The el Goose Times: Volume Three

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VOL 3 FALL

Fall 2021 Edition

VOL. 3 - FALL 2021

Artwork by Marc Chiavon & Blue White Art Collective

Table of Contents Pages 2-3 Page 4

Same Old Shenanigans: Interview with Sam Bardani, FOH Sound Engineer for Goose Depths of Space - Summer Festival 2021 Review with Ryan Storm

Page 5

The Voice Beneath the Quill: Jive I with Andrew DaRosa

Pages 6-7

Goose Chicks: Mo Raising Ricky: Pop-Pop’s Pride with Lisa Governa & Paige Caruso

Pages 8-9

Same Old Shenanigans Double Feature Interview with Sean Cronin, Guitarist and Mastermind behind ElephantProof & Hot Tea in Rick’s Kitchen Recipe #2: GOOse Balls

Pages 10-11

Classifieds & el Goslings Section: Goose Fan Family Highlight - The Lange Family

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Ted Cartoon & Word Search Jon Caruso TEDitor-in-Chief Marc Komito Contributing Writer & Resident Dance Teacher

Editorial Staff

Lisa Governa Goose Chicks TEDitor & Classifieds Queen Ryan Storm Music Maestro

Rus So OG Fan & Historian Andrew DaRosa Feature TEDitor

(satellite) Team Paige Caruso Idea Entrepreneur & Goose Chicks Ambassador

Ky Cousin Afterparty Advisor & Mozzarella Consultant

Jerry Nash Jr. el Goose Spirit Coach

Brian Weber (aka JiveGoose) Music Analyst & Sage

Jack Quinn Number One Newsie

Special Thanks to Blue White Art Collective, Greg Knight & Dave DiCianni

Rick Gallego Resident Chef de Cuisine Joe Joseph Creative Guru

Same Old

Interview: Interview: with

Jon Caruso

Sam Bardani Front of House (FOH) Sound Engineer Goose

As Goose continues to rise in popularity, one aspect has remained constant: their stellar production crew. Sound engineers, like Sam Bardani, play a critical role within every live production by controlling microphones, sound levels and outputs in an effort to produce the best quality sound. As Chris Mitchell, FOH engineer for Umphrey’s McGee (an inspiration of Sam’s) once said, “It is a sound engineer’s goal to become invisible and facilitate an emotional connection between artist and audience, regardless of production level (1).”

In our first interview for Volume Three, The el Goose Times sat down with Sam to talk about his history with Goose, background in audio production and more: How long have you known the band? When did you get involved with their audio production?

Pictured Above: Photo of Sam operating state-of-the-art audio equipment in Eau Claire (Photo Credit: Goedde Sound & Light | https://goeddesoundandlight.com)

The first Goose show I ever worked was in 2016, I was stage manager and monitor engineer at a small festival in Connecticut.

I remember being extremely impressed by their performance that night. Around that time, they were playing local venues and we had mutual friends, so I caught their shows whenever I could. I was the house audio engineer at a local CT venue, Fairfield Theatre Company. I really connected with the guys while handling front of house sound for them, specifically when they opened shows for both The New Mastersounds and The Nth Power. Ben and I immediately hit it off and we would hang out at shows in the Black Rock area of Bridgeport where I lived. Once the band was able to hire a full-time sound guy in October 2019, they brought me on as their sound engineer - the rest is history.

Tell us about your background in audio production – did you have any formal training or are you self-taught? Have you worked with any other artists besides Goose? What other sound engineers have inspired you?

I was exposed to the audio world at a very early age. My dad, Ray Bardani, has been in the music business since the 1970’s, (and is still going strong today!) so, music has always been in my blood. However, the studio world is a different beast that was not not entirely for me. I am really grateful for my exposure to so many amazing musicians over the years, and the wealth of knowledge and experience I obtained through osmosis. Growing up, I was always encouraged to play music – (1) ‘How to Disappear Completely: My Year Without EQ’ by Chris Mitchell.

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I was also taught to listen to not just the entire song, but the nuances of production. I was primarily influenced by the classic rock records early on, and I think that exposure set the tone for how I approach the live experience.

That said, I didn’t pursue my own career in music until I found inspiration through seeing live shows and wanted to contribute something to the magic that I felt. In 2013 I was lucky enough to get an internship at Fairfield Theatre Company, and truly was “thrown to the fire” headfirst, working production for some world renowned acts. I learned from an amazingly talented group of people, who excel in life, audio, and business. It has been amazing to work with, be inspired by and grow alongside this band/crew/family. My mentors from the theatre, Joe Cuzino & Robert Martinau, taught me nearly everything I know and I am forever grateful for them. Working as a house engineer, it was always amazing to pick up little tips and tricks from the visiting engineers that would pass through town. The article ‘How to Disappear Completely: My Year Without EQ’ by Chris Mitchell was a massive influence on the way I approach mixing. So definitely immense respect for him!

Talk to us about your sound rig and how it has evolved over time, as the band continues to grow.

When I linked up with the band, our input list was approximately 20 channels (individual microphone inputs), a solid microphone package and an in-ear rack with a splitter. I have been incredibly fortunate to work with a group of musicians who are this passionate and appreciative of the importance of production, in addition to the tools it takes to achieve great sound.

Also, they all have a wealth of audio knowledge, and a love for gear.

As things began to really ramp up, I was so happy that they trusted my opinion of what Goose needed to obtain the best sound possible. Two years later, we have more than doubled the channel count, upgraded our microphone package, and just recently began touring with the front of house audio console of my dreams. At the end of the day, it all starts with the source, and my job is to just amplify what they create on stage. I tell them all the time that they make me sound good, not the other way around!

Walk us through the process preparing the sound leading up to each Goose show, as well as during the show itself. It seems like a pretty involved process, as there’s quite a few factors that can affect the quality of sound.

Running audio, people see you pushing faders and twisting knobs, but that may be the shortest part of my night. Our crew is filled with passionate, hardworking individuals who will do whatever it takes to crush every detail, much of which involves grueling physical labor. The typical day starts with unloading tens of thousands of pounds of gear from our trailer. Once it’s all positioned on stage, I will move onto placing and patching all the microphones, running cables to each member’s personal mixers, setting up the monitor console and stage box, then setting up the front of house console (all 600+ pounds of it!).

I make sure all 48 inputs are where they need to be and there are no mis-patches, bad cables or phantom buzzes before the band is ready. Come sound check, I let the band jam and dial in the sound. Depending on the system, this process can be a breeze or take some finessing. During the show is where the real fun is had. I add reverb, well timed delay throws, and I’m lucky enough to listen to and watch these amazing musicians feed off of each others’ energy. Being able to highlight the cool little intricacies and musical ideas they bounce off each other in jams is fun. There’s nothing like pumping the subs for the bass drop in Yeti and feeling that power they produce. Once the show is over, it’s time to break it all down, load it up and then on to the next one. It’s exhausting, but rewarding and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!

Has the transition to in-ear monitors affected the quality of jamming, from your perspective?

I was lucky enough to inherit the in-ear and multi-tracking rig that Peter and the guys already had in place, I knew they were serious about their sound when I saw it! It’s a dream as an audio engineer to be able to solely focus on the front of house sound and not constantly be tweaking monitors. In-ears not only save the band’s ears from potential hearing loss, they also allow them to be comfortable and fine tune the mix to their liking to suit the vibe each night.

Why does Trevor have a mic? Inquiring minds would like to know :) I stand by the fact that Trevor’s mic may in fact be the most important channel on stage! If he were to speak up and I missed it, I would never forgive myself. His singular low harmony on “Electric Avenue” was game changing, and I was absolutely floored by his ride sally ride during “Mustang Sally.” Don’t even get me started on his Bingo Tour rendition of “Achy Breaky Heart.” I wept.

Tell us about one of your favorite memories/shows with the band (thus far).

I’m a huge Deadhead at heart, so being able to be a part of Playing in the Sand, especially so early in my tenure with Goose, was absolutely surreal! When it comes to individual shows, it is tough to narrow it down - there’s a reason the Buffalo Nietzsche’s 2019 and Swanzey, New Hampshire 2020 shows were released on vinyl - the vibe at those shows was particularly high. In all honesty, every show contains special moments that inspire me and make me feel so blessed to play a part in this organization. My favorite non-show related memory had to be when we hiked Mount Shasta on an off day on the tour when we were opening for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. That place has some serious magic and being out in such glorious nature with my second family was something I will always cherish!

Thank you for your time and we sincerely appreciate all that you do for Goose!

