Indie Interviews: Good Times & Company

In 2015, Good Times & Company was formed on the foundation of front man Clint Kesinger’s solo acoustic career, bringing a brand new energy and dynamic to his writing process. Over time, Shad Baldes, Kyle Wells, and later in 2017, Keagan Cross have been a part of the band in its journey toward producing what is now a signature sound. With their alternative indie rock, precisely crafted and casually delivered, Good Times & Company is the definition of a growing American rock band.  The band brings together influences of modern-day indie and flavors of rock n roll for a truly unique blend of music, with their live show smoothly gliding along the perimeter of melancholy. This band writes from the abstract mind and plays from the primitive heart, with every show is as fun as it is introspective.

Here is Our Exclusive Interview:

IPM: What inspired you to write music like you do

It’s a combination of things. We wake up everyday with this urge to create, pulling us out of bed and driving us to continue expressing ourselves artistically. Life, relationships, the ups and downs of it all, and most importantly, death, are the main reasons we make music. Life is too short to not do what you honestly love.

IPM: Tell us about the other members of the band, and of your chemistry. Please enter all band members’ names, some of their traits and how you all work together.

Shad Baldes- 25, Bassist

Shad can pick up anything and become great at it. That’s one of his greatest qualities, alongside his charm and humor. He is also the most adamant about gear, timing, and tonality. He writes, by far, some of the most unique bass lines in the game. He has achieved a tone and style that is unmistakable and is entirely his own.

Keagan Cross- 24, Guitarist

Keagan came in the band later and learned an astounding amount of material in a short period of time, a testament to his discipline and ambition. He is an ever-growing musician that is constantly pushing to better himself. As of 2018 he has really come into his groove, styling seriously catchy riffs you’ll find yourself humming along to. The new album will showcase this to the world more than ever.

 Kyle Wells- 30, Drummer

Kyle is a veteran drummer. His time in metal bands and his love for progressive music has given him the tools and wisdom to hold down solid beats and intricate fills without stepping out of his lane. One of the most solid drummers in the game.

Clint Kesinger- 27 Vocalist/Guitarist

Clint has been on a nonstop journey of playing shows and writing music since the age of 15. He was a long-standing figure in the American metal scene, has written folk, country, hip hop, and pop music, and has become a well know name in the Midwestern rock community. His lyricism is abstract and always keeps the listener guessing, which ultimately results in the audience relating his songs in many ways. And above all else, the melody is always catchy! At the rate which Kesinger writes music, it is literally only a matter of time before his material shows up on your next playlist, whether you know it or not!

IPM: What are or were some of the challenges for you in producing or performing while keeping true to your vision of your music.

For a long time, it was just finding our unique sound. We wanted a brand to call our own, something unmistakably ours. We were challenged to find a way to stay unique as a rock band, while satisfying each member’s artistic vision and not delving into comparison or imitation. We can play rock n roll, blues rock, indie rock, even hard rock. But the point is to do something no one has ever done, and so along the way we have found that sound. Everything we have released so far is a chapter of this journey, so each album is a song by song depiction of that journey into what we are now. We can proudly say that when you listen to our music, you will not confuse us with any other band, and that is the ultimate goal.

IPM: Tell us about some of your recent shows / performances.

The recent shows have just been amazing. Since we debuted our new material at these shows, people have certainly been going out of their way to let us know how much it stands out. The crowds are getting bigger, the screams are getting louder. We have come into a new era and sound so its really exciting. People are just fascinated with the new songs.

IPM: Any Albums coming out soon?

We are finishing up some writing on our newest album, ‘Cosmonaut’, and are going into the studio for a week to record it in January. That is by far the most exciting thing.

IPM: Any “strange tales” or things that may have happened during a show that seemed too weird to be true?

Oh yes, one time Keagan had a secret admirer anonymously deliver flowers to a show we were playing. It was very vague, and he was very confused and kind of scared haha. He thought we were pranking him, but we had no idea what it was about, it was funny watching him frown at us while playing the gig. Later on some intoxicated women rushed the stage and would not get off of us while we were trying to perform. It was just a funny, hormone riddled show!

IPM: Where do you see your music going, where would you like to be in the near future, goals, dreams and passions?

Our music is going to become impossible to ignore at the rate we are going. We are writing our best, most unique sounding material right now and that is the most exciting part.  We would like to see our music achieve online success, as that is the only way we can reach the world other than moving to LA, which is the cliché move for musicians. We do not follow the same path as most bands, we are focused on creating great art first and foremost. We did not get in this game as kids to be concerned with what everyone else thinks or does, we do it for ourselves as therapy and expression. So, in the near future, our goal is to release this next album on the world and start travelling to play all the places people have been begging us to go. All over the USA, Canada, South America, The UK, and even people from Australia have been asking when we will be there. And our answer is, “soon”. As far as passions and dreams: we constantly live in our passions and dreams. So, we will keeping doing our thing, and you’ll see us soon enough.

IPM: What would you like our readers to know about you, Why do you think that they would enjoy your music / performances

They would enjoy us because we play honest, unique, catchy rock music. None of our music sounds like anybody else, and we always deliver from a place of truth. We live in the moment, we are artists and will never be rockstars because we don’t want that. We come from the rural Midwest, so we don’t have the environment of a big city rock scene to influence our style. So many bands are concerned with fitting in and looking cool. We never saw what cool was, so we do us. We don’t do gimmicks, we aren’t overly concerned with clothes style, we are only concerned with our art. That comes through in the music and it makes us who we are as a band. As far as the live shows, if you enjoy having a great time with high energy catchy music, you’ll want to catch a set. Also, readers should know, we will be in their ears and staying there.

IPM: Where can our readers find your music?  

We are on all major music platforms, here are the most sought-after links:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3SnWA2sLWfH3IprrlzpnLS

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/good-times-company/1123272751

FB: https://www.facebook.com/GoodTimesandCompany

IG: @goodtimesandco