The el Goose Times: Volume Five

Foreword by Marc Komito

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Table of Contents

VOL. 5 May 2022

Pages 3-5

Same Old Shenanigans: Interview #1 - Jeff Engborg

Pages 6-8

el Goose Chicks: Interview with Rita Caruso

Page 9

The Voice Beneath the Quill: Red Bird

Pages 10-11

Centerfold: Where’s Peter? Puzzle by Marc Chiavon & Khalee Kay*

Pages 12-13

Depths of Space: Winter 2022 Leg Two Review

Pages 14-15

Same Old Shenanigans: Interview #2 - Greg Knight

Page 16

It Burns Within: Cara Mitchell & Nazia Salam

Page 17

Hot Tea in Rick’s Kitchen Recipe #4: Engborg’s Influential Meatloaf

Pages 18 & 19

Classifieds & Ted the Goose Cartoon: “Ted and the Doppelganger”

Page 20

The Adventure of Strange Man Comic #1 by Sparkman Clark & So Ready for Tour with Rus So * Based on the original, iconic Where’s Waldo (#34, The Beach) illustration by Martin Handford

Editorial Staff

(satellite) Team

Jon Caruso TEDitor-in-Chief

Marc Komito Contributing Writer & Resident Dance Teacher

Lisa Governa Goose Chicks TEDitor & Classifieds Queen

Rick Gallego Resident Chef de Cuisine

Ryan Storm Music Maestro

Rus So OG Fan & Historian

Andrew DaRosa Feature TEDitor

Tamara Sastow Multi-Instrumentalist, Board-Certified Music Therapist & Goose Fan Extraordinaire

Paige Caruso Idea Entrepreneur & Goose Chicks Ambassador

Ky Cousin After-Party Advisor & Mozzarella Consultant Marc Chiavon Meme Wizard

Joe Joseph Creative Guru

Khalee Kay Creative Queen

Jack Quinn Number One Newsie

Special Thanks to Greg Knight & Dave DiCianni Not Pollock Sparkman Clark

Foreword by Marc Komito With purity of heart and singularity of purpose, The el Goose Times was born from passion and resides at the intersection of music and humanity. A publication of the people, by the people and for the people, our mission is simple: The EGT promotes Goose the band by promoting Goose the community. Our aim is to infuse the community we hold dear with love, light, and positivity by flipping the spotlight and reflecting the joy that emanates from those beloved musical notes onto the characters who create the space for them to thrive as well as the faces in the crowd who revel in them. At the EGT, we’re visual storytellers whose aim is to peek both behind the feathers and under the scarf.

Prior and current volumes have featured interviews with Andrew Goedde, Jon “Coach” Lombardi, Danny McDonald, Sam Bardani, Sam King, Matt Campbell, Sean Cronin, Will Thresher, Naveed Quarterman, Greg Knight, Jeff Engborg, and Rick and Peter’s moms Mo and Rita, respectively. Our “staff” was handpicked from the gaggle’s most avid historians, creative minds, and energetic news people: Peter Russo, Lisa Governa, Jack Quinn, Ryan Storm, Joe Joseph, Rick Gallego, Andrew DeRosa, Tamara Sastow, Paige Caruso and yours truly. Our cover art has been commissioned by El Goose’s finest talent: Not Pollock, Mike Kelly, Marc Chiavon, Otto Art and Ky Cousin. Without question, we are greater than the sum of our parts.

Bios on our social media accounts have shone the light on our team but never before have we flipped the spotlight on our TEDitor-In-Chief Jon Caruso and his wife Paige - affectionately known around our virtual offices as “Coattails''. Jon is the purest soul you’ll ever meet and The el Goose Times was born from the safe space he created with cartoons to combat the effects of childhood bullying. A lifelong passion for cartooning ultimately intersected with Jon’s love for Goose and Ted was born. This cute, mustachioed Goose with glasses championed a weekly meme poking light fun at the characters in El Goose. Fate intervened and the concept for The el Goose Times was born on the strength of Jon’s love, purity, and leadership.

After distributing our first issue at the Frederick Fairgrounds in Frederick, MD on May 3, 2021, EGT has now printed over 4,000 copies across five volumes, each larger and more impressive than the last as both content and quality have improved with each progressive effort. Whereas most such organizations might be waylaid by profit motive, Jon had no such aspirations. EGT is both nonprofit and self-sustaining. When we were merely dreaming big and feeling tall, we got up and running with a $75 donation from each of our first ten members. Today, The el Goose Times boasts annual subscriptions across thirty states and overseas!

Serious music fans commonly profess that “it’s all about the music,” but if you dig a little deeper, there is often revealed to be a web of personal connection of at least equal, if not greater, significance. When it comes to Goose, community was always a part of the blueprint, so when dissecting the deep love that exists for the beloved indie groove act from Wilton, CT, which came first – the music or the community– is very much a chicken or egg type of debate. Look no further than the earliest iterations of Goosemas as proof positive that building fellowship was an integral part of the process. The sense of belonging, the feeling of being united by common passion exists amongst our team at the EGT, just as they do amongst the Gaggle at large.

After all, love is real, not fade away. Wrong band? I think not.

So go everywhere, feel everything, see everyone you want yourself. We at EGT will be here waiting to multiply your positive vibrations and share in your groove. Thanks for supporting our endeavor and joining us on the road of Happy Destiny and know that as sure as you’re reading these words, we could never have done this without you!

All our love, The el Goose Times

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www.elgoosetimes.com

VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

Same Old The el Goose Times interview with

with Jon Caruso

Jeff Engborg (Musician & Wiltonian-at-Heart)

“Music is like a language.

I really can’t explain why there were so many good musicians in Wilton, but I got lucky moving there when I did.”

Diving deep into the history and mythology surrounding Goose, there’s a recurring theme of community: a collective energy that resonates on a deeper level - which, like the tide, ebbs and flows with the passage of time. One of the primary goals of The el Goose Times has been to focus on important people surrounding the band, as in our opinion, they’re just as important to understanding the overall story – like pieces to a puzzle. Without a doubt, Wilton, Connecticut is a constant force within the genesis and evolution of Goose.

In past volumes, we’ve spoken with a few important figures from Wilton, found within various early stages of Goose history (for example: Jon “Coach” Lombardi, Matt Campbell & Will Thresher), in an effort to gain new insight and perspective about a band we all love. For our one-year anniversary, we are continuing this trend with an interview with the man, the myth and legend: Jeff Engborg – a longtime friend of the band and an extremely talented musician. Born in 1987, Jeff Engborg Jr. (an actual real person, not just a song title) had a passion for music at a young age and moved to Wilton when he was 12 years old.

Pictured Above: Jeff Engborg at Catskill Jubilee in August 2021 | Photo Credit: Zander Ryzinski

Tell us about yourself: growing up, did you always have a passion for music?

I grew up with my uncle. We lived in the same house and he had a dusty old upright in his basement room. When I was about 6, I would sneak down into the basement and play the black keys of the piano. One time, he caught me and jokingly asked if, “I was ever going to play anything other than the black keys?” After that moment, he ended up showing me my first scale on the piano. Now, the guys I play with ask me if, “I’m ever going to play in anything but C, G, DM?” I just let them know that these are the funkiest keys to play!

My first friends were musicians and I’m still friends with some of them, to this day. When I moved to Wilton, I just told people I was a keyboard player – suddenly, I had 3 or 4 instant friends who were guitar players and/or drummers. Music is like a language. I really can’t explain why there were so many good musicians in Wilton, but I got lucky moving there when I did. I have spoken to Ben about this - he had the same thing to say, as someone who didn’t grow up there, but later came to know lots of Wilton folks.

Did you study music in college or was it more organic, self-taught?

I never had any lessons, but I had the opportunity to play with a lot of kids that did. I picked up a lot from them. One of the first people that I met was an amazing guitar player prodigy named Brenden Coomaraswamy. Brenden, who would later introduce me to Trevor, introduced me to a lot of new musical styles and artists like Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock and many others that continue to influence me to this day.

I’ve heard that you are a local legend in the Wilton community. Since you also grew up in Wilton, did you know anyone from Goose early on?

Yes, I was close with Trevor. Growing up, we would play a lot of music together. I have known him since I was about 16 or so – I’m 35 now, so a long time. We were in two bands: one was called The Wisps, that played the Fairfield cocktail party scene for older crowds (we had to make money somehow) and the other was called King Leaf, which was a conceptual progressive funk band with Brenden Coomaraswamy.

Pictured Above: A collage photos from a Bootyborg show with Rick Mitarotonda sitting in at Stella Blues in New Haven, CT | Photo Credit: Unknown

Growing up, I was always aware of Rick’s talents. I’m happy that I got to play as many shows and have as many great jams with him as I did. He would sit in a lot with my band Bootyborg, which was a local electro project that I put together that consisted of drummer Jon Leibowitz, myself, and bassist Colin Young. It was a fun little venture where we would play early 90s pop stuff like the Backstreet Boys, but get extremely funky with the groove. I would sing all the songs with a talk box and synth.

Coach and I played freshman JV hocky together - he was always a great teammate and friend. Jeff Arevalo was always someone I respected in the scene and love how much he brings to the band. I look a lot like if Jeff and Rick had a baby.

We also shared a bandmate at one point: the legendary pioneer Peter Castaldi, who was in both Goose and my band at the time! I will always be a Wilton musician at heart. I’m very grateful for the dozens of talented musicians I have met though this network, which have left an indelible mark on my playing, as well as how I approach and see music.

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Some fans might not know this, but you’ve toured with Great Blue (Peter Anspach’s original band) for a winter in Colorado and you were featured pretty heavily on the self-titled album, Great Blue, released in 2017. How did you meet Peter? What was it like touring with Great Blue?

Pictured Below: Great Blue Promotional Photo (2017)| Photo Credit: Peter Anspach

One day in 2017, I was shopping for a birthday present for a friend at REI, which is a camping store. I was approached by an extremely handsome, glasses-wearing associate on the floor and felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Peter, who asked me about my band Bootyborg - we ended up having a conversation about keyboards and synths! He helped me pick out the gift, rung me up and we exchanged phone numbers. A few weeks later, he called me to come jam with Great Blue, who are some of the most talented musicians and some of the greatest people I have the pleasure of meeting!

We all gelled really well together. When they were getting ready for their winter tour that year, they invited me to tag along. I was excited as I had never been to Colorado! I had the time of my life, traveling around with the guys and playing shows. We played a lot of awesome shows in the mountains, Crested Butte, moving onto Colorado Springs.

I am so happy I went into REI on that day and had the opportunity to connect with Peter, because he introduced me to Matt McNulty, who did Talk Peck Sound System. Through this band, I’ve had the opportunity to play with some of my childhood heroes like Tim Palmeri & Mike Greenfield from Lotus, Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig of the Disco Biscuits and many more that I greatly respect and look up to as musicians and people.

One of the songs off of Great Blue, Jeff Engborg, recently made its debut with Goose and has continued to stay in rotation. Many fans are calling it one of the breakout debut jams of the year! Tell us about the creative genesis and history behind the jam. Did you intend for the jam to be named after you?

I want to set the record straight here: the song had a different name at one point that was changed to my name during the mastering of the track by the band. When we were on tour in Colorado, we had a ton of downtime between shows - so me being a weird person, I would get them to watch Forensic Files. I named the song originally after an episode as a somewhat off-color joke. When I got the finished album, they had changed the name of the track to my name as a joke on me, which I thought was pretty funny. Now I have 300 new Facebook friends!

The song itself was thought of and brought to the band in four parts. The intro of “Jeff Engborg” was based heavily off of the horn arrangement in the song “The Bird Wave” from of my all-time hero (and funk organ master), Jimmy McGriff, off of his 1970 album Electric Funk. I composed the entire song: I knew all of the major segments of the song and gave everyone a loose description of the overall structure. I feel like each member added some of their special sauce on the song: Peter came up with the nice accenting guitar parts for the intros; I really like Ethan’s rhythm guitar parts and Nick’s tight fills on the track as well. On the studio track, I played all of the keyboard sections. Having the organ and clavinet in the room while we worked out the kinks really helped set the mood. I wanted the song to be heavy-hitting, but moreso grooving with the clavinet, focused on the 1s after the intro. We probably played this song more than any other song after it was made, and we got really tight at playing it live. As fun as it is to listen to, it’s an absolute blast to play! I am so happy that Goose has adopted the song on their last tour and hope to hear it played this summer as well!

What’s the story behind the Hammond C3 organ? In our early conversations you mentioned that you sold it to Peter and that organ is now used frequently in Goose sets.

Around 2017, I found Peter’s C3 organ on Craigslist late one night (who said this never yields good things). All the ad read was: “Estate sale large Hammond organ.” I knew it was either an M3 or B3/C3 from the picture, as the percussion was pictured. When I showed up at 8AM to see about the organ, the people didn’t know what I was talking about. Eventually, I learned that there was a barn about half a mile down the road that they thought it might be in. Walking into the barn, it smelled like a skunk had been living in there; it was very dusty. I saw something in the darkness, covered in tarps – it was the organ, which had been sitting in this barn for around 30 years! Uncovering the organ made me think of the dusty piano in my uncle’s basement. I knew it was the real deal! It was a prophetic moment. The organ turned out to be from 1955 and it is a very special organ. The organ was reported to have been played by Dave Brubeck who lived in Wilton, so the organ has mojo! Even though it was sitting for a bit, it was in immaculate condition - especially the wiring on the inside. It can be heard on Great Blue studio album and now everywhere Goose goes - as I sold it to Peter last year!

Goose fans might not know that you also wrote the guitar lick to “So Ready.”

Tell me about how you came up with it, how it got to Rick and evolved into what it is today.

I saw the evolution really on the spot! It was amazing to see Rick’s ability to think about and build on an idea. Around 2015 or so, Rick and I were in a dark basement, as us musicians sometimes are in, and I was playing an awesome old Juno 106 from 1986. I turned the world-famous Chorus II on, got a saw tooth patch, looked at him directly in the eyes and hit the three-chord walk-down guitar lick. He stopped me and said, “What was that? That that sounds amazing!”

Pictured Above: Jeff playing with Goose at Goosemas 2018 at Cantiki in Norwalk, CT | Photo Credit: Rus So

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Later on, we met up again and he started putting words and the rest of the chords together. I knew it was going to be a banger, because it sounded great.

After, he asked me if he could play the song, I told him he could, only if he dedicated the song each time to me - of course I was joking, but he did do it a few times. He really is a sweet person!

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VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

What’s next for you, Jeff? Where can we check out more music from you and is there anything you’re working on now that we can look forward to?

You can check out my Facebook and Instagram: @jeffengborg What Goose fans can look forward to is a “Jeff Engborg” funk trilogy of songs - an “Engborg suite,” as we are now calling it. Themes from “Jeff Engborg 1” and 2 re-emerge in “Jeff Engborg 3”, and each are connected by the same five notes in the main melody - interconnected as one big saga. Peter is aware of the structure and sound of the songs and we are hoping to release studio versions of these at some point with Great Blue.

Thank you for taking time for an interview with The el Goose Times! We sincerely appreciate it and know the fans will love this.

I am very excited to see what this summer brings for the band, and I’m truly honored that they are playing my song. Every time I see them play I’m blown away!

It’s no surprise to me that their music resonates with people. I have known all of the guys separately as great musicians and friends. Each member brings a separate and dynamic element to the band. It’s not just great songwriting and musicianship alone: they all play from their hearts every show and because of this, they are able to tap into a force that is both authentic and compelling. A power that is in every one of us.

Power to the people and power to Goose!

Great Blue Tour Stories One day, we had some downtime, so I asked Peter if he wanted to check out the hot springs, which were about 30 minutes away in the town of Hot Springs, Colorado.

My friend Luke Molas, who is an insane backcountry skier from Poland and an ice climber, was in the area and shows up in his vintage 90s BMW. We climb in and start riding down some insane snowy mountain roads at high speeds. He was pulling the E brake around turns, passing big trucks and driving like he was a Formula 1 snow racer!

We kept telling him to slow down – but he just kept saying how this was nothing, that he drives like this all the time (in his thick accent) and if this was bad, we should see how is brother-in-law drives! I looked at Peter and we both thought we were going to die for sure, but somehow, we made it.

Pictured Below: Jeff and Peter chilling at the hot springs in CO | Photo Credit: Luke Molas

Pictured Above: Luke pointing out to the CO mountain roads | Photo Credit: Jeff Engborg

We had a wonderful time chilling all day in the hot springs. Peter and I were very happy to play the gig at the Lazy Dog that night! I contact him about once a year to celebrate how we didn’t die that day.

In addition, we also ran into issues with the van that now belongs to the wonderfully talented band Eggy. I recall one treacherous day when the windshield wiper fluid stopped coming out of the van. Peter was driving and Ethan was hanging out the window, pouring water on the windshield and it was just freezing. I loved Colorado - I would like to go back in the summer.

