A taste of the Good Life
by Tuyet Nguyen
The Metropolitan
Ryan Fox doesn't have a home. The multi-instrumentalist for The Good Life is on the road so much that when he does end up back in his hometown of Omaha, Neb. he has neither a job nor a place to live.
"I stay with friends or stay with my parents or stay at the studio," he said. "I've only been in Omaha probably fewer than two months this year."
Fox is kept busy, not just with The Good Life, but with various other musical projects, including Saddle Creek label-mate Rilo Kiley, although he is not the only one moonlighting in the band.
Vocalist/guitarist Tim Kasher is probably most known for his work in the cello-laced indie rock of Cursive; bassist Stephanie Drootin has some Bright Eyes credits; and drummer Roger Lewis can be found working with Inner Circle and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
Yet, even with the constant moving and shaking within the band, The Good Life isn't meant as a supergroup side project. The four juggle schedules and make an effort to get together.
"It's sort of like it's Good Life season again," Fox said. "We try to figure it out and play to people again and tour."
Last summer, the group decided to put out an EP and a full-length. In December, they began recording and eventually ended up with the six-song disc Lovers Need Lawyers and the 12-song follow-up Album of the Year.
Both albums are a progression of the morose and mellow sound established by 2000's Novena on Nocturn and 2002's Black Out.
Thematically, The Good Life touches on the awkward period of heartache and loneliness during the pre- and post break-up of a relationship.
Kasher's lyrics feel like a one-man conversation to the pigeons in the park the morning after an emotionally turbulent night. Comparatively, the band name seems more a deliberate sarcastic claim than just a borrowing of Nebraska state's motto.
The dreary Omaha weather probably doesn't help either.
"It's hot and humid and terrible in the summer," Fox said. "And cold and snowy and terrible in the winter."
Fox has been with The Good Life since 2002. He moved back to Omaha after college and, more or less, fell into a music career.
"It wasn't some dream I had when I was 4 years old that I'm finally fulfulling," he said, "it was just something I took an interest in and kept working on. When I finished college, I didn't really know what I was going to do with myself. Then I went back to Omaha and spun my wheels for a year and started playing with The Good Life. And I thought, well, I'm not doing anything else. I like this band, I like playing music and it's just sort of become my lifestyle."
The recent spotlight on the Omaha music scene hasn't phased Fox.
"It's weird for me to have grown up here and to see everything sprout up and get the kind of national attention it has," he said. "It's still just Omaha to me.'
The Good Life pours out their hearts Monday, Sept. 20 at Larimer Lounge,
2721 Larimer St. Openers include Neva Divona and The 89 Cubs. All ages.
Doors at 7 p.m. Additional info at www.larimerlounge.com
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