The Sadies finally find their sound

By JOHN BENSON

entertainment@vindy.com

More than a decade has passed since Travis Good and his brother Dallas started the chameleonic band The Sadies. During that time, Good has watched as his group’s sound has explored everything from surf and punk to alt-country and rock. One thing that hasn’t changed is this guitarist’s cynicism, which directly adds to the charm of the outfit.

Take for instance the group’s recently released album, “Darker Circles,” which is the follow-up to The Sadies’ acclaimed 2009 effort “Country Club (feat. John Doe).”

“This is the first time we’ve written like a complete album,” Good said during a phone call to his Ontario, Canada, home. “Instead of having the songs be all over the map, we decided to stick with a theme. I’m not quite sure what that theme is. I guess it’s just darker than the last record.

“In the past, our records were so eclectic with surf, punk, country. People would always say, ‘There’s something there for everybody to like.’ And I always said, ‘We’ll if that’s true, then that means there’s something there for everybody to hate.’ So it’s just been a natural progression for our band. And it took us 10 years. I don’t know how to explain the sound, but I think we have found it.”

Good goes on to say the modus operandi for The Sadies’ finding its sound is tantamount to wearing out a new pair of shoes. Whereas the act used to record its fair share of instrumental songs, it got that out of its system after it recorded a soundtrack to the “Big Daddy” Ed Roth film “Tales of the Rat Fink.” Also, the band’s penchant for country sounds was exorcised after recording mostly country cover songs with John Doe for “Country Club.”

As for “Darker Circles,” Good believes psychedelic is an apt description for the album that marked a sea change in the writing process for The Sadies. This time out, the band actually concentrated on songwriting with the studio in mind instead of creating tunes it felt would sound good live. The results are already obvious to Good and company.

“It’s always fun to play the new stuff, but strangely enough, the new songs go over as well as or better than the old ones, which personally when I go to see a show, that’s not usually the case,” Good said. “Usually when a band says they’re going to do three songs from their new record, I go grab a beer. I’m usually there for a reason, and it’s because of their back catalog, not their new record. But that’s just me because I’m a close-minded person.”

What does that tell Good about the band’s new songs?

“It says people like the new stuff, or they don’t like the old stuff,” Good said laughing.

You can judge for yourself when The Sadies return to Youngstown for a Friday show at Cedars Lounge. Good said the Canadian act has had a long, memorable connection with the area.

“What brought us there first was Bob’s Country Bunker,” Good said. “We’re friends with those guys, the Shelby Brothers. And they used to come to our shows all of the time in Cleveland. They kept saying you have to come to Youngstown. Actually, our first time coming to Youngstown, we were supposed to open for Hank Williams III at Nyabinghi. He didn’t show. We played.”

So that’s when Youngstown first fell in love with The Sadies?

“Well, we courted for a while,” Good said. “And now we’re on our second date. We’ve gotten all of the formalities out of the way.”