THE SADIES Band's focal point shifts with 5 CDs

The next project is the soundtrack for a feature film due out next year.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Guitarist-singer-songwriter John Good of The Sadies likes coming through Youngstown. He's also not above kowtowing a bit to his audience.
"Maybe because there is something in the water there and people are just a little bit more intelligent than the rest of the world," said Good, whose band played a memorable date at Nyabinghi, the rock club on Youngstown's West Side, more than three years ago.
Granted, he's right, but such praise should be subtle, just like the Canadian band's music, which incorporates various hints and elements ranging from alt country to garage and surf rock. With its most recent album "Favourite Colors" released earlier this year, the outfit is already working on its next project, a soundtrack recording for an upcoming feature film documentary on the life of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, the hot rod legend known for creating the popular Rat Fink character.
'Really fun'
For The Sadies, the notion of creating original music from the late '40s to the early '60s was tantamount to The Strokes recording music for a CBGB's documentary or Oasis providing the score to a Fab Four biopic.
"It was perfect," Good said. "It's been great because for the first time we've been expected to provide music that is more time period pieces. And that's really fun for us because it's not that much of a stretch for us to play in the vein of the traditional instrumental music, which is our primary influence in the first place."
In fact, many of the band's untitled songs, which it submitted for the documentary unsolicited, are being used in the feature film, due out in late 2006. As for that next studio album for The Sadies, Good said he's not quite sure that the soundtrack doesn't count. Still, the band is also working on its next conventional project, which it hopes to have out in 2006.
"When The Sadies started up, the main focal point was our instrumental music," Good said. "And over the five records, that has kind of moved over to the sideline but only because of the shape of the records we've been creating. And now having made an entire documentary soundtrack of 50 instrumental songs, it's definitely brought the focal points away from instrumental music for a studio record. So the material we've been compiling for the new record is more in the vein of what we were working on with 'Favourite Colors.'"
Live album possible
There's also some whispering going on regarding a live album but Good says that's not confirmed at this point. Aside from recently recording with longtime collaborator Neko Case on her new album, due out this winter, and also touring as the backing band for Jon Spencer's Heavy Trash project, the quartet is looking forward to getting back on the road, which includes a Friday show at Cedars Lounge, downtown Youngstown.
"It's been a busy year and we've been playing out a lot and in my opinion, we really haven't been as comfortable on stage as we are now," Good said. "We feel that if people are in the mood to be entertained and drink and dance, then it's pretty much a guaranteed performance. We do our best to please and we'll take requests and do whatever you want. Just come, pay a small cover and enjoy the show."
While open to all kind of requests, Good and company apparently do have scruples, admitting the most shamelessly sycophantic cover song would be Bruce Springsteen's "Youngstown."
"No, that I promise you we will not do," Good said. "That's the least I can do for the people of Youngstown."