Matthew Frederick Robert Good (born June 29, 1971) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and songwriter for the Matthew Good Band, one of the most successful alternative rock bands in Canada during the 1990s and early 2000s. Since the band disbanded in 2002, Good has pursued a solo career and established himself as a political commentator and mental health activist. Between 1996 and 2016, with the sales of the Matthew Good Band included, Good was the 25th best-selling Canadian artist in Canada.[1] Good has been nominated for 21 Juno Awards during his career, winning four.[2]
Good’s introduction into the music scene began when he was asked by members of a folk group to write lyrics for them while he was in high school. Good then began singing with the group. Good taught himself to play guitar at age 20 and continued to write songs. Good’s early career in music involved a variety of folk demos and a stint as the lead singer of a folk band, The Rodchester Kings. Matthew Good and guitarist Simon Woodcock were discovered at an open mic at Simon Fraser University by manager Brent Christensen. Early Rodchester Kings demos were recorded at Fragrant Time Records in Burnaby by Greg Wasmuth and Steven Codling.
From 1992 to 1993, Good recorded short demo tapes called “Left of Normal”, “Broken”, and “Euphony”, which featured the acoustic songs “Mercy Misses You”, “Heather’s Like Sunday”, and the title track “Euphony”. In 1994, he won a prize from 99.3 The Fox’s Seeds competition, an annual competition of local Vancouver-based bands. The prize included recording time at a local studio/recording school, where, in September 1994, Good, along with band members Steve Codling, Judy Renouf, Eran Vooys, and Ariel Watson, recorded “15 Hours on a September Thursday”. This demo tape included the songs “Second Sun”, “The Ocean”, and “Last of the Ghetto Astronauts”. In December 1994, the band signed a publishing deal with EMI Publishing.
In March 1995, the original band went on tour across Canada. Upon return, the band split up and Matt started over with a new group of musicians.
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