What’s the perfect father/son pastime? Creating an album of mutually adored, multi-genre music! Multi- instrumentalists Mark and Tom Goodwin present Mixed Dozen – their very first album adeptly mashing usually conflicting styles into an effectively meshed mosaic. Named after their always present and kindly critical cockatiel, Sunny – who sings along when the song inspires – BYRDZONG moves from blues, to punk, to doo-wop in a single uncategorizable collection. Ready for the Goodwins’ indelible and stylistically undiluted album debut? Let’s listen, and hit the highlights.
Wait. Who does what?
Mark composes, and the duo divvies up most of the instrumentation, bringing in help from various studio musicians and producers dwelling in Nashville and Boston.
(Sunny, although not an official producer, determines which songs are album-worthy by happy singing or disappointed squawking.)
We asked Mark and Tom about the inspiration for/ the impetus behind Mixed Dozen. Sunny replied, and Mark translated.
“The album Mixed Dozen represents a random walk across a variety of genres of music, including rock and alternative rock, 8 bar and 12 bar blues, country, singer songwriter, and pop. One track, ‘His Name Is Moosey,’evokes doo wop and 1960’s girl band vibes with powerful live sax riffs in the background. The first three tracks capture the sentiments around happy love interests (in rock / singer song / boy band pop style songs). The next five tracks thematically cover relationships going off the rails, and the resultant jubilation or pain in getting past the breakup. Again, the styles are diverse with ‘Snow Globe,’ a post-punk creation, followed by the pop ballad ‘Only Make Believe’ and solid country tune ‘Drive Away.’”
Listening, and talking about it (i.e., hitting the highlights).
Mixed Dozen begins with ‘Angry Little Bitch.” It’s an assertive drum beat with a punk-ish, They Might Be Giants vibe – the music playful, the vocals stated plainly more so than sung, and from a place of obvious but comically detached pain.
“I Choose You” starts with piano and accenting synth strings. A female vocalist takes the lead here with a clean, confident voice, uplifting a track landing somewhere between adult contemporary and broadway musical. This is an interesting one that expresses its message simply, clearly, and quite effectively.
“Don’t Say” begins with simple, bluesy, mandolin-ish plucking and strumming. It’s a standard blues progression, sure, but with delayed voice and quirky, calmly sung delivery, “Don’t Say” manages to maintain its eclecticism regardless of familiar stylistic trappings.
“Snow Globe” is a post-punk endeavor. It’s studded leather jackets, infinite cigarettes, soft rage and quiet alienation. It’s cleanly strummed and built with a chord progression closely matching another popular punk track I can’t… quite… recall. Oh, well – I’m sure it’ll come to me before finishing this review. (UPDATE: It doesn’t.)
“Drive Away” takes a hard left into country music territory. Without blowing a single tire or melting a catalytic converter, “Drive Away” is an acoustically strummed, boot-stomping endeavor that takes another interesting turn with a rock-infused and melodically uplifting guitar solo. What a great, character-filled, and effectively conveyed country-western clap-along!
Listening to “Bucket List,” one of BYRDZONG’s favorites, is like discovering a lost track from Jimmy Buffet’s prodigious tropical rock catalog. It has that faraway, perfectly temperate island temperament and all the familiar tropical rock trappings: the acoustic instrumentation, the bamboo- knocking percussion, and light, sand-blown chimes. It’s truly a laid back track; a song that perfectly matches a hammock’s restful sway.
Next up, it’s “Somedays” – a light, indie-pop strummer with almost plastic-sounding guitar (which adds to the song’s playfully deprecating demeanor). This one is comparable to a musical nap – a relaxing, lounging affair that dreams quietly while never entering a deep sleep. It’s a testament from the pillow; the comfortably imagined hopes for something better while nestled between sheets.
The album ends with “Blue Line Blues,” a bluesy (of course) lamenting of one’s unfortunate experiences while riding the Blue Line bus (presumably). Listening to this comical closer warns of the characters and predicaments one may encounter upon such a publicly utilized method of transportation. In fact, listening to the lyrics, I’m effectively made disinterested in, and disgusted by, any optional travel arrangements by bus.
