More control: Goodnight Goodnight enlists extra ears for third disc

There are many different types of rock bands in town, but none quite like Goodnight Goodnight. Amanda Thornton (vocals), her husband, Gary (guitar), and Todd Herbert (keyboards) have established a mesmerizing mix of dream pop, shoegaze and electronic rock, which is on full display on the group’s third album, “Control.”

Gary Thornton recently answered some questions about “Control,” being released at South Park Tavern in Dayton on Saturday, Feb. 10.

The group’s first two releases were DIY recordings. What was your approach for the new album?

“Control” was a semi-DIY recording. We tracked everything ourselves but we had outside help with the mixes and production. Steph of Echo Mecca, Literary Squirrel and our friend Stretcho were all instrumental in the mixing and production.

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What did you learn from earlier recording sessions that you applied to these sessions?

Not to overanalyze everything because once you start that, you get stuck in recording purgatory. There are definitely some things in the early albums that made us cringe. This was mainly because we set goals that weren’t realistic. Putting time constraints on albums can be helpful but there has to be a balance. This time our only goal was not to rush anything at all. Having three extra sets of ears really helped out tremendously but we did have to give up some control for this — pun intended.

What’s the hardest part about maintaining a group like Goodnight Goodnight in Dayton?

Accepting we have a niche audience. Not everyone is going to like what we do but the people that do like it tend to be extremely supportive. Being part of the Dayton music scene has been great. Back in the day, you’d go to a punk show, a blues show or an indie show and that’s what you’d get. All of the bands were similar in style. Today’s listeners seem to be very diverse. Booking shows now, you can have punk, rap, Americana and electronic music all on the same bill. It’s given us the opportunity to play with a lot of bands we really like though we sound totally different. That’s what has been great about Hawthorne Heights’ Dayton Is For Lovers shows and Dayton Sideshow.

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What’s on the horizon for Goodnight Goodnight?

It looks to be another fun year for us. We can’t wait to release “Control.” We’ve begun booking some music festivals. In the next couple of weeks, we begin booking some tours. We have some new songs to finish up as well. We hope to start working on the next new album relatively soon.


WANT TO GO?

Who: Goodnight Goodnight with OldNews

Where: South Park Tavern, 1301 Wayne Ave., Dayton

When: 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10

More info: 937-813-7491 or www.southparktavern.com

Artist info: www.goodnightgoodnightmusic.com

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