We used to crash on people’s couches on the floor after gigs.

Sometimes the venues would be packed, while other times there would be about three people there. It was not glamorous at all, but so fun! I’m very happy that I got to go on that tour and feel grateful that Peter asked me to come along. Somehow at the end of the tour, we had like 3 horn players join and it really felt like I was in a traveling circus! I think we did like 16 gigs in 13 days or something like that - it was awesome!

Pictured Below: Great Blue tour poster| Photo Credit: Peter Anspach

Pictured Above: Great Blue stage setup in CO | Photo Credit: Jeff Engborg

VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

www.elgoosetimes.com

Page Five

Lovely Rita The el Goose Times interview with

Rita Caruso (Peter Anspach’s Mother)

with Lisa Governa and Paige Caruso

I’ve never met Peter, but like most Goose fans, I feel like I know him.

His humble, genuine, magnetic charisma captures the hearts and commands the attention of fans, earning his home on stage left the title ‘Pete side sweet side’. Despite only interacting with Peter via stage transcendence, after speaking with Rita for over an hour and a half, I can confidently affirm that he did, in fact, get it from his mama.

Pictured Above: Peter as a toddler with his mom | Photo Credit: Provided by Peter Anspach

“I'm a musician. I'm a teacher, a children's storyteller. I'm an artist. I do a lot of abstract things with paint and different media. I'm a nature lover and animal lover. I'm a vegetarian. I'm a beekeeper. I'm a gardener and I'm a big advocate of women's rights.”

Rita’s passion is singing. Her calling is teaching families to sing. She recently retired from Norwalk Community College, where she taught Music and Movement for Children, a three credit ECE course for future teachers specifically designed to incorporate more music into the daily curriculum. “I don't think there is enough singing in any of our schools. Music is more than a subject to be taught. It's an experience to be lived every day and no one understands that better than young children! Dance, movement, puppetry, storytelling, dramatic play; the child is the instrument. Research tells us that music is the one discipline that touches every other area of learning and the brain. It's our responsibility as parents and as educators to bring and nurture music into the lives of our children every single day. What could be better!? This is my passion and this is the message I preach all the time.”

She still teaches at Mary Ann Hall’s Music for Children in Norwalk, where Peter was enrolled from toddlerhood to age 8.

One step closer to the source of this profound perspective on music, I had to know, where did Rita’s passion stem from? Turns out, the Carusos have passed down the importance of music for generations. “We come from a family of musicians. My parents felt that it was just as important to read music as it was to read words on a page. It was non negotiable. We had to learn how to play an instrument. There was no arguing about it. It was just the way it was. My grandfather and great grandfather played guitar.

My other grandfather was a church organist. My dad had the most beautiful voice. He was a tenor. We sang and danced all the time at home growing up and it was absolutely the same for Peter and his sister Lindsay.”

Lindsay, another significant influence on Peter, has a degree in voice performance and theater. She was a freshman at Staples High School in Westport when Peter was born. The 14 year age gap between them cultivated a special brother sister relationship. Lindsay was casted in several musicals and baby Peter, her biggest fan, was passed around her talented group of theater friends during shows and rehearsals:

“He grew up in the orchestra pit. He wasn't even walking and we’d plop him down there and he loved listening to the singing, touching all the instruments… he knew every musical, every song. It was incredible.”

Peter’s musical journey started even earlier than infancy: “Peter started in utero because I was teaching and had that guitar on my belly and he was right there every single day… he really has been nurtured and deeply involved in music from the time that he was created.” He walked and talked at nine months. It was around this time that Rita had her first musical epiphany with her son.

In 1991, James Taylor released his version of the song “Getting to Know You” on a children’s compilation album by Disney.

“When we came home from the hospital, we would dance every morning. I'd start the day holding him very close and putting on that song because really, when you first have a baby, you're really getting to know each other and you don't know each other. So I would cushion his cheek on mine and on the part where the song goes (singing) ‘You are precisely my cup of tea’, I would do a little dip and bring him back up close to me. So we did this every day, sometimes twice a day and I would just dance him around the music room.” 9 months later, Peter sat on the floor with his arms extended towards his mother and said ‘uppa tea, uppa tea!’

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VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

At first, Rita didn’t realize what Peter was trying to communicate, but the next time she played that song, he sang ‘cup of tea’ in perfect time with her. “He was telling me he wanted to hear ‘Getting to Know You’ and he wanted to dance with me! …there's nothing more magical than dancing with your baby in your arms swaying to the music. It's just a beautiful thing.”

Fast forward to 7/4/08, Peter’s musical foundation has been strongly reinforced for about 15 years. He’s playing with his high school band Freshly Squeezed and they’re going to play their first performance at the Caruso Anspach family’s annual July 4th party: “It was our annual thing for like 80 to 100 people at our house and we always had music playing. We didn't have live entertainment but this one year Peter had announced that his band was going to provide some entertainment… But it was so funny. And they were so serious. Of course all of our friends and family at the party were just ecstatic. Everyone was very supportive. We had the best time! It was really fun! I remember that very clearly. And of course Peter was the big showman in the front.”

Now, Rita has seen her son play in front of thousands of people in giant arenas like Mohegan Sun and can’t wait for her first trip to Red Rocks for Goose’s sold out show.

“On one hand it’s unbelievable, but on the other hand, it's very believable. When Peter puts his mind to something, when he wants to do something, it's over 100% of himself. He gives it his all and he doesn't say ‘I would like to do this someday’. He would say ‘I am going to do this someday. I am going to be on the stage. I am going to be in a band’… He manifests what he wants and he just goes for it… every performance I am in awe of what he has done. He's always followed his heart. My thing was always, ‘Peter, follow your heart. Don't forget to bring your brain along for the ride.’”

Of all Peter’s performances she has seen, Rita’s favorite was last Goosemas. “There were about 20 family members at Mohegan and we were all together and he was so excited about playing that grand piano! When he jumped up on it, I kept thinking I hope he doesn't jump off!” Her highlight of the night though was “Red Bird.” “…that performance of ‘Red Bird’ on piano at Goosemas was just amazing.

When he sang that, I felt like I was the only one in that entire enormous place that he was singing to. It was almost an out of body experience.” She fondly recalls the first time Peter played it for her. “It was quite a moment. He wrote it and played it for me just his voice and an acoustic guitar. I couldn't even speak. I just listened to it on the phone and it was so beautiful. There were really no words to describe it. I think that was something he absolutely needed to do…”

It’s no wonder Rita is the lyrical subject of many of Peter’s songs. She believes he uses songwriting as a way to process and express their many shared experiences, be it highs or lows.

“Peter’s songwriting is cathartic. It provides an outlet for all kinds of feelings. When you release personal feelings in a song and then you share that song, there's no question that there's going to be a listener who could identify with its emotional message creating this possibility to feel less overwhelmed and less afraid. It reinforces the sense of ‘Hey, you know what?

I'm not alone here.’ I know the feeling that artist or that musician is talking about or singing about or playing about…”

Rita is not only an inspiration for Peter’s songwriting, but also on occasion a collaborator. Her feedback has helped develop songs like “Time to Flee”. Peter was still living at home playing with Great Blue when he wrote what has now blossomed into the beloved, monstrous jam vehicle: “He said, ‘Mom, come upstairs! I just wrote this song and it's about an elevator.’” His room is full of instruments and recording equipment. “He plays that riff of the music going up and down (singing the hook)… I said, ‘Peter, it sounds just like an elevator!’ and we began thinking of words that rhyme with elevator, alligator. Going through a whole bunch of lyrics and as I sat there, I thought, ‘This is really fun!’ It's so cool. And “Time to Flee” was born!

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Pictured Above: Peter as a young boy, imitating playing guitar| Photo Credit: Rita Caruso

“He's really to me, enthusiasm and joy personified.

A lot of fans have asked me, ‘Is that what Peter is really like?’ What you see on stage, that is Peter. He is 100% himself. I admire his humility… Peter really wears his heart on his sleeve. He always has been incredibly sensitive and intuitive… when he's talking with you, he’s not thinking about what he's gonna say next. He's truly listening to what you are saying and taking it all in. He's a really deep thinker and feeler.”

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I was curious about Rita’s perspective on Goose’s success not just as the mother of a band member, but also as a musician. What’s the secret sauce?

