After meeting in San Francisco and learning each other’s melodies, San Francisco’s Avi Vinocur and North Carolina’s Patrick Dyer Wolf named their band after the ghost town of Goodnight, Texas, which sits halfway between their respective homes. They found their stylistic midpoint amidst old wooden instruments and a vision of late nineteenth century blue collar America – a grittier, simpler, more mysterious world full of raw pain and beauty.
We came to them a bit late, but were instantly seduced by Jesse Got Trapped In A Coal Mine, a mandolin-driven elegy for a doomed young fiancé. It is still on regular repeat here at MM. The track comes from their mighty fine debut album of world-weary, vintage Americana, A Long Life Of Living, which can be purchased here.
Five words to describe your music:
Dusty, railroad, steel, wood, hadouken
One book you’d recommend to an alien:
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Five bands (or albums) that have most influenced you?
Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent – Shovels and Rope; Vic Chestnutt – At The Cut; Old Man Luedecke – Hinterland; Phil Cook and his Feat – Hungry Mother Blues; Weezer – Pinkerton
One moment in time you’d like to have witnessed:
October 15, 1882 in New York City, 3:02 pm
Five people you’d love to share a stage-jam with:
Franz Liszt, Steve Vai, Bernie Williams, Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, Ethel Merman. But seriously, picture them all together in a room.
One biggest regret in your career (to date):
October 15, 1882 in New York City, 3:02 pm
Five things on your perfect rider:
Beers, Buffalo Wings, Brats, Bacon, Baking Soda
One hour to live – who would you spend it with, and why?
Is the world ending or am I just dying? If I’m dying, I’m going to tell my loved ones I love them. If the world is ending, I’m going to grab people’s boobs, and then the loved ones thing.
Five perfect songs:
“Troubles Will Be Gone” – The Tallest Man On Earth; “Who’s Gonna Raise These Babies” – Cary Ann Hearst; “Talkin Bear Mountain Blues” – Bob Dylan; “Holdin’ On” – Chuck Prophet; “I Do My Father’s Drugs” – Joe Pug
One song of yours that you’d most like to be played in 50 years time:
If any of our songs are getting played in 50 years, we’re not gonna complain about which ones.
