► Some might not be aware that “Good Friend” was created from the ashes of “Under Stars and Gutters”. What happened to your previous band?
Jake Woods : The previous band was just something that went on too long, things got too shitty and weird and the band got very far removed from where it started out, by the end the only original member left was Adam. The whole thing had just lost its voice and its direction; I think Adam and I in particular felt we were doing things that were expected of USaG and not what we wanted to do. By the end all the members were living in different corners of the UK and Ireland, and we made the decision to just consolidate a little and start with a clean slate.
► Do you feel there is a big difference between the two bands, or is there still some of USAG’s sound in Good Friend?
I honestly believe that these are two VERY different bands, yes they both have Adam’s voice, but even his approach to songs and melodies is so different than how Under Stars worked. We basically decided to get rid of all the crap, cut songs down to their bare minimum and get rid of some of the over-indulgent parts that USaG could be guilty of. The thing is most of the songs that USaG were living off and playing live were written by someone else who left the band, so naturally new personnel brought about new sounds.
► How was the recording process? Are there songs on the EP that have been written for a while?
The songs that are on the EP were written about a month before we went into the studio, with the exception of ‘Hospital Walls’, which was completed roughly 12 hours before we hit the studio. In terms of the recording process we did things a little differently than any of us had done before. We tracked the EP with Patrick Trolan from Broken Studios in a holiday home in Portstewart, and then sent the songs off to Canada, to a guy called Steve Rizun from Drive Studios. For us this was a weird way to do things, we had no idea what Steve was going to do to the songs, we just had to trust in Steve’s ability, we knew what he was capable of, he’s worked on some incredible records like Cavalcade by The Flatliners, we knew what we’d get back would be good, just didn’t know what kind of good, whether he’d hear something in the songs we didn’t and change things around a little.
► Many acts are caught in the dilemma of either trying to raise funds for the band through releases or giving their music away for free to get as many downloads as possible. As a band you have tried both methods for your debut EP. In retrospect, which method do you feel was more helpful for the band?
I’m not entirely sure; I think both have their advantages. Money’s tight for just about everyone at the minute, and I think that asking people to pay for your small independent punk band’s songs is a bit much some times. At the same time we put our own money into financing this EP (and any records in the future most likely) and there’s that old school of thought that giving anything away for free is implying that it’s worth nothing. I think at this time the free download/free streaming sites have helped us the most, it’s gotten our music out there, to a mostly positive reaction, how many people would have heard the EP if we’d forced people to buy it? The extra pocket money would be nice, but it’s just that: a little bit of extra money, it’s not the be all and end all.
► You’re one of many high-intensity rock acts from a very fruitful North Coast music scene. Do you think its bands taking inspiration from acts like ASIWYFA and Axis Of, or is there just something in the water?
I think there’s just something in the water. There were high intensity rock bands before both of those bands, hell, both of those bands were born of high-intensity rock bands like Zombie Safari Park, Man Over Bored and The Dragged. It just always seemed to be what worked best, the North Coast while being extremely beautiful is also quite boring, and these loud intense bands seem to be the way that the people involved chose to channel the boredom.
► You also have a connection with Newcastle-upon-tyne, England; being played on that region’s introducing show. Does the band have a base up there?
Well Adam, Bryan and myself all live in Newcastle with Clive moving over in September, the band will live and be run from Newcastle for the foreseeable future. In terms of a base we have a lot of very supportive and talented people around us here, it’s a great city.
► Belsonic is a festival which brings many big acts to Northern Ireland, with a number local acts getting the opportunity to support them. If you could choose a band from this year’s line-up who would Good Friend love to open for and why?
Looking at the list, Paramore would make the most sense musically but in terms of a show we would actually want to be a part of, the Duke Special and Foy Vance show would be pretty special, as would Two Door Cinema Club a home grown band that are taking the world by storm and if memory serves a great time live. Oh, and Tom Jones, who doesn’t want to support Tom Jones?
► What other NI bands have you guys been listening to recently?
A Plastic Rose, always, I’m not sure those guys have ever written a bad song. Axis Of are simply incredible and I really dig ASIWYFA’s ‘Gangs’ record. The Good Fight and SixStarHotel are two blasts from the past I still listen to at least weekly, I’m not sure N.I. music will ever do better than SixStar’s ‘A New Kind Of Crusade’ It’s pretty much a perfect record, Northern Irish or not. Gascan Ruckus are a band USaG played with a few times towards the end, and they are just the best guys and a hell of a band to see live, as are More Than Conquerors who I was fortunate to see last time I was at home, fantastic band and seem like real good people.
► Does the band have any shows coming up soon?
At the minute, no. We have blueprints and plans for tours in the U.K. and hopefully the sunnier climes of Europe, but it’s really waiting for Clive to get over here, and then it’s all systems go. Ideally we’d like to do another E.P. before we really hit the road though, which we’re working on via the internet at the minute. We’ll hopefully make it back to Ireland for some shows at some point in the near future as well.
Twitter ► @GoodFriendband Facebook ►/goodfriendband