“It works because every member of the band is truly themselves in every way shape and form and they're incredible musicians. I wanted to really understand what jamming meant and it took me a while. I worked really hard listening to Rick, listening to Trevor, watching and listening to Ben and Jeff, and then Peter and trying to see how the jam works. It’s that arc! They start out with one song, and then within the structure of the music, within the measures, within the key - each member is creating. At the same time that they're creating individually, they're acutely aware of what the other members of the band are doing and where the music is headed. The music then crescendos up to a plateau, where it either continues going up and up and up and up, or starts to gradually come back down, with musical surprises tucked into the melody. I know that every band member’s brain sensors are totally lit up, going a million miles an hour.

Not everyone truly gets jam. They'll say, ‘What kind of music? What is Goose? What do they play?’ And so I have to go through this whole thing about what a jam is and how it's not just noodling around doing anything you want to do. It takes a lot of musicianship.”

Rita’s personal music preferences are also dictated by emotion. Her choices are based on how she’s feeling or what she’s doing. She listens to every genre, loves The Beatles and The Beach Boys, and makes a conscious effort to discover new music.

“But if I want to dance, it's Motown and I love to dance…when I cook I listen to Gypsy jazz. That's really fun. Are you familiar with Paul Winter?” she asked me. “Lisa, you sound like you would love a musician who is very in tune with nature. Peter actually loves him as well.

He has recorded animals and put their song into songs that he composes around the song of the whale or the song of the wolf or the song of the eagle, and he's been all over the world. Check him out because there is a song that he does called “Lullaby from the Great Mother Whale” that is haunting and just incredibly beautiful.” I have since listened to Paul Winter and Rita was spot on with her recommendation!

Dancing was a common theme throughout our conversation, shedding light on where Peter’s new “Slow Ready” dance moves come from. What was his mother’s reaction to all that gyrating? “Peter has a bazillion dance moves. He's always been totally uninhibited and we are all big dancers. Oh, it didn't surprise me at all. Just Peter being Peter!” Now even his nephews join in with the Peter moves!

His free spirited movement has been nurtured from a very young age. “He’s been influenced his whole life by very strong women and he has a great respect for all women. He's grown up with my mom, mama Caruso, who absolutely adored Peter. I love the fact that he would dance with us. I can't tell you how many home movies and videos we have of all of us dancing together with Peter in the middle of it all. He would do his thing and it was so natural. We were an audience that didn't allow Peter to feel like he had to put on a show for us. It was just a natural thing to do because we’re born singing, and dancing goes hand in hand with singing and music. I'm thrilled that both my children are very free and very uninhibited.”

It was always important to Rita that her children have an environment where they can feel free and uninhibited. She’s a self proclaimed flower child and hippy and her eclectic style has been adopted by both Lindsay and Peter. She championed their self expression in all healthy forms including supporting the growth of Peter’s mustache. “I have to be honest, I love every inch of his handsome and beautiful face. I do love seeing all of it, so I like the way he goes back and forth with it… It grows really quickly and he's got all that hair too thank God! He got that from the Caruso side of the family.”

I felt inspired, challenged, and even obligated to sing after speaking with Rita. I cannot convey the passion she imparted to me. All I know is that every time I see Peter extend his arms out to start the clap for “Pancakes,” I’ll be thinking “uppa tea!” I’ll leave you with these insightful words from a Mother Goose:

Pictured Above: Peter Anspach High School baseball card| Photo Credit: Rita Caruso

“It was a beautiful spring morning and I looked at him and said ‘How would you like to play hooky?’ And he looked at me and said ‘What?’ And I said ‘How would you like to take a ride to Boston and watch the Yankees beat the Red Sox?’ He said ‘Are you kidding?’

‘We're not going to school today. Peter, we're going to a baseball game.’ It was a great time and it was such a wonderful memory and the Yankees won! He still loves baseball.”

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“In today's world, because of technology, we have music any time we want it just by pushing a button. There's not that organic singing, of just singing acapella no matter what we think about our voices. We used to be a nation of music makers and now we've become a nation of music consumers. I don't know who said that, but it is so true. Hanging out together and singing is such a beautiful, beautiful thing to do. Children don't always listen to what we say, but they watch our every move. The biggest responsibility in the whole world is parenting because we've got the future… Just sing to your children, dance with your children, play with your children, there's really nothing better… park your ego at the door and don't think boy, I can't sing. Everybody can sing! There was a symposium of professional musicians, most of whom played in symphonic orchestras, young musicians, and they took a poll and asked all of them, what has influenced you the most in your musical journey. The number one answer was my mother's singing voice… there's nothing more magical, nothing more loving than that voice of mama or papa singing to them and building self esteem through music. There's nothing better.”

www.elgoosetimes.com

VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

with Andrew DaRosa

Red Bird

Whether you know him as Peter of Great Blue, Handini of Goose or half of the mastermind behind the PA-RC clothing line, one thing is for certain — Peter Anspach is the master of all trades. Officially joining Goose in 2017, Peter has quickly become the heart and soul of the band. In the five years of being in Goose, Peter has not only written a number of songs for the band such as “White Lights,” “Honey Bee” and “Time to Flee,” but he has also contributed a number of Great Blue songs that have become staples in Goose’s live catalog such as “Yeti,” “Doc Brown” and “Pancakes.” Even Great Blue’s “Jeff Engborg” has been in rotation this year (who you can read all about in this issue of The el Goose Times.)

However, we must turn our attention to “Red Bird,” one of Goose’s newest Peter-led songs that is packed to the brim with uncompromising pathos. Debuting at the Regency Ballroom on Jan. 29, 2022, this song is not to be confused with a song called “Red Bird” that was played by Goose in 2015 (good luck to whoever finds a solid copy of this recording. It’s been said that “Red Bird” was the original title for “A Western Sun”).

Since its debut, “Red Bird” has appeared an additional six times. At the time of writing this piece, the last appearance of “Red Bird” was at the Salvage Station in Asheville, NC, where the tune got the jam treatment and was followed by a stellar “726.”

What sets this apart from songs about unrequited love in Spanish class or a holiday-loving mythical creature is the emotionality behind the lyrics. At the center of the lyrics is one very special person: Rita Caruso — Peter’s mom.

Rita has been credited as a huge influence on Peter’s work on a number of instances. However, “Red Bird” is one of the first direct homages that thanks her for all of the love while also supporting her through another phase in her life. The tip-off that this song is about Rita comes in the song’s opening lines: “A red bird was singing/About another time/Softer than a daydream/On a summer night.”

If you’ve been reading along with this issue of The el Goose Times, you’ll know that Rita has a passion for singing, most recently serving as a teacher at Norwalk Community College, where she taught a course for educators on integrating music into the classroom. That passion for music was instilled in Peter at a very young age and is evident in this tune.

The first two verses of the song harken back to Peter’s past, ushering back to a time where his mom served as his serenity and protection. As with most motherly figures, we depend on them in our formative years to guide us and help mold us to who we will eventually become. In this case, Peter uses his mother’s affinity for music and storytelling as a guide.

By the time you get to the chorus, the emotion in Peter’s lyrics is incredibly palpable — every word is just as tangible as the last.

“Red bird don’t get tired now/You can almost touch the light/Red bird don’t stop singing your song/Fly for tomorrow tonight.”

Go and re-read that line again. I’ll wait.

Now think of the motherly figure in your life. This line is universal and is a great amalgamation of all the words we wish we could tell those “moms” in our lives. Especially as we get older, we become those guardians of serenity and protection for those motherly figures — keeping them safe as they get older and hoping to give back a fraction of that love that they gave us all those years ago.

By the time we’re wiping the tears from our eyes after the first chorus, we have another verse that brings Peter up to perhaps where his relationship with his mother was the most fragile.

“Sorry for the lies/sorry doesn’t do” says Peter as he begins the verse-long apology to his mom. This verse really shows a sense of maturity in him, in that he recognizes that maybe he wasn’t the best to his mom but he hopes to slowly make it up to her, even if “it’ll take more than a phone call to get her feeling fine.”

After another round at the chorus, we reach the final verse. This verse is the only one to solely feature Peter and his keyboard. It’s raw and powerful as Peter puts everything on table, ushering the lyrics: “And how does it feel/To take her from the sky/I pray you’re out there sleeping/When it’s time for a bird to fly.”

The song here has come full circle as we simultaneously arrive at the present and future. Peter realizes that he has taken on that guardian role that his mother provided from him as a child, and now, his words and stories will provide her comfort for days to come.

However, more important than any word I’ve written thus far, I think the best way to describe “Red Bird” is hearing it from Rita herself.

