Topic: SoundsGood with www.shotgunreviews.com
- Jun 25, 2005 02:44am by NRG - livin the art that is life !
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http://www.shotgunreviews.com/reviews/music/hiphop/SoundsGood.htm
Interview with:
SoundsGood
SoundsGood? Isn't this group's moniker just a little modest? Modesty is sooo not-hip-hop, ya know?
Joe Good: We're modestly dope, so in a couple years it'll be SoundsGreat!
Miles Bonny: Actually people are already campaigning for that. Some want SoundsFuckingIncredible.
Well, at least the name of your web site is just a little egominiacal--(but in a good way.) Who was it that came up with Yourfavoritegroup.com?
Miles: Yeah, I did that. That's all me. It's the truth, plus SoundsGood.com etc was taken. Must be fate I guess.
We only kid of course..but, seriously, why don't you guys properly introduce yourselves and let the people know who SoundsGood are?
Miles: SoundsGood are Joe Good and Miles Bonny. Bonny on the beats, Good on the lyrics.
Joe: SoundsGood is a group effort. Us working as SoundsGood, allows us to do things outside of SoundsGood independently and more efficiently.
Miles: We've done a lot of things outside of SoundsGood, we're on tons of tracks from all over the Midwest, and our music is spreading overseas like wild fire.
How did you guys meet and become SoundsGood?
Joe: We were both at college taking classes but still focusing on our music on a solo tip. I was working on a lil EP called "Joe Good" and Miles Bonny had just finished his "Dino Jack Crispy" compilation, so we started working together after that. We played house parties mainly and composed enough music to put together a strong full length album in 2002 called "Joe Good and Miles Bonny presents…" . People loved it!
Miles: That's the truth right there. Real talk!!
This groups dynamic is driven by one emcee and one dj/producer. How did the either of you come to be known by those given disciplines?
Joe: Just fuckin around with my friends like everybody else... freestyling now and then. It soon became something that I did everyday. Before I knew it, that was my world, everybody I knew was into Hip Hop. etc. etc.
Miles: My dad is a professional musician and always had instruments around, I played in school while I grew up in Jersey. I couldn't help but pick up what was around me and learn how to play it. I started making beats around the time I was interning for a hip hop label in NY in 2000. I was finally able to get the music out of my head, I started composing like a motherf*cker. It was a release and the world seems to be taking it in well. Much respect to the world.
How did you guys start to make a name for yourself locally?
Miles: We just did what we do and word spread. I thank everyone that told someone else about us. That is how it works and I hope people keep spreading the word.
Joe: Dido, but it wasn't just that. We actually capitalized on most of the opportunities presented to us. And we learned from our mistakes. We're only gonna get better.
Take us through the creative process of how you guys usually link up and produce tracks together, what is the chemistry like?
Joe: We do everything separately up until its time to actually produce the track in the studio. We are real honest with each other and we never hurt each other's feelings.
Miles: Yeah, the reason for that is that we both want to make the best music possible. And we understand that that is our goal for ourselves and our dedication to the art-form and hip hop listeners. We can be honest because we want to create the best music. We make that commitment to the listener. That we'll always improve and give them quality. The chemistry is just there, you can't create that. It's special and real. The audience feels it too I think.
Almost every group runs into creative differences--from Peter Rock and C L Smooth to ATCQ to Outkast--How do fellas work out or settle artistic differences?
Miles: I make the beats and then Jo picks from them so in terms of him working with what he wants to work with, that's where that decision is made.
Joe: I write rhymes and pass them to Miles for approval. He makes dope beats and I don't want to mess them up.
Miles: Yeah, what he writes to them is always solid and impressive. I listen to his creations as a fan and can trust him to create songs that are progressive and timeless, and he delivers.
Even in hip-hop a lotta groups are formed or put together for business purposes. How well do you fellas mesh as a unit, as opposed to just another "business" agreement?
Miles: We don't have a business agreement. We just make music and keep moving forward. Business issues come up when they have to, but otherwise its all about creating new hotshit.
We all know, "its not where ya from" but how you come--and regionally Kansas City has yet to be established on the hip-hop map. How do sum up the scene and how has living in Kansas City shaped your sound?
Joe: Kansas City is notorious for swallowing artists whole. It's a struggle man, as an artist. I think that's what motivates most artists to do what they do. Either do it all the way or don't do it at all. The people that do make it out of here never are connected to the place after they become big, even back home in KC. But it's an untapped resource and if and when the day comes, it will be huge.
Miles: My dad grew up here, and I'd visit as a kid, but having only been here for 6 years, I'm just influences by the people around me. I like making things people enjoy. So if I'm in Lawrence, I'm influenced by the party crowd. If I'm in KC I'm influenced by the club-grimey aspect of things. I'll make whatever, I just love getting it out to people and hope the people love it back.
"Mainstream" hip-hop worries are---how units moved or how can I get my record played on the radio--are obviously a little different that "Independent" hip-hop worries. With SoundsGood taking a more grassroots approach, what're some of your day to day concerns when it comes to things like financials and getting the music out to the masses?
Miles: Simply, how to do it. That's most of what I think about is new ways to get the music out to more people. So you and your friends should stop by YourFavoriteGroup.com and read a lil something, download something and buy something else. Let's build people!! You'll be helping yourself and us, so why not?
