The Special Goodness is an American
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California, formed in 1996 by
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
drummer
Patrick Wilson
Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...
. The band's line-up has included
Atom Willard (drums), Weezer bassists
Mikey Welsh
Michael Edward Welsh (April 20, 1971 – October 8, 2011) was an American artist and musician who played bass for several bands, including the rock band Weezer. During Weezer's hiatus, he played with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo in the band Homi ...
and
Scott Shriner
Scott Gardner Shriner (born July 11, 1965) is an American musician best known as a member of the rock band Weezer, with whom he has recorded twelve studio albums. Joining the band in 2001, Shriner is the band's longest serving bass guitarist.
Prio ...
, Pat Finn, Jeb Lewis, Lee Loretta, and
Murphy Karges
Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...
. The band's name comes from a description of how Wilson apparently feels when he creates music.
In May 2012, Wilson released the project's fourth studio album, ''
Natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
''.
Releases
The band has released four albums, ''
Special Goodness'' (aka "The Bunny Record," recorded in 1996 for, and shelved by Geffen Records, re-packaged and re-released during tours in 1999 and 2000 and given a full Japan-only release in 1998), ''At Some Point, Birds and Flowers Became Interesting'' (2001, self-released and also known as "Pinecone"), ''
Land Air Sea'' (2003) and ''
Natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
'' (2012). After being signed to
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
in mid-2003 the band re-released a remixed and re-ordered version of ''Land Air Sea''. Their song "Life Goes By" was featured on
Punk-O-Rama Vol. 9 and an unreleased track "Not The Way" was featured on
Punk-O-Rama Vol. 10. They released music videos for both "N.F.A" and "Life Goes By" from ''Land Air Sea'', the latter being directed by weezer.com webmaster
Karl Koch.
On the road
The Special Goodness began touring together in 1999. The Special Goodness was the first side-project/spin-off from
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
(such as
Space Twins
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
,
The Rentals
The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp. Sharp has been the only consistent member since the group's inception. The band's best selling single is "Friends of P" (1995). The Rentals released two albums, ''Return of t ...
and
Homie) to ever actually open for Weezer, which they did on the band's 2002 Enlightenment Tour as Wilson minded both the duties as frontman for The Special Goodness and as drummer for Weezer.
The Relationship
The Relationship was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, founded in 2007 by Weezer guitarist Brian Bell and Nate Shaw. In 2010, Bell released the first Relationship album and has since performed and recorded with a ...
, Brian Bell's band, would later open for Weezer on the 2008 Troublemaker Tour.
Other notable tours include a west coast tour with fellow Weezer side-project The
Space Twins
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
in 1999 and opening for the
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
in 2003, a feat that Wilson would repeat in 2005 whilst playing with Weezer.
One of their most notable shows was on November 2, 1999 at Club Laga in Pittsburgh. The club's promoter billed the gig as "The Special Goodness playing all the Weezer Hits." The band played through their set of Special Goodness songs, but felt as if they had to live up to the bill, so an encore of "Tired of Sex" and "Undone - The Sweater Song" was played.
Writing and release of fourth album
TSG's fourth album got off to a quick start in early 2005 while
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...
's fifth album, ''
Make Believe
Make believe, also known as pretend play, is a loosely structured form of play that generally includes role-play, object substitution and nonliteral behavior. What separates play from other daily activities is its fun and creative aspect rather t ...
'', was waiting to be mixed and released. Wilson, along with Scott Shriner on bass and Willard on drums, recorded a full album at The Steakhouse Studio in the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
with
Joe Barresi
Joe Barresi (nicknamed "Evil Joe") is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Chevelle, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive, New Model Army, ...
engineering the sessions.
Overdubbing
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
,
mixing and
mastering for the album had been completed and Wilson had a tentative track list for the album, which consisted of many songs that he had written for possible inclusion in Weezer's fifth album. Yet in a January 26, 2006, post on thespecialgoodness.com, Wilson stated "In my opinion, the songs weren't very good. The lyrics, melodies, chords and playing were strong but these do not add up to compelling songs." He also claimed that "a year of playing to large audiences (with Weezer) I've begun to understand what I truly value about playing and writing. More to come." Weezer.com webmaster Karl Koch has attributed the album's non-release to "concerns of commercial viability".
Wilson cleared speculation by updating The Special Goodness website on July 12, 2006, stating that "3 songs and more on the way" and on August 13, 2006 stating "Ideally, I'd like to release something in the spring but I will sell no wine before its time." On February 15, 2007, Wilson posted on the site "Lots of new songs have been written and I think an album will be released this year."
In mid-November 2007, the following was posted on the TSG website: "Baby coming! Potentially earlier anticipated, therefore recording session rescheduled for February/March."
Throughout 2008, the TSG community was very quiet. On June 26, 2008, Wilson had to undergo knee surgery. Then, in late 2008, he toured with Weezer in support of their self-titled 2008 release. Even though songs for another release were constructed, a close album release did not happen.
A fan messaged Atom Willard via Modlife, and he stated that there were no plans for any new music. He also said that Wilson had moved away, making it difficult to meet up.
On January 5, 2011, an update was posted on The Special Goodness website revealing that a new album had been recorded with Wilson as the sole performer and was in the mixing stages: "Very pleased to announce a new TSG album, it’s currently being mixed, has 10 songs, a guitar, a bass, drums and vocals."
In April 2012, an update was posted on The Special Goodness website where fans could listen to samples of songs from the album, ''
Natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
'', with a release date set in May. It was made available for streaming in its entirety on Spinner.com on Monday, May 14, 2012.
Spinner.com
/ref>
Discography
* ''Special Goodness'' (1998)
* ''At Some Point, Birds and Flowers Became Interesting'' (2001)
* '' Land Air Sea'' (2003)
* ''Natural
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
'' (2012)
References
External links
Special Goodness website
MTV’s artist page for The Special Goodness
* The Special Goodness
The Special Goodness is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1996 by Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson. The band's line-up has included Atom Willard (drums), Weezer bassists Mikey Welsh and Scott Shriner, Pat Fi ...
at Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
Interview with Pat, about TSG, at Independent Music Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Special Goodness
Alternative rock groups from California
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical groups established in 1996