“It was quite a moment. He wrote it and played it for me — just his voice and an acoustic guitar. I couldn't even speak. I just listened to it on the phone and it was so beautiful,” Rita told The el Goose Times about the first time she heard “Red Bird.” “There were really no words to describe it. I think that was something he absolutely needed to do.”

We couldn’t agree more, Rita. We couldn’t agree more.

VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

www.elgoosetimes.com

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* Based on the original, iconic Where’s Waldo (#34, The Beach) illustration by Martin Handford

with Ryan Storm

Winter 2022 Leg Two Review

Hot on the heels of their first headlining west coast tour and their incredible arena debut for Goosemas VIII, Goose embarked on a ten-date tour that would turn out to be possibly their best ever – full of risks, jamming developments, and shifting song arrangements and placements. And yes, I do have some attendance bias for this recap.

Kicking off the month with a two-night stand at Washington, DC’s 9:30 Club, the quintet showed their relaxation at being back in a smaller venue after Goosemas with an absolute barn-burner of a show. March 1st began with a laid-back take on “Liza Jane,” ahead of an absolutely massive “Drive.” A single-jam version stretching just past the 20-minute mark, Goose already showed signs of expanding on their newly-developed dark jamming we had seen on the first leg of tour. Descending into a swirling jam, Peter took a short break from guitar to add some low Vintage Vibe textures to the groove before Rick locked in on a vicious descending lick that brought the jam to a rolling boil - before concluding the song and immediately establishing itself as the best single-jam “Drive” to date. Continuing the first set with a run through “Travelers,” “Doc Brown” and “The Old Man’s Boat,” Goose then debuted the laid-back and bluesy “California Magic,” a crowd-favorite. While the band certainly could have ended the set there, they opted to throw down a monstrous “Madhuvan” instead. With Rick aggressively modulating in and out of the song’s natural key, the second dual-guitar extended jam of the night really got the capacity crowd amped for the second set.

To open the second set, Goose offered a quick run through “Into the Myst” and the first public cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” since 12/7/19. As Rick strummed the familiar opening chords to “Wysteria Lane,” only the second of the year, anticipation was high. Meeting (and perhaps surpassing) expectations, this incredible 24-minute Wysteria dove deep into dark grooves akin to “Dripfield” and seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Spuds and Jeff were on full display for the first half of the jam, locking in on a propulsive groove while Rick drove forward with dissonant arpeggios and Peter layered on deep textures. Plunging quickly back into the darkness after a nice peak, the band switched into a pounding halftime groove dominated by Rick’s classic octave-up chirp shredding. A perfectly placed “Your Ocean” acted as the lone breather tune of the show before Peter egged the crowd on in the clap intro to “Pancakes.” Yet another fantastic piece of improv, this tops my personal “stack” with an upbeat and funky groove that more than delivered for National Pancake Day. A laid-back “Doobie Song” encore put the cap on an incredible tour opener that would only pave the way for the nine remaining shows.

For the second night in Washington DC, Goose blasted the venue with a first set that lacked outside-the-box improvisation, but more than made up for it with an absolute flamethrower of energy. Jumping through hot renditions of “Jive I” (extended intro jam!) and “Indian River” (Delta-ish jam on the back half is super laid-back and LONG), the eventual groove of the latter collapsed smoothly into the dissonant delay-drenched intro to “Dr. Darkness.” Rounding out the set came a beacon of joyous peak jamming in “S.O.S.” and the second-ever performance of Great Blue funk vehicle “Jeff Engborg.”

3/2’s second set kicked off with a solid “Bob Don” > “Flodown” pairing ahead of the night’s first deep improv kick in a concise 15-minute “Time to Flee.” A quick breather in “Nights in White Satin” gave way to a centerpiece of “All I Need” -> “Arrow.” Infusing the normally upbeat AIN first jam with a significant dose of darkness, this unique rendition of the song gave way to a second jam that featured Peter taking a rare lead role on organ – a trend that we would see more of as the tour progressed. Rick gently led the band into the opening riff of “Arrow,” where they would jam for just over two minutes, showing a patience to the segue that would have been unheard of before 2022. “Arrow” would be its normal dancey self, stretching to a great length in a fantastic set-closing fashion. A quick “Turn on Your Love Light” encore (with Spuds vocals!) sent the DC crowd into the night with one last burst of energy.

In between two-night stands in DC and Nashville, Goose stopped in Charlotte, NC for a high-quality affair in the hot and tightly packed Fillmore.

Opening the night up with a relaxed “Honeybee,” the band wasted no time and jumped right into a 23-minute “Creatures.” Standing as the thirdbest version of the song to date (5/4/21 and 10/2/20 above it), Peter really shines early on in this jam, first on Vintage Vibe and then on clav. With the recent addition of a delay pedal to his clav effects, Peter has moved from just straight shredding to more textural and atmospheric work. This has added a new and exciting sonic layer to many jams – he very nicely blends into the groove on this “Creatures.” The first set continued smoothly with a short cover of “Pumped Up Kicks,” a filthy funk rendition of “Elizabeth,” and werewolf ballad “Silver Rising,” before a big “Tumble” closed out the frame with a jam akin to the ending of “Arrow.”

The second set in Charlotte, while slightly truncated due to an early curfew, featured an incredibly compelling section of music in “Slow Ready” -> “Hot Tea.” Extending the arpeggiator outro for only the third time to date, the quintet moved into a spacey and psychedelic groove propelled by strong tom work from Spuds and a rock-solid bass line from Trevor. Showcasing their newfound segue patience yet again, Rick seamlessly worked the opening riff to “Hot Tea” into the jam. The ensuing song featured a unique arpeggiator-based jam, “Europa” teasing, and a typical hot ending peak. Goose closed the show with “A Western Sun,” a blazing “White Lights,” and a short “Dancing in the Moonlight” cover before heading off to Nashville.

The first night of Nashville threw down an incredible first set. “Atlas Dogs” -> “Butter Rum” (which is a jam vehicle now!) opened the frame before a tender “It Burns Within.” “The Whales” and the rarely played “Switchin’” kept the energy going before a stack-topping “Pancakes” closed out the set. Moving through a dark jam, the band turned up the heat on the griddle for a blazing ending peak, rocketing to the top of the “Pancakes” stack to date and very near the top of my 2022 Jam of the Year list. The second set began with the continuously reworked “Borne,” this rendition featuring a laid-back piano jam instead of the synth build and an absence of the second, funkier jam. Moving into the first truly jammed-out “Rockdale” ever, this 25-minute adventure had Peter explore his vibraphone sound at a greatly increased tempo before returning home explosively.

After “Seekers on the Ridge,” Trevor took a turn in the spotlight mid-”Yeti” to read poetry ahead of “Magic Carpet Ride” and “Turned Clouds” to close out the show.

Nashville’s second night opened with a classic “Jive II” > “Jive Lee” pairing, the latter hitting on more dark and tension-filled themes. Rounding out the first set were strong versions of “Lead the Way,” “Earthling or Alien?,” and “California Magic.” Possibly the finest frame of music performed by Goose to date, this five-song second set from Nashville featured some absolutely awe-inspiring musicality and jamming. Beginning with the uptempo “Echo of a Rose,” Rick took the lead over its 20 minutes before a smooth fade into “Rosewood Heart.” Finishing Echo on the other side, “Arcadia” delivered the next big jam with a distinct “Wolfman’s Brother” vibe led by Trevor. Peter standout “Red Bird” contained a funky jam with more vibraphone before a great cover of Jim James’ “State of the Art” closed the set. A cherry on top of the already-legendary show, “Dripfield” was called for its second-ever live performance and delivered a primal and drum-heavy jam.

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VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

Sandwiched in between a five-show run and a four-show run, Knoxville’s Monday night outing was poised to be a sleeper show of the tour. Diving straight in and beginning a run of 20+ minute show openers that would last the balance of the tour, “Time to Flee” offered a patient and upbeat jam, complete with a phenomenal peak. Moving through “Travelers” and “Doc Brown,” the next big jam of the night came in “Wysteria Lane”’s third performance of the year (spoiler: it continues its 100% success run). Getting dark and funky, this jam moved at a slow and thick pace that gradually built up the atmospheric sludge before a well-executed fade into “Dr. Darkness” spooky space intro. “Look Out Cleveland” closed the set with another dose of high-energy jamming. A hot “Empress of Organos” opened the second frame ahead of “Silver Rising” and “Flodown” before the recently reworked “Spirit of the Dark Horse” saw Peter toggling between keyboard and guitar textures for a spooky and delay-drenched groove. “Mais Que Nada” and “So Ready” closed the show on a high note as the band moved north.

