By Nicholas Jason Lopez
North Florida-based alternative rock group The Brown Goose recently premiered their new album ‘This Is The Way’ via Isotopia Records, which they hoped fans would appreciate not only the music itself, but the emotional meaning behind it.
With the help of engineer/producer Lee Dyess (Mayday Parade, From First To Last, Go Radio) and Earth Sound Recordings, anthemic earworms like “When The Whispers Fade,” “Runnin’ The Streets” and “Apocalyptic Love Song” will make appreciation an easy task for almost anybody.
The Music Bugle had the chance to talk with members of the band – which consists of vocalist/guitarist Mike Ingram, bassist/vocalist Barrence Dupree, keyboardist/vocalist Heath Fowler, drummer/percussionist Jonathan McLaughlin and guitarist/vocalist Giovanni Marerro-Baez – about ‘This Is The Way’ and more.
Music Bugle – What excites you the most about your style of music?
Barrence Dupree – That we incorporate so many different styles and backgrounds into our music and how our team approach to songwriting comes out in exciting and unique ways in the recordings.
Giovanni Marerro-Baez – What excites me the most about our style of music is that it’s not really a generic style. There are many elements of different genres mixed up in our songs. It gives our songs a unique sound that is just so very fun to play keeping things fresh and familiar!
Music Bugle – How was the band name decided?
Mike Ingram – Our namesake comes from the late great old boi himself, Goose. I had a chocolate lab from the time I was 19 until he passed in November of 2019 after having already beaten cancer once before. He had an adventurous 11 years, we all still miss him and carry on his legacy as The Brown Goose!
Music Bugle – What was your goal for your new album ‘This Is The Way’?
Barrence Dupree – To hopefully reach people looking for new music.
Music Bugle – How would you describe Florida to someone who has never been there before?
Barrence Dupree – It’s more than just beaches and palm trees. We also have swamps, gators and beautiful inland sunsets.
Mike Ingram – Florida is beautiful and terrifying, all in the same five seconds! (Laughs) It’s a very untamed place for how inhabited it is, so you almost have to be cool with wildlife! There are critters around every corner.
Giovanni Marerro-Baez – I would describe Florida in one word – Humid! (Laughs)
Music Bugle – Which of your songs were the hardest to write?
Barrence Dupree – I’d say they all presented unique challenges and that no one was more difficult than the others. I think maybe the funnest one to record was “Creepin’ Steadily,” because we were still experimenting and writing on it when we started recording. The entire end of the song was more or less a blank slate when we went into the studio and coming up with the gang vocals and multi layers melody on the end was exciting.
Mike Ingram – Music technicality-wise, I think our hardest song to write is probably still to come. Maybe album two? However, as far as lyrically, the last song on this album, “Time Doesn’t Wait For Us” was a tough one for me because it was about two friends who had passed away. Writing about tough subject matters is not easy, but feeling like you’ve finished something that is good enough for them after they’re gone is even harder.
Music Bugle – How have you been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Barrence Dupree – We were on tour in the middle of Texas when pretty much everything started to shut down. All of our shows were canceled and we had to drive all the way back to Tally with our tails between our legs. After that, we just tried to stay positive and started making silly music videos of cover songs using our phones. It was good to learn new skills and keep things moving forward, even when we felt stuck. I feel it tested us, gave us focus and brought us closer together.
Jonathan McLaughlin – The COVID-19 pandemic really slowed us down in terms of touring and it was a really good test to see how dedicated we all were/are to the band since outside music life pretty much died for an extended period of time and greatly tied our hands. However, we did not stop, yet we continued to grow in other ways that kept us growing and enduring the down time.
Music Bugle – Where do you go when you need a break?
Barrence Dupree – St. Augustine, Florida.
Giovanni Marerro-Baez – I like to head anywhere with water when I need a break, beach, river, etc..
Music Bugle – Who are you listening to right now, music-wise?
Mike Ingram – Pinegrove, Mayday Parade, Do Or Die, Polyphia, Post Malone, Sure Sure, The Highwomen, Sammy Kershaw, Foxing, Jason Derulo, Masked Wolf, Blink-182, Paramore and Parachute.
Jonathan McLaughlin – Blackberry Smoke, Masked Wolf, Alice In Chains, Dierks Bentley, Killswitch Engage, Matchbox Twenty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Underoath, A Perfect Circle, Boys To Men, Mitchell Tenpenny and Diamond Rio.
Music Bugle – Does social media help or hurt musicians?
Barrence Dupree – Like anything, there are upsides and downsides. It’s great to stay connected and really let fans feel like they’re part of the history, but with so much noise going on, it can be hard to break through and feel you’re being heard. It’s definitely a challenge, but I feel we’re up for and working at it everyday.
Jonathan McLaughlin – It definitely helps. Now is an awesome point in time where you can connect with your fans all around the world. It also gives you the ability to reach and share your music with more people than you would be able to otherwise.
Music Bugle – What’s something that you wish happened less in today’s music industry?
Barrence Dupree – Exploitation of artists, especially when they are first starting out. There are some people out there who use the concept of experiential opportunity to make money off of an artist instead of paying them fairly for their time and effort.
