What if Green Day sounded more like Oasis? What if both of those bands’ arena-worthy songs were condensed into two-minute bursts of serrated guitar riffs and drum-machine tinkering? What if those bands were actually just one person? You’d get something like Dazy.
Music publicist and Richmond indie rocker James Goodson started his one-man band in 2021, and he’s been cranking out nothing but heaters since. From his first compilation The Crowded Mind to his two 2024 EPs, including last week’s surprise-drop I GET LOST (when i try to get found), Goodson has maintained a prolific streak that doesn’t sacrifice quality.
Following the EP’s release earlier this month, Goodson sat down with Uproxx to talk about The Clash, Kurt Cobain, the weirdest tour story of his life, and more in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
MAXIMUMBLASTSUPERLOUD but sometimes not.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
Hopefully in 2050 I’m still putting out new music and people remember to listen to it!
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
I would love to say someone clever, but if we’re just talking sheer quantity of inspiration it’s probably gotta be Kurt Cobain. He wrote the songs that made me realize music was gonna be “my thing,” for lack of a better way of putting it.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?
A restaurant in Austin, TX, called Uchiko. The first time I went there was with my now-wife on one of our first date, and it was the best food and the best company.
Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever attended.
I guess as far as sentimental value it would have to be something when I was really young, like seeing Green Day for the first time or seeing the first Lifetime reunion when I was in high school — just getting to experience different kinds of live music as a kid when everything is super new and the bands all feel larger than life. More recently, though, I really had my mind blown seeing Nine Inch Nails and The Jesus and Mary Chain together in 2018. Just two of my favorite bands putting on amazing shows later in their careers, and still performing at such a high level that it gave me that magic feeling.
What song never fails to make you emotional?
Probably “Train In Vain” by The Clash. I honestly don’t even know why it hits me so hard. I think it’s got something to do with hearing it as a little kid when I was first getting into punk. The Clash were introduced to me as one of the archetypical bands of this loud, angry genre and here they were with this beautiful, poppy, sad little song. I would listen to it on repeat in my bedroom just constantly, and hearing it now still brings me back to that.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
How to spell “Uchiko.”
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
Ugh, so many rough crash spots on tour throughout my life. Most of the ones that stick out are just notable for how gross they were, but a weirder one that comes to mind was ages ago when one of my old bands was on tour somewhere in the Midwest. I’m pretty sure the show fell through but the promoter had lined us up a place to stay as consolation. We go to some random guy’s house; it looks really nice. He explains he has a studio upstairs and bands stay there all the time. Sounds good! He shows us the studio room; it’s big and carpeted and there’s lots of couches, seems very comfortable. He shows us what he’s recording: a cover of a song by this band Only Crime (early 2000s Fat Wreck heads will know) that he’s recreating note for note, apparently with the plan of sending it to the guy who recorded the original and getting a job with him. Kinda odd but whatever. We hang out for a while, go get food, we’re bummed about the show but stoked to have a comfy place to relax. We get back and he says he’s gonna show us the options for sleeping accommodations, which is a little weird cuz we’ve already been hanging out in this great, big, comfortable studio room. He explains that he’s gonna be recording all night but there’s other great places to sleep: the bathroom or a closet.
Two of us ended up in the bathroom, which was super humid because the tub was completely full of sitting water. The other went with the literal closet next to the studio. All of us were serenaded the entire night by the guy blasting single bass notes over the studio speakers on repeat, trying to meticulously recreate the exact tones of this Only Crime song. We get up at like 6 a.m., the guy has never gone to sleep, and he reveals that he needs to get his kids ready for school. Apparently his wife and kids have been there the entire time! We quickly get ready to leave and he caps off our stay by insisting that we should ignore whatever route the GPS gives to the highway, and then he spends at least a half hour giving us extremely complicated directions that no one could possibly remember. I think I ended up just interrupting him mid-sentence to get us out of there; we plugged the next venue into the GPS and got on the highway in five minutes. Anyway, writing all this out is really making me wonder what that guy is up to now…
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?
Maybe Chicago? People are just so welcoming and enthusiastic about music there. And I hope I get to play in Tokyo one day.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
If you’re not making silly mistakes when you’re 18, I think you’re kinda doing it wrong. Maybe that’s the advice.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I’m not exactly overflowing with revealed talent so I’m not really trying to keep any hidden. Maybe drawing?
If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?
Probably something involving animals.
What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?
Barf.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location it would be held.
I actually have a reoccurring dream where I’m playing at a big festival with a bunch of big bands I really care about, and I get on stage and can’t remember a single song. It’s pretty embarrassing so maybe I shouldn’t book this dream festival…
Who’s your favorite person to follow on social media?
Sam Knee, @sceneinbetween on Instagram.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
It was some shitty bird design I saw somewhere. I probably had some goofy idea about What It Meant because I was 18 and didn’t realize tattoos should look cool and that’s it. I got it covered up with a panther eventually—lesson learned. So maybe the advice to my 18-year-old self shoulda been to just skip the ugly bird tattoo and go right to the panther?
What is your pre-show ritual?
Pace around nervously and try to remember the lyrics to my own songs.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Probably Rachel from Friends.
You have a month off and the resources to take a dream vacation. Where are you going and who is coming with you?
Definitely would travel all over the UK/EU with my family.
What is your biggest fear?
Do people ever answer this question honestly? I don’t wanna get too existential and be a bummer at the end of this fun interview, so, uh…snakes?
I GET LOST (when i try to get found) is available now via Lame-O Records. Find more information here.