In Royal Oak, the band threw down an extended “Borne” opener with the return of the second funk jam. Moving through a blazing “S.O.S.” and a rendition of “Life on the Shelf,” the quintet embarked on their longest jam to date in “Rosewood Heart.” Staying in typical jam spaces for much of the early part, they locked in on what seemed to be the beginning of “Echo of a Rose” around the 24-minute mark. Opting to continue the jam instead, they built the last 15 minutes into a screaming groove and peak. The set then closed with a clav-dominated “Jeff Engborg.” Making the unique call to open the second set with “726,” Goose introduced a second jam to the song not unlike what we hear commonly in “This Old Sea” – a major-mode and pleasant excursion. Flipping the tables for the “Madhuvan” that came next, the jam began in a haunting space complete with Peter peppering in dissonant reverb-drenched organ ahead of a stop/start tension jam akin to the one played on 6/19/21 at Legend Valley. Royal Oak’s second set closed out with a nice cover of “Doctor My Eyes” and an incredible groove-based “Yeti” before a jammy “Butter Rum” encore.

Yet ANOTHER massive jam opened Cleveland’s show on March 10th, a 29-minute “Tumble” that showcased the band’s patience. Calmly circling each other’s guitar playing, Rick and Peter drove the groove with some extensive “Creatures” teasing from the latter before a fantastic and smooth segue into Father John Misty’s “I’m Writing a Novel.” The set continued with “Turned Clouds” and a slow “Bob Don” before a monstrous “Rockdale” closed the frame. Easing into a gorgeous mode, the jam faded into a frenetic groove dominated by Peter’s insistent vibraphone work ahead of an explosive return to the song. Cleveland’s second set came complete with numerous fantastic segues. Starting off with a smooth “Echo of a Rose” -> “Into the Myst”, we were treated to a full dance party jam in the latter before “The Old Man’s Boat” got funky and transitioned into the first publicly performed “Use Me” since 7/15/17 – before Peter joined the band! An expansive “Dripfield” closed the set with a bonus “Shama Lama Ding Dong”-like rocking major-key jam. Faking out a Billy Strings sit-in, Goose brought Coach up to add rainstick to a quick “Whip It” > “Jive Lee” encore.

The tour-closing stand at the Fillmore Philadelphia began with the first “Drive” ever with only the second jam. Moving at a relaxed pace, the band took their time past the 20-minute mark before fading into “Earthling or Alien?.” A smooth segue via pounding drums into a jamless “Indian River” came next before another blissed-out “Time to Flee.” “Jive I” and a cover of Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” brought forth another fantastic jam out of “Pancakes” to close the first set. The second consecutive “Slow Ready” to open a second set lead beautifully into “Moby” by way of arpeggiator. A fun “Ghostbusters Rap” led to the ballad “Arise” ahead of a set-closing “Hot Tea” that got grimy and was dominated by super overdriven clav work from Peter. Encoring with a standard “Creatures” -> “Shama Lama Ding Dong,” Goose set up the second night in Philly to be the show of tour, and more than delivered on expectations.

“All I Need” opened the show and immediately delivered one of its best performances ever. An absolutely relentless first jam that seamlessly modulated between major and minor play gave way to an organ-led and gentle second jam that faded nicely into “California Magic.” “Dr. Darkness” filled the next slot ahead of a raging “Red Bird” to close the set.

In Support Of:

The second set began with the second-ever performance of Dripfield single “Hungersite,” leading to yet another deep jam ahead of a high-energy “Please Forgive Me.” The set continued with “Arcadia” and “Fish in the Sea,” both sporting solid yet standard jams, before “This Old Sea” got SPOOKY. Splintering out of the major-key jam into a demonic space, all band members added to the ghostly vibe with various delays, loops, and overall madness. Peter shriek-laughed hauntingly into the mic as the jam wound down into the familiar guitar intro to “Factory Fiction.” The best version played since 2020’s Bingo Tour, this patient build stretched for nearly 25 minutes and brought the extended second set to a fantastic close. Not settling for a standard encore, Goose smashed Philly with yet another 20-minute jam in “Arrow,” coming complete with some really fantastic playing by Rick.

To quote the great Marc Komito: “Every show is the best show since the last show until the next show.”

Sometimes that statement carries more truth than other times, but in March 2022, Goose seemed to begin every show with the mission and desire to one-up themselves and deliver ground-breaking music on a nightly basis. A tour that we will no doubt look back on fondly decades into the future, this ten-show run on the heels of their arena debut featured not only ten incredible concerts, but an incredible expansion of the depth of their jamming, risk-taking setlist calls, and an overall departure from comfort and expectation that has been slowly coming to fruition over the last year. I expect and believe that 2022 will only continue on its upward trajectory from here. Summer tour LOOMS! Author’s Note: Many apologies for the very obvious attendance bias for 3/1 – there’s only so much I can do when seeing a night of music that incredible ;)

org

VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

www.elgoosetimes.com

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Same Old The el Goose Times interview with

with Jon Caruso Pictured Below: Greg Knight on stage with Goose during “Earthling or Alien?” in New Haven, CT on June 12, 2021| Photo Credit: Chris Quinn

Greg Knight PR and Music Publicist Goose

Down the Pathway to the Great Beyond “I see my life just like a painting in the MoMA, Different shades, bold colors, Define a playa persona, You can look if you wanna, You might hardly scratch the surface, Grab a chair and deeply stare, Take a listen, bet it’s worth it” - An excerpt from the Greg Knight rap from “Earthling or Alien?” (6/12/21) Just like paintings in the MoMA, there are a variety of different shades and bold colors used to create each individual picture. Having a variety of colors and shades are extremely important - as they affect everything from composition and visual appeal to the viewer's (i.e. our fanbase) attention and emotions.

This is essentially the same thing when looking at a band like Goose. The music and community that surrounds the band are important to understanding the overall picture that they’re trying to paint.

Continuing with our theme this volume, today we head down the pathway to the Great Beyond with Greg Knight, PR and Music Publicist for Goose.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us Greg! Could you give our readers who might not know you a little background about yourself? Growing up, who were your biggest influences? Do you have any favorite memories as a kid that still resonates with you today? Did you have any favorite hobbies?

Thanks so much, Jon! It’s great to chat with the leading source for Goose news and interviews. Someone should really create a podcast about this band, it would be amazing. I grew up in the rolling hills of Connecticut. I’d say the environment was… almost painfully “normal.” Despite my lifelong quest to process the doldrums of CT’s mind-numbing homogeneity, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities that life there presented (family, friends, education) – they certainly prepared me to pursue my goals.

I grew up with one older sister – she always was (and continues to be) both a role model and a source of inspiration for me. Although I would never admit it back then, most of the hobbies I enjoy stem from a desire to be just like her. She was an excellent violinist and she started playing in elementary school. As soon as I was old enough, I began taking piano lessons because her love of music was infectious. Outside of music, I was always in to sports, specifically basketball. Although I’m not quite the superhuman athlete I used to be, I try to keep up when I have some free time.

Did you know that you wanted to work in the music business early on? What was your first concert?

It’s hard to say. Music has always been a passion of mine, but (much to the chagrin of my wonderful wife), I’ve always been whimsical. I knew from an early age that regardless of where I landed, I would always find fulfillment through music. So, I guess I just knew I wanted it to be a part of my life. Like most folks involved in the jam world, the first concert I attended was Usher at The Meadows in Hartford, CT. Specifically, Usher’s 8701 Evolution Tour, featuring Faith Evans, Nas, and Mr. Cheeks.

Having been in the music industry for over a decade, what are some of your biggest takeaways and lessons you’ve learned? Your work ethic is unmatched, balancing and representing so many talented artists.

It’s interesting to hear you say I’ve been in the industry for over a decade, since the path to where I am currently was so circuitous. I played in a couple of bands in college, DJed for several years, produced hip-hop for a few artists, and somehow my current work as a publicist is an amalgamation of all those experiences.

In a certain way, I still feel like I barely have my foot through the door in the music industry, and I’m learning a hundred new things daily.

Although I’m confident I’m on the right path, I don’t necessarily see what I’m doing at this moment as the be-all end-all for me.

My biggest advice would be know your worth, trust your gut, develop your communication skills, and know when to take a break. I appreciate the kind words regarding my work ethic, but the last piece of advice I listed is the most important one I can think of. So often, when we’re in pursuit of our dreams, we can develop this inescapable tunnel vision and over-commit (this is me apologizing for getting these responses to you late). Juggling 100 tasks at once isn’t healthy, and it can really inhibit productivity.