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Summer 2021 Festival Review Ryan Storm Special thanks to Brian Weber aka JiveGoose for filling in for me in the Fredition!

After tearing their way through two legs of an incredible early summer tour, Goose took the balance of July, August, and September easy, focusing on a few dates around the festival circuit.

Starting with an extended set at Floyd Fest on July 23rd, the quintet from Connecticut demonstrated that these festival sets would be anything but standard. Opening with a nearly 20-minute bliss-filled All I Need that melted perfectly into Flodown, Goose was locked in from the first note. Mississippi Half-Step and Slow Ready came next, keeping the energy high, before The Empress of Organos brought our next big taste of jamming, complete with an amazing funk section led by Trevor. Next up came Madhuvan, featuring the new verse and the great addition of Peter on piano during the final chorus. The jam, as all Madhuvans tend to be, was pure fire as Rich and Peter ducked and weaved around each other to bring it to a roiling peak. A sneaky MVP for 2021 has been This Old Sea, with numerous standout versions, but none more standout improvisationally than the one from Floyd Fest.

Beginning with a quiet and musing jam, coloured with beautiful electric piano and touches of organ from Peter, Rick weaved gorgeous melody after gorgeous melody over the rhythm section’s sparse atmospheric playing. The jam gradually grew in intensity, staying in a great major mode until a beautiful peak around the 13-minute mark. Post-peak, Rick immediately dirtied up his tone and Peter hit the clav for a few minutes of the gnarliest, funkiest Goose I’ve heard outside of their renditions of Look Out Cleveland. Not only were Rick and Peter excelling at their instruments, but Trevor seized the opportunity for some incredible bass fills and breakdowns ahead of the crowd singing him Happy Birthday after the jam’s conclusion – it had just hit midnight. After closing the set with a fiery Jive I > Lee, Goose stepped up for the encore to deliver a typically hot version of arguably their quintessential song, Arcadia. Before the encore of the Floyd show, Peter took a second to remind the crowd of their upcoming festival at the Lockn’ Farm, Fred.

Fred the Festival took place on August 20-22, and featured revivals of numerous Goose side-projects like Vasudo, ElephantProof, and Orebolo, as well as performances from Cory Wong, Dawes, and more. Goose themselves performed two fantastic and jamfilled shows on the 21st and 22nd. After opening their first night with an explosive Yeti, the band immediately dropped into Drive.

This 23-minute excursion, while very Type I, contained some exceptional Vintage Vibe work from Peter during the second jam, developing a similar rhythm-focused groove to the 5/4 Creatures. Rosewood Heart, Please Forgive Me, and an explosive Seekers on the Ridge followed before the always-rocking Arrow closed the set with yet another 20-minute excursion. This jam developed a vibe similar to the Drive earlier in the set, with Peter on guitar instead of electric piano this time. Exploding back into the classic Arrow jam around the 18-minute mark, Goose sent the festival audience into set break on an extremely high note.

Creatures opened the second set with another tight groove jam. Peter began on distorted guitar, taking the lead for a little while before transitioning to Vintage Vibe as the jam ran through its typical chord progression before breaking into a bluesy jam highlighted by Rich’s fantastic rhythm guitar work and Spuds’ hi-hat. The swinging jam continued before melting into Hot Tea. Some yelling antics ensued before the jam took off at a fantastic pace. Hearing Trevor’s phenomenal bass playing, Rick and Peter slowly dropped out, letting him step up with a spectacular solo. During this groovy segment of the jam, Trevor weaved together a melody that the whole band would riff off of for the rest of the jam. The band came back in led by Peter on clav before some seriously stank-face-inducing breakdowns and a fiery peak to end it off Tea-style (and a shoutout for “Team Larry”). Bringing Taylor and Griffin from Dawes on stage to join in on guitar and drums respectively (and Jeff taking over Peter’s guitar), the band strummed the familiar opening chords to This Old Sea. With vocal contributions from Taylor, the song had a distinctly different feel as the two lead guitarists demonstrated fantastic interplay throughout. In the jam section, Taylor and Rick took turns leading the jam through an ethereal mode that alternated between a tight groove and spacey exploration before charging back with energy up to a peak accentuated by Peter’s organ. Spuds and Griffin’s drumming throughout was tight and the jam became a bit reminiscent of the Grateful Dead due to the two-drummer, two-guitar attack. The Goose + Dawes lineup then closed the show with an energetic cover of The Band’s Don’t Do It. 8/22’s six-song first set may not have had the Moby opener the band had planned on, but it included the return of Great Blue song Lily’s Tiger, an upbeat synth-drenched instrumental that I REALLY wish they played more. A tight groove dominated the succeeding Tumble at first with Peter’s staccato guitar and Jeff’s perfectly timed tambourine hits, the two guitarists then move into dueling wah pedal parts before peaking the jam around the 13-minute mark. A Flodown-esque breakdown followed before a final climb to the peak and end of the song. 726 served as a bridge between the massive jam and the set-closing So Ready, which featured former Goose member Chris “Doc” Enright on keys. This phenomenal rendition, containing standout Vintage Vibe and synth solos from Doc, has since become my favourite version of the song! The second set began in a strong fashion before a SUPER-extended Earthling or Alien? served up a heavy dose of stage antics as Spuds and Jeff took an extended drum solo. After the conclusion of the song, Goose welcomed up their final guest of the weekend – keyboardist Matt Campbell of Vasudo, coauthor (with Rick) of many of our favourite songs. There was only one for them to play for this sit-in – the HIGHLY coveted Factory Fiction. With its explosive jam reaching possibly the highest peak of the weekend, Goose really sent the Fred crowd home in style, not to mention the fantastic Travelers > Elmeg the Wise encore that hinted at the yet-to-be-debuted third part of the saga.