Joe: Taking it step by step. With this album we just put out, we hit a new level. I don't know what the next level will be. We kind of have an idea, so right now we're going city-to-city like door-to-door salesmen. The only thing I worry about day-to-day is getting stuck by pigeon-holing myself into a position of "underground independent hip hop".
Miles: It is independent and it is hip hop but it's for whoever hears it. It's not about making music for one type of hip hop fan, its music for people.
Joe: If we were just another business we would be more focused on making music for a target audience. We have too much growing to do to limit ourselves.
For those who have not heard your music, how would you describe your sound or style? What types of concepts, issues, or vibes can people expect to hear?
Joe: We talk about real people things. Love, being grown and wanting to be young again, money or lack-there-of, beef, friendship, hip hop, sex in the morning etc.
Miles: It's a mixture of everything you've heard but it sounds like nothing you've heard before. Its 90s hip hop, its current hip hop, its underground, its commercial, it's simply what's missing in your collection. Thousands think so and so should you. I do. Shit. I'm loving it, like a cheeseburger.
What do you think are your strong points as a group that help separates yourself from everyone else?
Joe: We ain't never SCARED!. There's a lot of bitch-ass groups in the industry. I ain't no punk. And Miles Bonny's a world class arm-wrestling champion.
Miles: 10x in fact. I keeps'em low on the table. Its over with. But you gotta get through some levels before you get to battle me, I'm like the first Super Mario bros. Call me the monsta, cause I'll snap that.
You fellas are hardly new to putting out albums. Tell us a little bit about your 2002 debut album "Joe Good and Miles Bonny Present...". What was the mindset going into that album?
Miles: Rocking a party. That's where the lovely beats and the Joe Good MC extraordinaire come in, we rock that and leave'em wanting more. That's the first album, having fun like it's nothing. It's really a matter of letting yourself enjoy life, that's what the first album sounds like.
Joe: This is the album that I smoked too much weed and dropped out of school to. So pick that up. Real talk.
Miles: Yeah, real talk.
Tell us about your new record. What's the difference between "Joe Good and Miles Bonny Present..." and "Biscuits And Gravy"?
Joe: Three years. Better equipment, better know-how, better rhymes, better beats, butta.
Miles: …and pancakes. Biscuits & Gravy is like that meal that sticks in your guts. We love the ladies. You know how you are baby. The difference is love and care, and we have a lot more love to give now. …And a better cover photo. Send all Biscuits & Gravy to Miles Bonny po box 336 lawrence, ks 66044. Dried packets are fine.
Word on the streetz is, you guys have a pretty live stage show. Do you have a particular onstage philosophy? We also hear you guys are pretty daper?
Joe: Yeah I like to be crispy clean when I'm out. You might catch me in a powder blue tuxedo or a smoking jacket with some fresh Scooby-Doos, those are shoes by the way. We JUST started practicing for shows. Practice makes perfect.
Miles: … and that's where we're headed. We got that on lock like Master. I'm daper in my pampers or my toupee dress. It's all next level. My onstage philosophy is to enjoy the show with the crowd, I'm one with them. We experience the show through each other.
Joe: Yeah sometimes when he experiences it he can go a lil bit too far and feel the crowd a little bit too much, that's when I leave the room.
How much time do you put into practicing/preparing for your stage show? And what's the best dressed independent emcee wearing these days?
Miles: Well that would be Joe Good I presume… Joe…
Joe: Right about now Joe Good is wearing a velour Winnie the Pooh jumpsuit, I kind of feel like Winnie the Pooh sometimes, I'm always trying to get that honey.
Miles: Yup, and we practice now cause we have more focus, and we are always taking to there, we are never satisfied. That's how you improve. We should stop, this is like a college course. I'd rather serve you a 15 course meal. How about some B&G?
What is this groups ultimate goal?
Joe: I want my own line of underwear. I wanna make belt buckles that play my songs. When kids wake up in the morning I want them to eat my cereal. And when that happens I'm gonna bring back Saturday Morning cartoons featuring Joe Good and Miles Bonny.
Miles: No, for real we love the kids. Our ultimate goal is to earn a space on your harddrive, in your cd player, in your car deck, in your mind, and coming out your mouth. I just want everyone who may enjoy our CD to listen to it and love it and make copies for their friends.
(Not to be too corny, but) What is you're definition of success? And how is SoundsGood gonna be successful?
Miles: SoundsGood is already successful, we are making music and getting out to the public in a package that looks dope and sounds dope, that's all a music fan wants when they get a new album. Check out SoundsGood "Biscuits & Gravy" for yourself, I think you'll find some joy in it. I really feel like it can, in at least a small way, really benefit your life. We'll keep making music and getting it out, as long as people keep picking up their own copy, we'll keep the music coming.
Joe: Fa Sho.
The Lyrical Lounge would like to thank SoundsGood for taking the time out and granting us an interview. "Sounds Good?" Hmmm..these two are really down-playing it!! (And that's real talk!) But if you're honestly looking for some GREAT sounding music, then take a stroll over to: www.yourfavoritegroup.com and find out just what we're talking about.
Aiight then people..until the next..Hip-Hop..Live It..Love It...Get Involved!