As far as talented artists go, I’m perpetually inspired by the drive and creativity of every musician I work with. They make the job easy.

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Outside of the music industry, you’re involved with a variety of humanitarian efforts, serving as Junior Board at Change For Kids and directing Turnaround Arts: New York City (a Kennedy Center initiative that transforms under-resourced schools through the arts).

How did you end up getting involved with these noble causes? We commend you for helping make a difference in the lives of so many, especially the younger generation!

I grew up going to a little sleepaway summer camp in the Berkshires. Camp was amazing – I became lifelong friends with folks from all walks of life, and about 50% of the staff was international. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to broaden my world view from an early age. Leaving home every year allowed me the ability to learn independence and resilience, and I developed a deep connection to a few counselors who basically watched me grow up. I’m in touch with a few of them to this day.

I remember so many pivotal moments that define who I am today, and I think it’s important for all of us to try and model that as adults.

Sometimes, a tiny gesture or a new experience can change the life of someone young and impressionable. If I can quote a song you may recognize – “Experience is all I truly know.” That’s a mantra so many people lose sight of as they grow older. So many problems that plague the world, and the way we treat one another stem from the simple fact that people lack the foundational tools of empathy necessary to consider another person’s life experience. It’s no one’s fault, that’s just the existing structure of the world we live in. I remain dedicated to doing whatever I can to increase opportunity and access for kids, because I have no idea where I’d be without the wide array of experiences I had during my formative years.

What are some of your most favorite stories and memories (so far) that you’ve had with Goose? It must have been amazing having them play at your wedding!

Watching dreams come to fruition for a group of people I care deeply about is easily the most gratifying part of all of this. Not just the band, but the crew and the entire management team.

There are so many moments that are memorable (and plenty that are slightly fuzzy). I’ll never forget each Goosemas, Resonance, Playing in the Sand, Peach (of course), and the warm reception the band received on their first headlining west coast tour. “Earthling or Alien?” at Westville was a blast – certainly nerve racking, but I think it went over well.

I’m eternally grateful the guys were willing to play a few tunes at my wedding. Plenty of my close friends and family have never seen the band – everyone absolutely loved the performance. I mean, my mom was getting DOWN to “So Ready.” I’ll never forget it.

How did the Great Beyond podcast come into fruition? In a way, it felt like a natural extension of the commentary that you and Bruce Robinson would provide in-between sets during Bingo Tour in 2020. Did Joey Parisi or Bruce approach you with the podcast idea, or was it vice versa?

Sponsored By:

It’s interesting in retrospect – Bingo Tour came together so fast, and Bruce and I didn’t really have time to prep. We just kind of did it, and I’m so happy it worked out. We received a ton of positive feedback after the shows (and a little hate in El Goose, but if you haven’t been lambasted in El Goose, have you really made it?). A few folks suggested Bruce and I try podcasting, but none of this would have been possible without Joey. Joey took the initiative to get things started, craft a plan, and follow up with us. We’re not joking when we say he “does all the work.”

Joey’s initial idea was for Bruce and me to be the hosts, but we didn’t want to do it without him. Once we got into the studio to record our first episode, there was a tangible chemistry between the three of us. Landing a partnership with Osiris after only a handful of episodes was mind-blowing, we truly appreciate them for taking a chance on us.

Thanks to my co-hosts for heading #downthepathway with so much enthusiasm, and for sticking with it. Thanks to everyone who continues to listen, and to each person who makes time to watch and contribute to our live episodes. We have plenty more in store.

Do you have any parting thoughts you’d like to share with Goose fans? As always, we sincerely appreciate your time and value your support since we began a year ago!

I’ve been thinking a lot about how much has changed over the past few years, and all of the challenges the pandemic has presented for all of us. Watching this scene flourish through a collective appreciation for incredible music and the equally amazing folks who make it isn't something to take for granted, especially when times are tough everywhere.

So, as we return to big shows and summer festivals, let’s not forget to be good to one another. The sense of community so many of us find our little microcosm in the musical universe really is a gift... let's make sure to enjoy every moment. Finally, for everyone’s sanity, (mostly Bruce’s) - can we take it easy in El Goose?

Thanks to Jon Lombardi for convincing me to hop in the van back in 2016, Russo for putting me on to Vasudo, Mr. Matt Kolinski for the guidance and friendship and to the band for trusting me to do this work.

Thanks Jon + co for everything you do – congratulations on everything! I can’t wait to see what you do next.

VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

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“Seriously!?” he exclaims as he notices Fred The Film playing on the TV in the corner of the room.

“You’re watching this again!?” After a couple of drinks and a failed attempt to open the door to his apartment, Daniel (although he prefers to be called “the cool guy living downstairs”) abruptly stumbles into Cara and Naz’s house, and inserts himself into our Zoom meeting as we are just starting to wrap up. Upon noticing my virtual presence, he violently grabs Naz’s Goose-themed phone case, and presses it up against the computer screen as if my face were on the other side.

“Everything is Goose with these two!” he passionately shouts. “Goose Goose Goose. ALL GOOSE!!”

One of the primary goals of The el Goose Times has been to focus on important figures surrounding the band. Accordingly, this new subsection focuses on arguably the most important figures in that category: fans. “It Burns Within” explores the lives of our own community members, shedding light on some of the reasons why so many of us choose to get involved with the Goose community, and how it affects our lives.

with Tamara Sastow

Cara Mitchell and Nazia Salam (Naz), both originally from Florida, have been roommates in Washington, DC for about seven years. They were introduced to each other at the wedding of a mutual friend, and they “danced [their] asses off” together the whole night. “It makes perfect sense that we met that way,” Naz says with a smile as she recalls the night.

Music has a prominent role in the everyday life of these two friends and their household. Whether it’s playing from Spotify, Nugs, Youtube, Pandora, or Bandcamp, their “Trevor Bose” speaker is on from early morning until late at night. “Music was always playing in my house growing up,” Cara reminisces. “A lot of James Taylor and The B-52's.” In Naz’s house, it was more Bollywood and Biggie. As the three of us engage in conversation about music from their childhoods, associated memories and autobiographical information emerge, which Cara and Naz share with me. It’s clear that music isn’t just mere entertainment for them. It’s roadtrips, holidays, family events, celebrations, meaningful moments, and a bonding point between them and their siblings. Naz mentions “Mehndi”, one of the many ceremonial events that take place as part of South Asian Muslim weddings. “Growing up, whenever a friend or family member got married, my mom would host the Mehndi event at our house. And it’s funny, now that I think of it, it’s somewhat like one big jam.” She goes on to explain that the focus of this event is music, and everybody present is a part of it. “We all sit in a circle on the floor, each person with their own instrument, and we just play together for hours and hours. Those were really fun for me,” she says as she reflects back on it. “The energy created at those events is actually very similar to what I feel at shows.”

As we continue the conversation, I enlarge the Zoom window, and make my computer screen brighter to get a better view. Cara, wearing a Billy Strings shirt, and Naz, wearing a Jerry Garcia shirt, are sitting on a cozy-looking couch, underneath a colorful, fluffy Grateful Dead blanket, bears dancing across their laps. In the bottom left corner of my screen, there is a Goose nalgene covered in stickers with the logos of bands like The String Cheese Incident, Greensky Bluegrass, and Tedeschi Trucks Band. And sitting on a shelf just above their heads, is a drumhead and a pair of drum sticks that are signed by the members of JRAD. One might think that these lovely ladies have been dancing through the scene for decades. However, their inaugural event took place in 2018. "Our friend had stumbled upon the Long Strange Trip documentary about the Dead, and we ended up watching a few episodes together. So when Lockn' popped up, we just said ‘what the hell, let's drive out Sunday.’" "We weren't even sure if John Mayer always played with Dead & Company." Cara chuckled. John Mayer. One of the only familiar names on the roster of bands that were set to play at Lockn' Festival. "That's how fresh we were!" "We look back and can't believe how perfect that whole night was. - Oteil side, with Brandford Marsalis… surrounded by so many amazing people.” “There are no words to describe what happened next.” Cara takes a long pause. “I’m not even going to try.”

Improvisational music opened up a whole new world for Cara and Naz. A world full of extraordinary experiences and emotions that were just waiting to be uncovered. “As soon as he hit that peak note, it was like my soul burst open or something,” Naz says as she tries to describe a moment she experienced that day.

“It was a feeling in my body that I had never felt before. I was crying, the people around me were crying… It was overwhelming.”