In September, Goose hit the 4848 Festival in West Virginia and the Sea.Hear.Now festival in New Jersey. While the 4848 set had more improvisation packed into it – Peter flexing his backlined B3 and Rhodes throughout the opening Jive II, the dark and spacey turns in Flee, the powerful White Lights jam – both sets gave us a glimpse into how far the band has come since 2019 and early 2020. While on tour opening for PPPP or playing festivals, Goose played many sets similar to those from 4848 or Sea.Hear.Now but was not improvising as freely or expanding every measure of the jams the way they do now. The Goose that hooked us all with their tight tension-and-release jams is taking their time to let the music breathe and continues to evolve and learn with each show. See you at Goosemas!!

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with

Andrew DaRosa

Jive I

Welcome to the debut of The Voice Beneath the Quill. My name is Andrew and I’ll be your tour guide through the cosmos of the Goose discography. This series will look at the histories of some of your favorite Goose songs as well as a breakdown (or at least my interpretation) of the lyrics and of course, the best live versions of each song (nugs membership not included).

Today we look at the “Wiltonian Jive,” the oft-debated first song written by guitarist and principal songwriter Rick Mitarotonda for Goose. Not familiar with the “Wiltonian Jive?” Perhaps you know it better by its current name: Jive I First recorded as making its debut on December 20, 2014 at the inaugural Goosemas, according to elgoose.net, the “Wiltonian Jive” existed for a brief time until its official knighthood to “Jive I” on June 17, 2015 at The Acoustic in Bridgeport.

Why not keep “Wiltonian Jive,” you may ask? “Jive II” was introduced three months prior, and it seemed kind of silly to have one song with the best name in the Goose lexicon and have the other one be “Jive II.” In 2016, the song would forever be cemented as “Jive I” when it landed on the tracklist for Goose’s debut album, “Moon Cabin,” that February. Remnants of its history are found in the studio lyrics of the “Jive I” in the the last line of each chorus: “We can fly right on through the wiltonian jive” However, if you’re hoping to hear the last line live, you have better chances of getting a “Factory Fiction” as Rick usually ends the chorus on the “right on through” line. Delving into the lyrical content, one can pick up on themes of determination and unrelenting individualism in the Rick-penned lines.

The song acts as a sort of tale of the perpetual promise of “the grass being greener on the other side” that Rick simply will not settle for. Rick tells the antagonist “no, your bread i don’t wish to eat,” which he then follows up in the next verse with “wander back/through your loamy lea/where the wake of association/couldn’t steal you away” — doubling down on his own certainty that he knows what’s best. Both for him and the band.

By the time the first verse comes around, Rick oozes with confidence when he ushers “if tomorrow comes tonight/we have cashed our gold/in for something worth our time.” The last verse has Rick fully loose and assured, even encouraging the listener to do the same: “it’s gonna drop your jaw to see/the things i can do/soon you’ll see you can do them too.” In a way, the song acts like a victory lap for the band, forging its own path while always remembering where they came from: Wilton, Connecticut.

