Goodwen was formed officially in March 2003. Originally created as a

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band, Goodwen's music later incorporated elements of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

, and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

. The band, composed of seven members, has relentlessly toured the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. Goodwen currently has one full album, ''En Memoria Vestrum'', with plans to release a second in the future. They also have two demo CDs available. The song "Question Marks" has also been featured in the compilation from Future Destionation Records, ''Reasons for Living''.

Background

Growing up in the household of the signed

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

artist Todd Elam, Tyler and Jordan Elam, (guitar and drums), along with long-time friend Dustin Smith began creating music as early as 2000. Gradually as they began to expand their musical skills, more projects were developed involving more musicians using a variety of different instruments. Cody Madonna, a longtime friend of Jordan, suggested the idea of beginning a Ska band. With this development came the addition of Armond Luckey and his amazing trumpet ability, Dustin Schamaun with a deep appreciation for the underlying tones of jazz saxophone, and Julie Heidorn on trombone.

GOODWEN - Is a six member group from
Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, about 35 miles (47 km) north of Cincinnati. The population as of the 2020 census was 50,987. It is part of the Cincinnati metropo ...
that plays "progressive horn rock". The musical style is broad-based due to the diverse tastes of the group. The sound can move from heavy to soft. There are those who mistake Goodwen for a Ska band because they have a trumpet and sax. Most assuredly, they are not.~FaithFest.net."

Goodwen has stated in their Cincy CDs interview that, though the band has horns and was originally thought to be a

band, Goodwen does not consider themselves to be a ska band, nor do they wish to be thought of as a ska band.

Members

Current: * Dustin Smith-

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Tyler Elam-

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Jordan Elam-

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Armond Luckey-

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* Dustin Schamaun-

Tenor Saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

* Cody Madonna-

Bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Past * Julie Heidorn-

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

(2003–2005)

Touring

Over the years, Goodwen has shared stages with many bands such as: Blindside, The Elms, Ace Troubleshooter, Roper, Dead Poetic, Cartel, Showbread and others. Touring from

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

to West Virginia, the band has performed over two hundred shows. Often the band toured with their long-time friends The Red Racer, a prominently

Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

. Goodwen has also made several performances at

Ichthus Ichthus may refer to: * An alternate spelling of ''ichthys'' (ΙΧΘΥΣ), the Greek word for fish. * ''The Harvard Ichthus'', a journal of Christian thought at Harvard University. * Ichthus Music Festival, an annual Christian musicfest event in W ...

Christian rock festival with attendance in the tens of thousands.

Discography

2003 Demo

# More Than Sunday # The You I used to Know # It Doesn't Change # A Better Way

''Paper Bag Demo''

# Rust to None # One Nation # The Truth We Know Nothing Of

''En Memoria Vestrum''

# The End of the End is Only the Beginning # "Question Marks" # The Long Road I Hope to Take Again # In Order to Prevent Further Confusion # A Light in our Darkest Hour # A Glance at the Present From the Past

''Reasons for Living''

Future Destinations Compilation * -Question Marks (19)
Reasons for Living

Videography

DVD * ''Our Band Can Beat Up Your Band, We Talked About It The Whole Way Home'' Online Video Sample
Goodwen Video 1

Controversy-''a New Reality''

In late 2005 Goodwen was contacted by an anonymous solo performer dubbe
A New Reality
who claimed that Goodwen had stolen his music without consent. The performer has no formal proof other than a recording of the song "A Glance at the Present from the Past" performed differently. There have since been no further accusations.

Future

In early 2006, Cody Madonna declared that he would be taking a year-long certification course in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

to become a licensed Harley Davidson mechanic. Unable to perform without a bass guitar player, Goodwen decided to take a break. Though the official final show of Goodwen was March 3, 2006 at ''4th and Main'' in

Franklin, Ohio Franklin is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,771 at the 2010 census. The Great Miami River flows through Franklin. Ohio State Routes 73, 123 and 741 pass through Franklin, while Interstate 75 passes on the ...

, the band has since performed one reunion show at ''The Garage'' in Springboro Ohio :File:GoodwenFlyer1.jpg From the message boards, with the return of Cody scheduled for the summer of 2007, Goodwen has plans to write and record new material. Members have also claimed that they expect a new album release mid to late summer of 2007, which will contain several songs already written in the Goodwen Archives as well as songs currently being written.

Distributors

* Cincy Cds-Promoters: ''En Memoria Vestrum''
Future Destinations Records
Producers: ''Reason for Living''

Media/News/Interviews

Cincy CD's Interview

References

{{reflist

External links

Goodwen Official Site

Goodwen on Pure Volume
Indie rock musical groups from Ohio Musical groups established in 2003