There are a lot of factors at play during moments like these. One aspect of the sentiment captured here speaks to the overwhelming feeling of togetherness that exists in our scene. The joint attention, sharing of intentions, and affective states. The sense of fellowship and cathartic release. That “I know that you know that I know” thing. Through collective, intersubjectively shared experience, we begin to encounter something beyond our immediate selves. We begin to experience (though not always consciously) an essence of the human mind as it exists collectively. And for Cara and Naz, this experience was breathtaking, “to say the least.”

After that day at Lockn’, Cara and Naz embarked on a deep journey into The Grateful Dead, which then led them to JRAD, and Greensky, and Billy, and so on. “A friend of ours had been sending us Goose videos for a while. We knew we were going to like it, but we were already obsessed with multiple other bands, and we just needed some time.” Goosemas 2020 is when it all happened. “That was really our first time listening to Goose. And it immediately changed the game for us.”

And it wasn’t just the music that drew them in. “It was the production as a whole. The outfits, the behind-the-scenes clips, the fact that they were playing on top of Rockefeller center… There was just so much heart and personality behind it.” “We just went ham after that.”

Quarantine afforded them the opportunity to deep dive into Goose, and they soon had a strong bond with the band and their music. So when August 2021 rolled around, despite their long-awaited trip to The Big Apple for Dead & Company at Citi Field, they made a last-minute sharp turn, and headed back to Lockn’ Festival grounds, where it all began. “Fred Festival was more than we could’ve ever asked for,” Cara says with tears in her eyes. “It was absolutely magical.” The two of them struggle to find the words to capture it. “All I remember is that drive home,” Naz says. ”We stopped at a Wendy’s, and we were just sitting there in this booth, staring down at the table like ‘what on earth just happened.’ I had no idea how I was supposed to just go to work the next day as if everything were normal.” ”We cried so much that night.” “There are truly no words to describe what it all meant to us. But we know you get it.”

And I do get it. A lot of us get it. Human beings have been exploring the social, philosophical, psychological, and cultural dimensions of music for decades, and there is a lot about music and the ways in which it affects us that we understand. Even so, there are deeper dimensions of music that we have yet to conceptualize, and how music takes on the significance that it does, as profoundly as it does, remains one of its great mysteries. “And I’m okay with that,” Cara says. “I don’t feel like it’s necessary for me to ‘know what it all means’ right now. But whatever is happening here, I’m just so grateful that I’m part of it.”

Goose’s performance accomplishes way more than just the immediate features of the performance itself. Goose shows serve as a forum for people to become immersed in the present, and provide an avenue for personal expression and meaning making. An opportunity for people to embrace any part(s) of themselves that might be suppressed by the social norms and structures of everyday life. “And then of course there’s that feeling. That feeling that we’re all part of this thing.

That Goose is here for a reason, we are here for a reason, and it’s all connected. I really do believe that every single person present at a show is contributing to what’s happening. And it’s nice to feel like my presence matters.” Despite my efforts to contain them, tears start falling from my eyes. Hearing things like this never gets old…

The three of us could easily talk for several more hours, but the Sunday scaries are beginning to creep in, so I wrap up the conversation with my favorite conversation starter: “Are there any changes in your general way of being or thinking that occur when you’re at shows? And if so, is there anything you’d like to take from that context and carry with you into other areas of your life?”

“The lack of care for what other people might be thinking about me. The realization that nobody around me is even looking at me. The ability to take in all of what’s happening around me, and just be in the moment. The belief and understanding that what I’m putting out is love and wonderfulness, and that love and wonderfulness is what I will get back.”

“The ability to not be judgmental, and not think about being judged by others. The freedom of not feeling self-conscious. The feeling of letting go. The ability to be myself. It’s all a work in progress. But now we know that it is possible to feel all of these things. We just have to…” Sudden silence. Cara and Naz are frozen solid on my screen. I let out a melodramatic “Nnnooooooo!” and try to refresh my screen. Luckily, after just a few seconds, a sigh of relief comes through my computer's speaker. “Aahhh Sorry about that! We weren’t frozen. We thought somebody was breaking into our house!” It's Daniel, their neighbor who knows all too well about their feelings for Goose. Luckily we were just about done.

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Recipe #4: Engborg’s Influential Meatloaf with Chef Rick Gallego & very special guest Jeff Engborg

Ingredients: 10 oz ground beef ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs 1 shallot 2 cloves of garlic ¼ oz Thyme 2 tbsp Ketchup ¼ cup Beef Stock Concentrate 2 tsp olive oil 1 tbsp flour ½ tbsp butter Salt and Pepper for seasoning

Directions:

Photos by Brianna LaPointe

1. Wash and dry all produce. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Start to prepare ingredients. Halve and peel shallot. Grate one half on the largest holes of a box grater; place in a medium bowl. Mince remaining shallot, as well as the garlic. Strip thyme leaves from stems; roughly chop leaves and discard stems.

3. Add the above chopped/minced produce to your mixing bowl with grated shallot and add beef, garlic, panko breadcrumbs, half of the thyme, salt and pepper. Gently combine and form mixture into two 1inch-tall loaves.

4. Place meatloaves on a baking sheet; brush tops of loaves with half the ketchup. Put the meatloaves in the oven.

5. Meanwhile, while the meatloaves are baking, melt ½ TBSP butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add minced shallot and remaining thyme. Cook, stirring, until shallot is softened, for about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle flour into pan; stir vigorously to combine. Whisk in stock concentrate and ½ cup water. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened and saucy, 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Slice the finished meatloaves crosswise, spoon gravy over them and serve. This recipe makes two servings, to make a serving for four, use double the ingredients.

Bonus Interview Question What’s your favorite food memory?

My favorite food memory was when Great Blue went to the Onion River Campout festival in 2017. We were playing a smaller stage - they didn’t have enough juice to the PA and it kept shutting down, so we played the entire show through our amps cranked to 11. We didn’t have any money, so I brought a case of military-grade MREs and ate those the entire festival. It was really funny to see those guys eating out of the pouches. I think Peter passed out, but Ethan and I were getting down on the Salisbury steak in the van. We even drank the powdered Gatorade packets mixed with water and used the chemical heaters to heat up the food for the weekend.

It really gave the entire festival an apocalyptic feeling, chilling in the van and eating survival meals. They make fun of me now when I ride with them: “Did you bring the MREs Jeff?”

VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

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Page Seventeen

Jesse & Rina!!

Can’t wait to share in the groove at the wedding!

Love, Shimmy & Leora Chaim & Shana Jesse (Jaron) Tweekz and Rebbe Nachman Advertise with the EGT today! Contact: elgoosetimes@gmail.com

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presents

VOL. 5 - MAY 2022

Ted and the Doppelganger

www.elgoosetimes.com

Page Nineteen

The Adventures of Strange Man Episode 1

By Sparkman Clark

Strange Man needed this vacation.

He’s all about the local cuisine!

The sunset’s different on the Samaná Bay. Something about them just isn’t the same.

Sponsored By: with Rus So I love summer tour. I also love spring tour, heck I love fall and winter tour.

I just love tour as I assume much of yourselves do as well.

Some people think we’re crazy, seeing the same band over and over again - and that’s fine, they might be right. Sometimes I feel somewhat embarrassed when people ask me my show count and I try to just leave it simple with “over 100”. Getting to Show # 100 is a lot of fun.

For me, it was this tiny little club called Sprout Music Collective in PA on 9/6/2018.

Naturally, i am very biased toward this show, but if you have not already, I highly suggest you check this show out ASAP - I guarantee you will not be disappointed. The entire first set is just a straight heater, with the second set just as hot. This venue was great and it was packed to the brim. Many people I knew, many I did not - but because of these people I keep coming back.

Within the Goose community there are not many people that have achieved 100 shows (yet). Off the top of my head, I can only think of two others besides myself (Greg and Bruce). At the beginning of second set, Rick gave a shout out to me for 100 which was awesome, but it was overlooked with a shout-out to two people for it being their 50th show. These people are now some of my greatest friends. Sure, it might have taken me 20 shows to finally remember their names, but that's besides the point.

These people are crazy, given the amount of distance they have traveled for Goose. (I told you some people are right when they call us crazy!) But all jokes aside, I'd be lying if I didn't say I was ecstatic to rage their 100th show with them this June. I always circle back to how much I love the people and the fans in this community (the music is OK), but if there is anyone else that's always So Ready For Tour its these two!

Congrats Jess and Mike! This ones for you!

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