So seven years after the “Wiltonian Jive” graced the Goose discography, “Jive I” continues to act as the center of gravity for the band akin to The Strokes’ “Last Nite” or Tom Waits’ “I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You” — being accessible while offering the best glimpse you can get of the band. It has since become a staple in the Goose live repertoire with the song making an appearance no less than once every five shows in the past year.

Here are a few of our recommended versions of the tune to hold you over until the next big “Jive I” lands on this list: November 2, 2017 With a sneaky little intro jam that sounds like it came off Nintendo’s drawing room floor for Bowser’s Castle, Rick takes full reigns of this “Jive I” in the first half but after a quick halftime, former Goose keyboardist Kris Yunker approaches the jam with voracity as he sets a auditory scene in the vein of a 60s spy movie. This is a great send-off jam as this was one of Kris’ last shows with the band.

April 20, 2018 To me, “Jive I” has always been a perfect marriage of blues and funk. This version amplifies that relationship with Pete and Rick having a stellar back-and-forth between the two genres before leading the jam into “Flodown.”

November 15, 2019 Where to start with “Jive I.” Between the extended jam that has Rick on the fritz experimenting with different modes and phrases to the on-the-dime precision of the rhythm section, this is just more proof that sometimes you don’t need a 30-minute jam to get your point across. It also goes into everyone’s favorite cover: “Crosseyed and Painless.”

May 5, 2020 The only version on this list that wasn’t performed live in front of an audience, this acoustic version recorded at the beginning of the pandemic features some blissful harmonies between Peter and Rick, an intricate segue into “Rosewood Heart” and of course, an appearance by Jeff on the stand-up bass — months before he would officially be named a member of the band.

May 8, 2021 Most people are lucky to get the Jive trinity in one show let alone one-after-another. This “Jive I” comes out of the gates after a superb “Rosewood Heart.” While this is considered a standard version, it is truly a sum of its parts when talking about the grand scheme of the rest of the Jive trinity that kicks off the second set. The “Jive II” that follows is the stuff of legends, but you knew that already.

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Raising Ricky: Pop-Pop’s Pride “He just handed me a dream” Grandmother of 3, yogi, travel enthusiast, and quintessential Mother Goose Chick, Mo Mitarotonda, reflected on the moment she knew her son Rick was a serious musician: “In middle school, he put together this song he wrote… He played every instrument and layered one instrument on top of the other and then did the vocals and handed me this recording… that’s when I knew. This is a talent and a passion, and it needs to be nurtured.”

“This kid isn’t heading for Wall Street” In 6th grade, they decided to start guitar lessons. Mo spoke highly of Rick’s first teacher, Bob Riccio, who stressed the importance of learning theory and not just playing songs. Rick gave it a shot, but ultimately wasn’t “so ready for this” and preferred learning songs and playing baseball. “By 8th grade, he really decided that he was serious about it and he said I want to go back to Bob Riccio. I want to do this the right way.”

Mo and her husband Richard Mitarotonda Sr’s unwavering support and positive manifestation played a tremendous role in her son’s success: “We always had this thing that there's no Plan B here. Plan A can be modified and you can redefine what success looks like but I'm not going to kill this dream… I think people think we have to sell out Madison Square Garden and then you've made it. It doesn't have to look like that.”

They went to work on plan A, enrolling Rick in summer programs at Berklee and NYU. She supported him as he helped pioneer an AP Music Theory program at his school. “It's not like we come from a family of career musicians. You have to forge your own path. Of course you want to raise a kid that becomes self sustained, who contributes to society in some way or another, but still is doing what they want to do and what does that look like… flipping burgers or in our case slinging tacos along the way.”

It takes a village to raise a child, and Mo and her husband had one hell of a tribe. Rick donned a sweatshirt at the 11/6/20 South Farms show honoring his grandfather:

“He was Pop-Pop’s pride!”

“They had such a special relationship. When Rick was born, his grandfather had just retired. When I was going back to work, I was kind of freaking out like I don't know if I can do this.” Her father-in-law drove from Long Island to Connecticut every week for the first two and a half years of Rick’s life. Tuesday through Thursday Pop-Pop changed diapers, napped, watched soap operas, and walked the neighborhood with Rick while Mo was at work.

Mo’s brother was another major influence on young Ricky. “My brother was a singer in a band. When Rick was probably 14 or 15, they were playing gigs in these local bars and clubs and Rick played with them. When he started playing, he sat on a speaker with his back to the audience because he didn't feel comfortable on stage. It took a while but my brother really helped him with that. After so many shows, there he was turned around, standing up. It was really cool. Those were his first gigs.”

Rick’s uncle also got the family involved with Shenanigans Nite Club. “When Shenanigans opened, my brother was working for my brother-in-law. They were installing the carpet at Shenanigans, and he just took a liking to those people and they took a liking to him. He said to my brother in law, ‘I think I'm gonna stay here.’ And he did! He started off as a bouncer, and then ultimately was booking all the talent. It was a real special place for our family.” Mo’s favorite show was rockabilly singer Robert Gordon. She also saw Goosemas 2018 when the club was known as Cantiki and had the honor of guest bartending for Bonnie Raitt. “I know exactly how she likes her lemons cut.”

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There’s obvious lyrical homages to Rick’s uncle and father throughout the Goose catalogue. There’s something about these songs (Spirit of the Dark Horse, Western Sun, This Old Sea to name a few) that connect with the listener on a deeper level. Mo acknowledged many of these lyrics evoke strong emotions as they were written at a time of profound grief for her and her family.

That was really hard to lose him… that’s how he processes things and that’s how he expresses himself—through his lyrics.” Later that year, when Rick was just starting college, his father died.

“He just wrote and wrote and wrote… sharing it means something to people that are going through something. It doesn't even necessarily have to be the pain or the growth that you learn from that… They connect to it on whatever level they need to connect to it on.”

Her son managed to constructively deal with grief in a way that positively impacts our entire community.

The same can be said for the lyrics to Lead the Way, a song dedicated to the family’s Golden Retriever, Sadie. Around the 5th or 6th grade, Rick’s older sister left for college. Rick wanted a dog to divide the attention he was now solely receiving at home.

Pictured Above: Mo Mitarotonda with her son Rick in New Haven| Photo used with the permission of Mo Mitarotonda.

In Support Of:

“She was on Rick’s schedule. We’re going to wake up at 11am and stay up to 3am. She really did sit in the front seat. She could always tell when he was making moves. She went everywhere with him.” Even when Rick moved into an apartment for college he tried to bring Sadie.

He kept her there as long as he could until they got caught.

Several of these songs from Moon Cabin and Shenanigans were written and recorded in a studio Rick built on the third floor of Mo’s home. Despite, his best attempts to insulate the room, she could still hear that process:

The mission of GrooveSafe is to cultivate consent culture and create a no-tolerance environment for harassment and sexual misconduct at events.

“It's tedious. It’s the same thing over and over and over again because he's a perfectionist. Then I would hear it in a song and say oh my god he worked on that so hard for just that one little piece of it! It was really interesting to witness that process and see it come to fruition and hear what he was shooting for that whole time.”

Goose is recognized as a GrooveSafe Artist Ambassador and is a strong supporter of the GrooveSafe mission.

Mo perfectly described how it feels witnessing her son reach so many people on his music journey:

“Tremendous pride, gratitude, happiness, a little relief (chuckles)… An unbelievable sense of fulfillment. Mostly just happiness for him that what he’s putting out there is resonating with people. It’s a real beautiful feeling.”

We are all so grateful for Mo’s contribution to our community and her continued support of Rick and Goose. Catch her on fall tour and Goosemas!

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Goose will not tolerate any harassment or unwanted touching at their shows or by their community.

How can fans help? It’s important to look out for one another - if we all work together we can make this environment we love so much safe and fun for everyone.

To support GrooveSafe (a nonprofit organization) and to learn more about their mission, please visit GrooveSafe.com

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Interview: Interview: with

Jon Caruso

Sean Cronin Guitarist & Mastermind ElephantProof

ElephantProof stomped into the Fred Festival and delivered an electric late-night set, which many thought was one of the highlights of an exceptional weekend. Their set was a pleasant surprise to many, as quite a few TEDheads didn’t know much about the Allston, Massachusetts-based band prior to their inclusion in the festival lineup. Our TEDitor-in-Chief caught up with Sean Cronin, the guitarist and mastermind behind ElephantProof, following their first show in over six years at Fred the Festival: What was it like performing late night at the Fred Festival? More importantly, what was it like playing on stage with your friends again? The energy was palpable and it was one of our favorite sets of the weekend!

