Good God Father is an awesome metal project coming out of Oregon, mixing together several sub-genres into one cool package. I recently reviewed the track Prince of the Air, which is well worth checking out if you’re into the genre. You can find a stream below if you like what you read!
By Jane Howkins
You recently released a single titled Prince of the Air. What can you tell us about the song?
The song is about Satan and the problem of evil. As a metalhead, I’ve grown tired of the Satanic cliche plaguing the genre, even in Christian circles. Where Satan is sort of looked at as a cool guy, who looks like a badass, and throws all the cool parties. Prince of the Air is really about how none of that is cool. It actually really sucks, and is dragging everybody down, the more we hold on to this whole fantasy of brutality.
How has the reception to the single been so far, and where can the song be purchased?
It’s really been received warmly with the feedback I’ve gotten. It’s a track I put a lot of work into, and it represents a lot of effort I’ve put in to crafting a sound I could be proud of. I think this one is the first time where all of that has really come together in a more concise way than it has with tracks I’ve produced in the past. I’m not unhappy with my work in the past, however, I fear I have a sort of weak spot of not going the extra mile to make sure I’m dotting I’s and crossing T’s. Mainly because I’m trying to get work out there quickly. In running out of time, I stopped trying to swallow an elephant whole, and started taking smaller bites, worrying about one song at a time, instead of the 20 tunes I have on my queue for release.
I really hope that people will actually subscribe on one of the Backed.By tiers to download the song, as that will come with a lot of other media products for download over there. I’ll be making stem packs and other products available over there as well. If that’s not an avenue folks are willing to take, then you can find it on iTunes, Amazon, and most of the corporate conglomerate outlets.
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Yeah, I’ve got music in store for the rest of my life. I’m following a pretty disciplined regimen at this point, with my next release scheduled in June. I’m just working my tail off to get this song promoted, with a music video in store in May.
Are there any plans to release an album or an EP?
Yes, in fact Prince of the Air is part of an LP series called, I Pray You, that I’ve been working on since Good God Father kicked off in 2016-2017. But I work alone, and depend entirely on my own funding, I produce all of the music, art, visual, graphic, video and lyrical material myself from my home studio in Oregon. So, depending on the funding I get, the quicker things will move.
Do you have anything else exciting coming up this year?
The most exciting thing for me right now is my quasi-partnership I’m in with Backed.By to distribute material on the blockchain. They operate mostly on the Polygon network, and the nature of the platform is such that it can’t be censored. This is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. As an American, we hold our 1st amendment as a high and holy sacrament, and I use that phrase intentionally, as it is my personal conviction that the mind of human beings is the closest evidence human beings will ever have to the nature of humanity being created in the image and likeness of God. To censor the mind of humankind is to silence God himself, in the life and mind of a human being. So I’m very happy to partner with a platform who feels as passionately as I do about the subject, and who have devoted themselves so fully to the preserving of that tenet so avidly, and without reservation or prejudice.
Also, I’ll be joining the eXtreme Tour this year, on my fifth run with them, as well as Fire Fest in Stevenson, WA USA on Labor Day weekend. I’m also in the process of scheduling and planning a series of concerts in the hopes of developing into a tour, that I’m starting here in Oregon. Aside from that, I also work with other artists, one of them my wife, to develop and produce their music and an online presence, including Facebook and Instagram reels, as well as livestreams on Twitch, Kick, Odysee, YouTube, and Rumble.
I’m particularly excited about supporting a new platform for creators that’s a Patreon alternative, operating on the blockchain. I’m particularly excited, also, with my homemade merch line of products that I’m making myself from my home garage art studio, including screen printed t-shirts, as well as some other sewn/tailored products – such as the hooded vest I’m in the process of designing. I’m trying to operate as self sustainably as possible, without outsourcing.
And one other thing that I’m excited about is my campaign to build a concert at the location of the real Mt. Sinai. A subject of great interest to me, the mounting evidence (pun intended), is pretty convincing that Jabel Al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia is in fact the actual Mt. Sinai from the Bible. So I’m really hoping I can put together a rock show there before tourism and development totally destroys the location. That is sort of a pipe dream, but I’m really trying to drum up support for that to make it happen.
Your music is very heavy! What/who influences you most as artists? What have you been listening to recently?
Yes, I am certainly a fan of heavy, guitar oriented music with large riffs and tones. I’ve not really been listening to a lot of music lately, as I tend to be more invested in study of history and culture. I’m a big fan of TIK History and Esoterica on YouTube. But when I do listen to music, I usually start with something like High on Fire, He Is Legend, The Chariot, mewithoutyou, Origin, Suffocation or Dying Fetus. But I’m also a doomy goth guy, so I’ll go to Bauhaus and other earlier glam rock, i.e. David Bowie, T-Rex, Kiss etc.
What is the writing and recording process like for you?
Well, as a working father and husband (and resident mechanic – I fix all the cars, as well as anything else that breaks in the house) as you can imagine, it takes a special amount of planning to execute, but I try to operate with a sort of factory mentality. My passion has historically been the songwriting process. Riffs come to me often, and I used to think that I needed to constantly be writing all of it down. These days I’ve turned my focus more toward just getting songs finished and completed. But I try to keep as many elements accessible to me as possible, and I like to have things set up and ready to document on the fly, so that I can keep things fresh. I live and sleep in my office/studio, which is pretty much a 5x10ft room, and I’m surrounded by my equipment. Time is sparse with all of the things I have to do, so I have to be sure I can get anything I need to done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
You’re based in Oregan. How is the local music scene faring at the moment?
Oregon is pretty infamously riddled with music. I’m sure it’s the same across the rest of the country, but there are bands everywhere. After COVID hit, however, things in this area turned pretty bleak with venues, although we’re coming out of things now, and people are going out.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
Not yet, but we seem to have a decent number of UK contacts, so that would definitely be something I’d be interested in putting together, if the stars align just right. If there’s any venues and artists who would like to host us, don’t be afraid to touch base with me, and we can maybe start planning something like that
Any last words for the fans?
First off, thank you so much for your affirmation, and support. I’m so completely humbled and honored that you find value in what I do, and are patient enough to endure through my less than consistent schedule. Don’t forget to head over to back.by/goodgodfather, and become a subscriber and supporter there so that we can keep the factory lights on here, and keep cranking out the materials and tools you need to stay frosty and effective on the front lines of the apocalypse.