He's GOODTHANKYOU
GOODTHANKYOU, the solo project from Melbourne band The Stiffys’ frontman Jason John Leigh has released his brand new song ‘Pray At Your Alter’. The new single comes from goodthankyou’s debut album ‘THE KENNARDS SESSIONS’, which was recorded in a sweaty solo effort in a storage bay in Sydney when the need to make music became desperate and he was cut of from his fellow band members. We caught up with the very funny GOODTHANKYOU to ask him about his ode to women, the new direction he’s taking and how he dines the genre ‘storage container music’.
For those that haven’t heard your solo musical efforts, what genre box do you place GOODTHANKYOU in?
I’d call it ‘storage container music’. The tunes bounce between post-punk and gritty lo-fi rap, anything with a big beat that you’d nod or bang your head to. But the thing that holds it all together is that it’s one guy recording in a dark, claustrophobic storage unit late at night. Hitting the drums hard. Sweaty, shirtless and often bleeding. Not 100% sober. So the songs come out pretty raw and unhinged, no matter what genre they’re in.
Was going solo always part of your long-term plan or was it just a happy accident?
I’ve been a band guy forever. But I found myself in Sydney far from my band/BFFs (The Stiffys) and had to find a way to make music alone. So I taught myself to play the drums and started recording DIY solo music in a storage unit, late at night.
“This track began as something completely different until the mushrooms kicked in”
You have just released your track 'Pray At Your Altar', tell us about your new song. What was your inspiration for writing the track?
This track began as something completely different until the mushrooms kicked in. Whatever I was working on was abandoned immediately to chase this primal sweaty sex song. It was written and mostly finished in one go.
The song celebrates women. How reckless and brave it is for them to fall in love and how it costs them so much more than men. How our entire species relies on women being willing to rip their hearts, lives and bodies apart for love. They know it too, but still do it. And somehow make it all feel beautiful.
'Pray At Your Altar' has been dropped with an accompanying visualizer, who came up with the concept for the video? Any memorable moments during the making of the film clip?
Tim Hamilton (the Director) and I came up with it at the pub. We’d just been in the storage unit jamming, and had fallen head over heels in love with the idea of a ‘karaoke trilogy’. Then Tim just went off and made it all happen with a film crew and animators. He’s incredible like that.
“If you listen really closely you might be able to hear hints of Tina Arena in the 24/7 storage facility radio. ”
The new offering is the first single from your debut solo album 'The Kennards Sessions' What else can fans expect from the new record?
A lot more light and shade. Heavier stuff. Softer stuff. 32 minutes of crippling honesty. Hopefully, it will take you on a journey from your hometown to your home now. It was really hard to pick a single because the album was written to be listened to all at once, with headphones ideally. If you listen really closely you might be able to hear hints of Tina Arena in the 24/7 storage facility radio.
The Kennards Sessions is a collection of 12 original songs, do you have a favourite or one that stands out? If so why?
The song I love the most, for sentimental reasons, is DANCE FOR YOURSELF. It’s not the best song, but it’s the moment I found my sound (after putting hundreds of songs in the bin).
It’s also the first time I played drums and didn’t suck because I’d finally discovered the floor tom (the big one on the right). Normally you’d play the snare and hi hat with your arms crossed, but I figured out I could uncross my arms and really smash the shit out of them like that drummer from the Muppets. I was trying to make the drums big like Adam Stagg from The Stiffys.
What do your The Stiffys bandmates think of the new music? What's been their feedback?
They’re really into it and they’ve been super supportive. When I take goodthankyou out of the studio, Adam (Stagg) and Dev (de Araujo) are signed on to play.
The Stiffys have the absolute best, funnest and funniest time every single time we get together. But we all like to do other stuff on the side that is less lols. Dev and Adam also play in a really good band called Feverland and they’re about to put out an absolute banger of a record.
“I spent a long time on the road and really really love playing live, but to do it to the standard I like to do it requires a lot of work”
Are there plans to tour for The Kennards Sessions and showcase the album live?
Not at this stage. I spent a long time on the road and really really love playing live, but to do it to the standard I like to do it requires a lot of work. That’s fun and awesome, but right now I just want to focus all my energy on writing and recording music and see how far I can take it.
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
He doesn’t know he’s on my team, but the guy who works the front desk at Kennards deserves a shout-out for continuing to look the other way while I’m clearly going in there to record loud music and breaking every policy he’s sworn to uphold. If they kicked me out, I’d be done for.
What's next for GOODTHANKYOU? Where to from here?
Some more music videos are about to come out. But the thing I’m most excited about is heading back into the storage unit to make more music. I’ve figured out how to make a pretty good record by myself and now it’s time to make something great. That’s pretty much all I care about right now.
Hopefully I can sell a song to an ad. I don’t care who — booze, gambling, cigarettes, oil, some company who sells guns to kids. Whatever. This storage unit isn’t cheap.