Thank you, I appreciate that. Thank you for coming to check out the set! I know like no one really knew anything of the band, so I’m glad that some people were interested enough to come out and see what we are about. It was everything I hoped for and so much more, you know?

It was amazing. The lights in the trees in the forest were just adding so much to the vibe. It was incredible, the crowd was so locked-in with us and it felt so good. It sounded great up there on the stage. At some point I was definitely feeling the vibes of, like, a thousand gigs before – emanating out of the forest. I was like, “It’s time to dig in right now!” This is what this stage was meant for. The production crews at Fred were so good on both stages – on the main stage and the forest stage. The PA was just about as good of a PA as I’ve ever heard. The crew took all the time that was necessary to make sure everything was perfect. The guys were so happy to be on stage and we were locked in super hard all set. It was a fuckin’ blast!

Whose idea was it to do the Home Depot theme into a cover of Purple Haze? The unexpected covers were a treat and illustrated to us how ElephantProof is an incredibly unique melting pot of influences – from metal to jazz to everything in-between.

It speaks to the quote from your interview with the Great Beyond podcast: “The goal of art is to become an amalgamation of everything you’ve ever heard that’s stuck with you and put your own signature on it.” (chuckles) That one was my idea, because, first of all, as a lot of people have said on the internet, the Home Depot song has no business slapping as hard as it does! That shit fucks! (chuckles)

Pictured Above: ElephantProof late-night set at Fred the Festival, August 2021 (Photo Credit: Jon Caruso)

But that’s kind of a cornerstone of ElephantProof’s live shows: crazy covers that make no sense but somehow end up making sense in the end.

Something I’ve always been really into with music is making stuff work that really shouldn’t. I got very heavily into that style of mashup covers whether we mash two songs together or just do a completely different version of a song that was not very good and make it into something cool on purpose.

When we started playing in like 2012 or 2013, I was still very heavy into the electronic scene. One of the things I love about electronic music is the DJ’s ability to transition between songs into something else in a way that fucks with your head and that’s something we like to put into our music. There’s an artistic value of taking somebody off guard and there’s also just as much artistic value of giving them a lot of what they expect. Some combination of those two throughout the night is our style it’s about feeling pace of the show. But you can’t go wrong with the Home Depot song!

What can fans expect moving forward? Will there be an official release of the Fred Festival set? In addition, will there be any more “EP EPs” and/or tour dates to look forward to within the next year or two?

We’re definitely going to make another studio album, for sure. We’ve got like 30 or 40 songs that are originals lying around that we used to perform all the time – and some of them you’ve heard at Fred Fest. We have at least another record worth of music that we could go record right now. But I did get some kind of bad news…

Somebody had lost the soundboard recording from the Fred Festival set. It sucks…the reason it’s really sad is because Goose’s film crew camera work was incredible (top notch). We just don’t have any good enough audio to make it into an official release. We’re looking into options right now, but honestly, I don’t think we’re going to be able to do it. I really hope something pulls through…the only sound we have was built in from one of the cameras from the guys on stage. It’s looking unlikely for a full set with quality sound, unfortunately.

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We do have a bunch of sessions coming up, something with Relix Magazine (a live in-studio performance) and we’re going to check-in at a recording studio in Brooklyn in October at some point to talk logistics, lay down a few tracks and hang out with the guys. And right now, we’re looking at a few shows in January. I can’t speak of those shows yet, but they’re pretty big and they’ll be in the New England area. We’ll go from there – we’ve got two on the books and five or six more that we’re working on. Like I said, the (Goose) management team is so good, they’re really professional and care a lot about what we’re trying to accomplish.

(Goose as well) are regular dudes who worked super hard at what they were doing, they never gave up, and it turned into something that people really fell in love with. They worked hard and kept going. They’re super down-to-earth and I’m just so excited to work with their management team.

What shows are you most looking forward to on Goose’s Fall Tour?

I did see they’re doing some gigs in Colorado in mid-November – I looked on my calendar and my calendar is free, which is a first for me. I’ve been doing 150-200 nights a year for the last 12 years of my life, I don’t remember the last time I had a month off (minus the time during the pandemic). It’s ski season, I’m a big skier and mountain biker – I might just go out there to do some skiing, see some Goose and hang out with my Colorado friends.

Thank you again for spending time catching up with The el Goose Times – we love ElephantProof and look forward to hearing more soon! TEDheads, remember to check out the ElephantProof EP, out now on digital services, if you haven’t yet.

with

Rick Gallego

Recipe #2: GOOse Balls

Sponsored By

Some of you may be too young to remember buying goo balls from a girl in a patchwork skirt, with flowers in her hair and a wicker basket, but some of your parents might!

Goo balls were typically infused snacks with all sorts of goodies added in to your liking.

This recipe wont be infused but feel free to DIY. These GOOse Balls will be packed with protein to give you tons of energy and can be customized with all sort of fun add ins!

Ingredients: 1 ½ cups Oats 1 cup Peanut Butter ¼ cup Honey or Maple Syrup 2 scoops Chocolate Protein Powder (chocolate milk powder will work also but may get a bit sweet) 2 Tablespoons Chocolate Chips 1 pinch Sea Salt

Directions: 1. Mix all ingredients together and roll into balls. If the mixture seems a bit dry just add a few drops of water until the right consistency is reached. You can add in things like hemp, flax or chia seed, crushed nuts, etc. Just remember the more you add to the base recipe, you might need to add a little liquid to balance it.

2. After you make your balls you can roll them in: Coconut Cereal (Seasonal Monster Cereals might be a good choice this time of year) Candies Nuts Pretzels Seeds Spinkles Let your imagination run wild. Make sure to take some pictures and tag The el Goose Times and use the hashtags #ShowUsYourGOOseBalls #HotTeaInRicksKitchen

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VOL. 3 - FALL 2021

COOL KIND CUSTOM ENGRAVINGS MADE TO ORDER

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Family has always been an important aspect of the Goose community and in this edition of El Goslings, we wanted to highlight one of the many Goose families within our community and listen their stories. This Volume’s highlight is the Lange family from Nebraska!

Kevin: “A few years ago I was working construction and got hurt, which forced me to be a stay-at-home Dad to 3 while Morgan worked full time.

In 2019, Morgan got into to UNL, so she was a full-time student, in addition to working full-time. While she was doing that I started doing art for extra money, a lot of paintings and some resin pieces. I got turned on to Goose by finding the Pizza in the Park video. I was hooked pretty quick, the ideas were flowing and my notebook started filling up with ideas for pins and stickers as well as show posters all for Goose.

They’re what I listened to constantly for months and the kids started noticing certain songs.

Obviously, Time To Flee was one of the first that stuck out for the “See You Later Alligator” line and “Honeybee” always seemed to get them moving more than others - we ended up using Honeybee for the middle name of our 8 month old Golden Lab. My kids have been to Summercamp, in addition to seeing Phish and many other bands multiple times, but there’s a vibe to Goose that makes my youngest Araya Sunshine dance every time she comes close to me and the speakers while I’m doing my art. She’s WAY into it, she does spins and grooves like the headiest mama out there on tour, those moves are coming from the soul. Then we told them we were going to Eau Claire to see Goose and every time we got in the car it was ‘are we going to Goose?’

Goose Fan Family Highlight The Lange Family

Pictured Above: The Lange family (From Left to Right - Morgan, Araya Sunshine (4), Lane (10), Juniper (7) and Kevin Lange. Photo provided by the Lange family.

Anytime we saw a bandshell they thought we’re at the Goose show. It crushed them when I told them they weren’t coming along due to a change of plans, they still are bummed and it comes up often. With that in mind we are already planning on making shows with the kids this summer, they’ll have a blast and I’m already stocking up to vend as well as have a print for each show I get to, and with me vending it’d be a great chill spot for the kids out of the sun. Plan is me doing runs and getting the whole family to shows closer to our home.

Their favorite show is Sculpture Park shows because they can see their mom and dad in the crowd in the videos a bunch. They love those sculptures and have spotted them in a Barbie cartoon episode, paused it to show me even. The other day my kid fell and scuffed his knee, he already did the same thing a few days prior and as I was fixing him up he starts telling me he named his scabs. He went on to tell me all of the names of Goose as his scabs names, he forgot Jeff but I helped him out.”

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Kevin! If you’d like your family featured on a future edition of El Goslings, please let us know. The el Goose Times loves highlighting the next generation of fans, as we believe the next generation is just as important as we are – as they’ll ultimately carry on the music and community that we love so much.

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