BԪַ

Skip to content

A BԪַtrue hard-working, road-hardened troubadour:BԪַ musicians remember Dallas Good

The Sadies were the first band to BԪַtake a chanceBԪַ on the Sheepdogs in 2011
28221632_web1_2022021815028-3b817b8673fe2caf9fa518e36050af5821ca48baf804fc7b299daeb2b2c9f2be
The Sadies lead singer Dallas Good poses for a photograph in Toronto on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. Good, singer and guitarist of Canadian rock/alternative country band the Sadies has died of natural causes at age 48, the band says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Fellow musicians are remembering Dallas Good as someone who fostered community within the Canadian music scene, supported new artists and gave them a chance to showcase their skills.

Good, the singer and guitarist of rock/alternative country band the Sadies, died Thursday of natural causes at age 48.

The Sadies posted the news on their social media accounts Friday afternoon, saying in a Facebook post that Good had been under doctorBԪַs care for a coronary illness discovered earlier this week.

The band, made up of Good, his singer/guitarist brother Travis Good, bassist Sean Dean and drummer Mike Belitsky, formed in Toronto in 1994 and released their first album BԪַPrecious MomentsBԪַ in 1998.

And they had served as inspiration for other Canadian acts since.

BԪַWe kind of grew up idolizing and watching (them),BԪַ Ryan Gullen, bassist for the Sheepdogs said in a phone interview. BԪַTheir albums are amazing and their live shows were something you could only aspire to.BԪַ

Gullen said the Sadies were the first band to BԪַtake a chanceBԪַ on the Sheepdogs in 2011, inviting the then little-known rock group from Saskatoon to tour with them through Western Canada.

Gullen said the gig was BԪַhuge affirmationBԪַ for the Sheepdogs, adding that Good and the Sadies quickly put their star-struck nerves at ease by welcoming them BԪַwith open armsBԪַ and taking them for drinks after the first show.

The SheepdogsBԪַ time with Good was cut short when he broke his leg before the tourBԪַs second show. Still, Gullen said, it was the start of a bond that grew stronger over the years.

BԪַWe became part of their community, and I think thatBԪַs the biggest piece of what you can say about Dallas and the Sadies,BԪַ he said. BԪַThey really bred community. They welcomed people in and they supported people.

BԪַIt wasnBԪַt about getting bigger for them. It was about surrounding yourself with good people and building them up, which is sort of lost in a lot of ways with a lot of musicians.BԪַ

Eamon McGrath, a musician and writer from Edmonton, remembers when Good broke his leg on tour. He also recalls GoodBԪַs triumphant return to the stage months later in Saskatoon, wearing a cast under his suit that extended past the top of his knee.

McGrath opened for the Sadies at that show BԪַ one of his many times playing with the band.

BԪַI donBԪַt even understand how he got a suit on over that cast and played the entire show,BԪַ McGrath said. BԪַA ripping, loud, energetic, Sadies show, dripping in sweat BԪַ That probably would have been unspeakably uncomfortable.BԪַ

McGrath said he always felt BԪַlike a giddy schoolgirlBԪַ when he could play alongside the Sadies.

BԪַThey were, in a lot of ways, like the last holdout of true hard-working, road-hardened troubadours,BԪַ he said.

The Sadies were still performing weeks before GoodBԪַs death, and had released a new single, BԪַMessage to Belial,BԪַ in January.

They were among the acts at a virtual edition of Guelph, Ont.BԪַs Hillside Inside festival earlier this month and were listed on the bill for Winterruption, a music festival in Edmonton that runs March 31 to April 3.

They were set to play TorontoBԪַs Horseshoe Tavern this April, a make-up date for shows that had been postponed in December.

BԪַWe have no words for the shock we are all feeling,BԪַ the bandBԪַs Facebook post read Friday. BԪַThe stage is dark today with the all too soon passing of one of musicBԪַs brightest lights.BԪַ

Gullen described GoodBԪַs voice as having an BԪַincredible low, almost hauntingBԪַ quality.

Not the typically loud, boisterous frontman, Good was a BԪַstoic, calculated performer,BԪַ Gullen said, showing the world BԪַyou donBԪַt have to be Mick Jagger to lead a band.BԪַ

McGrath said Good transcended multiple music genres, noting he also played with Moncton, N.B.-based psychedelic band Elevator to Hell, instrumental Toronto rock group Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, and Toronto indie rockers the Unintended.

BԪַ(The Sadies) were as much a punk band as they were a country band,BԪַ McGrath said. BԪַTheir musical ability in terms of guitar playing, I mean, they make the most technical death metal bands look like incapable students.BԪַ

Dallas and Travis Good came from a strong lineage of musicality. Their father Bruce played in the Juno-winning bluegrass outfit the Good Brothers alongside his siblings while mother Margaret has appeared on recordings with both her husband and her sons.

The SadiesBԪַ 2017 album BԪַNorthern PassagesBԪַ was recorded in the Good parentBԪַs basement in Newmarket, Ont.

The band collaborated with many other homegrown acts, including Buffy Sainte-Marie, Blue Rodeo, Neil Young and the Tragically Hip, with whom they toured extensively.

The band teamed up with Hip frontman Gord Downie for their 2014 album BԪַAnd the Conquering SunBԪַ BԪַ an extensive project that took seven years to complete.

Good also worked as a producer, helping Canadian sister trio The Garrys with an album they released this fall.

Julie Maier, one of the band members, called Good a BԪַwish-list producerBԪַ and said the band was thrilled when he agreed to work with them. His down-to-earth nature BԪַ Good only asked for Red Rose tea when the Garrys offered to provide food and drinks in studio BԪַ struck her and her sisters.

BԪַHe was just such an unpretentious person,BԪַ Maier said. BԪַHe was just the farthest thing from a diva.BԪַ

His contributions to CanadaBԪַs music scene are unparalleled, McGrath said, noting how the Sadies toured the country BԪַrelentlessly.BԪַ

BԪַThey never discriminated against their audience, never looked down on any town as small or as big as it was,BԪַ he said.

BԪַThey laid the groundwork for being Canadian artists.BԪַ

Melissa Couto Zuber, The Canadian Press

Like us on and follow us on .





(or

BԪַ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }