Rooted in virtuosic guitar riffs, vibrant drum patterns and powerful bass lines, the nu-metal band Silly Goose of Atlanta, Georgia creates a dynamic sound built for a crowd of head-banging music lovers who love a good kick of intensity.
Silly Goose began four years ago under the name “Student Driver,” but since then changed the name of the band and the lineup of members affiliated. The oldest members include lead singer Jackson Foster, bassist Stephen Pasell and drummer Alan Benikhis. Guitarist and vocalist Alex Goeke joined after meeting Foster and Silly Goose at a house show, and guitarist Santi Cabeza joined the band through a similar scenario.
“We have been playing together with this lineup for about nine months, but Silly Goose has been a thing for four years,” Foster said. “When I first met Alan, our drummer, he was 13 at the time, and I thought his dad was the drummer. Stephen joined because he thought one of our mutual friends was going to be in the band.”
Silly Goose has previously rocked iconic Atlanta venues such as Smith’s Olde Bar and The Masquerade, cultivating a crowd of people who appreciate harder-hitting music.
As for Silly Goose’s sound, Foster described his taste in music as incredibly broad, yet fixated on the individuality of the genre of music described as “nu-metal.” This sound has influences of alternative metal, hip-hop and grunge that blend to create a balanced bomb of music.
The band’s writing process, according to Foster, begins with riffs, rhythms and beats that work well with one another. The band always begins writing with Stephen or Goeke creating a riff until a general structure of a song is created. This structure is then tediously critiqued by all the bandmates until they come up with a sound everyone is content with. The drumming pattern comes next, finishing with lyrics, usually written by Foster.
“When I write, my lyrics are intended to be nothing,” Foster said. “I write scenarios, but they usually don’t have much meaning.”
As for releasing music, Silly Goose recently released their first single, “In My Head,” which is one of the band’s oldest songs. The single is riddled with Silly Goose’s staple grunge-hip-hop-metal sound, as well as accidental studio recordings of conversations bandmates were having with one another at the time of recording. The band chose this song for their first single because of its longevity in the band’s circulation, familiarity and popularity among the bandmates.
Recently, the band recorded four songs in-studio. The band members are still deciding whether these songs will be out in an EP or singles, but Silly Goose is excited to continue creating music and play in future shows. Although there are no shows scheduled, the band will keep updates posted on their Instagram @sillygooseatl.