But is it good?
BYRDZONG’s Mixed Dozen presents a brand of expression, of anger and begrudged tolerance, that may induce drowsiness – not because it’s boring, but because it’s soothing and perpetually calm in its disaffected self-awareness. It’s quiet, thoughtful, uninhibited by genre, and unafraid to express its unique mannerisms through said genres. BYRDZONG is a band, a DNA-matched duo, that still presents from the heart while maintaining an appreciated idiosyncratic steadiness. If you’re looking for music that perceives no limits, or perhaps waiting for the next solemnly eccentric They Might Be Giants epic, I can’t recommend BYRDZONG’s Mixed Dozen enough. Great album, and we’re already quite impatient for album number two.
BYRDZONG – Interview
Below, you can read our interview with BYRDZONG and listen to Mixed Dozen. Check out our full music review of Mixed Dozen here.
Q: Great to be speaking with you, Mark! BYRDZONG is a father-son collaboration spanning Chicago & Boston – how does that cross-generational, cross-city dynamic influence the music you make together?
A: First, it was a lot of fun. Tom and I each play several instruments and listen to a wide range of music. This allows us to share songs and chord progressions and other creative ideas.
Chicago Blues music was a key driver for a lot of early rock, so Chicago still offers a lot of venues to take that in. The annual Blues Festival is going on this weekend and is a great example of how important music is to the city. Boston is also an important musical center, with our local rock influences coming from Aerosmith, Boston, The Cars and many more local bands.
Q: You named the project after your cockatiel, Sunny, who also serves as your in- house critic. How did that start, and has he ever “rejected” a track that later became a favorite?
A: I often write or play songs in the same room as Sunny and let him out of his birdcage to hang out. He will either sit on your head, knee or shoulder and will start rocking out if he likes the vibe of a song. If he is super quiet, I take that as a sign that the song is not a banger. To date, we have not proved him wrong.
Q: You describe “Mixed Dozen” as a “random walk” across genres – from blues and country to pop and doo-wop. Was that variety intentional from the start, or did the songs simply evolve that way over time?
A: This was intentional. The initial thought was to create something like the Beatles’ White Album – a poster child for a cross-genre project.
Q: How long did “Mixed Dozen” take to record? What was the process like?
A: It took a little over a year. There were some starts and stops with work travel and studio sound engineers and producers periodically going on tour for their own gigs.
Q: What was your first instrument? Do you still have/play it?
A: First instrument was a used Ovation acoustic guitar with a rounded back. I traded that in to buy my first electric – a Black Gibson Les Paul with 3 gold pickups. Don’t have that anymore either but wish I did! I think I sold it to use as a down payment on a car.
Q: Perhaps in some unspecified amount of time, your musical career explodes in the best of ways. What does that look like for you?
A: If extreme fame and fortune comes our way, I would definitely have to splurge and get a pet monkey.
Q: You get to collaborate with anyone of your choosing. Who is it?
A (Tom): Favorite collab artist: Brian Wilson – Brian is god almighty, his harmonies are something to worship. I would love to get funky with his jazzy chord progressions too.
A (Mark): Favorite collab artist: Jeff Lynne – Love his ELO work and overall status as a songwriter, singer and producer. Solid work with producing Tom Petty and his role with theTraveling Wilburys is a great career capstone.
Q: Your favorite album of all time? (Yup, you gotta choose one.)
A (Tom): Favorite album: Abbey Road – The whole album is a banger, every track I would listen through. Great contributions by all four Beatles. The Abbey Road Medley is divine.
A (Mark): Favorite album: Led Zeppelin IV – Stairway to Heaven and a great bunch of supporting songs hold together extremely well.
Q: Your favorite song of all time? (Again, only one!) A (Tom): Favorite song: Surfer Girl by the Beach Boys.
A (Mark): Favorite song: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
Q: What would you like fans to know about you that they’re most likely unaware of? A: I can bake an impressive banana bread.
Q: Any shout-outs you wanna make?
A: A special shout out to my youngest son Zach. He put the idea in my head for this project and challenged me to keep it going.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: We are working on multi-genre material for a follow up album and hope to release a sequel sometime next year.