Well, I have been on a bit of a hiatus but am back now so this was the last interview I did before taking some time off. This is a band that should be part of your everyday playlist because of their feel good sound and hopefully after you learn a little bit about them, you will be adding & sharing their music with others. Here is Great Good Fine Ok…..
Q: So the band consists of Luke Moellman and Jon Sondler…now is it true that you met one night & you already had written a song together by the next morning? You must really have some great chemistry together… How did you guys end up meeting in the first place?
A: Most of a song! Luke and I met and became friends about 9 years ago when he was living around the corner from me in Brooklyn with my close friend and piano player. One night after not seeing each other for months, we ran into each other on the street of Manhattan and decided to write a song together. He sent me a track that night and i was instantly inspired to write the lyrics and melody, “You’re The One For Me” was born.
Q: Was it easy to think of the name for the band? What are some of the other names that you considered?
A: Great Good Fine Ok was a name I’d thought of years earlier. I have no clue what inspired it. I kept in my mental bank of cool band names and when it was time to put a name to our project, I unveiled it to Luke. His response was, “I don’t hate it.” So it stuck.
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument.
Q: Synthpop is how most people have described your music so what do you think of the controversy surrounding the difference between synthpop and synthwave? Some people take issue with the two being lumped together. (Synthopop emerging from 70s-80s New Wave & Synthwave emerging from 00s EDM/electro)
A: For the first few years, our music was more ethereal, dreamy…. and yeah synthy. Synthpop felt like our genre. Over the past 8 years, we’ve evolved and expanded our palate a ton — i think indie pop or just pop feels more accurate at this point. We still absolutely use synths, pulling inspiration from both the 80’s and newer electric sounds. I didn’t know there was controversy about it!
Q: Not only does the band write their own songs but you also do a lot of remixing for other artists’ music… who are the some of the bands that you’ve worked with in the past & some remixes you really had some fun with?
A: Luke is the producer/mixer/engineer behind the remixes. He’s done some absolutely incredible ones throughout the years. Most recently he did one for the TwinXL song “Slow Heart”. Some of my faves were remixes he did for Foxes, X Ambassadors, Morgxn, Le Youth and one for St Lucia that I contributed to with some vocals.
Q: In 8 years, you’ve teamed up for 5 EP’s: Body Diamond, Remixes Vol I, Easy (Remixes), GG Four and the latest Great Good Fine Ok… how long does it usually take to create songs? and do you guys make anytime for yourself?
A: Some songs take longer than others but we are usually working on something….we love making music! We are also extremely meticulous and picky about what sees the light of day. That said, we absolutely make time for other things. We both have hobbies, families etc. It ultimately helps the art to focus on other passions.
Q: I want to bring your attention to your single, Progress, released in 2020. This is the song that brought me to the discovery of your band. Why this isn’t on more playlists is beyond me? I am campaigning to get this in rotation somewhere!! Absolutely one of my faves…Is this about a relationship going through some issues?? Tell me more..
A: Thank you! We really love this one too! “Progress” is about realizing that it’s okay to make mistakes, evolve and figure out how to make things right. We relased it during a time in this country when many people were revaluating priorities and figuring out better ways to move forward — it felt timely..
Q: Since you have done so many collaborations with other artists, do you already have an artist in mind before you get set to write the song?
A: We love collaborating and feel so grateful to have worked with some of our favorite artists over the past year and there are still a couple more coming! Sometimes we’ll start a song with another artist with a collaboration as a goal. Sometimes we’ll reach out to an artist later who we think could add something amazing. We’ve done it all sorts of ways!
Q: Where can fans find your music?
A: Fans can find our music everywhere music is found!
They can also find your music at Great Good Fine Ok band page..
Thank you for the great interview! I have a couple of interviews coming up with The Burning Lights, The Satellite Station and Laden Valley. Stay tune for more..
Until next time, I’m Your Music Stylist..
Music To Your Ears 