big rock album to come out on a regional boutique label this year. Ain't life strange? -----austin chronicle----2001

Member Since:

December 12, 2004

Members:

1997-2001---- johnny goudie, einar, bill lefler, jimmy messer--- 2001-2002----- johnny goudie, einar, nina singh, sean mullens--- 2002---- johnny goudie, einar, nina singh, jonas wilson

Influences:

blur, my boody valentine, wilco, the beatles, danny elfman, kevin hunter, suede, radiohead, sub circus, richard ashcroft, the verve, oasis, the eels, sigur ros, bob dylan, the rolling stones, texas, the cardigans, led zeppelin, the flaming lips, 16 deluxe, the flying saucers, cheap trick, jellyfish, the grays, remy zero, travis, jeff buckley, pulp, beck, elliot smith, queens of the stone age.....

Sounds Like:

Austin's Goudie has built a reputation for melodic pop, but its major-label debut is surprisingly rock: Peep Show wallows in thick walls of guitar and arrangements constantly on the verge of collapse. While it's not the kind of bombast you'd expect on Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich's Elektra imprint, rarely do young bands cover so much territory as confidently. There's something futuristic about the effects and loops that are used to integrate influences like Radiohead, the Cars, and Cheap Trick, yet front man Johnny Goudie offers an appreciation for the fine line between spooky and sexy. It could be just the right recipe; competitors like Limp Bizkit certainly haven't come up with anything as suggestive and fulfilling as "Made," a psychedelic-metallic freakout that sounds like Nine Inch Nails covering Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker." And sure, most of Goudie's songs are variations on the same theme, but what great rock debuts weren't all about sex? -andy langer, texas monthly july 2000

Record Label:

TMC/Elektra 1998-2001, INDIA RECORDS 2001-2002