Conventional wisdom says the two frontmen of a band shouldn’t live on opposite sides of the United States, but that’s never seemed to deter Avi Vinocur and Patrick Dyer Wolf.
Goodnight, Texas is a band whose strength lies in unexpected sweet spots. Drawing their name from Pat and Avi’s onetime geographic midpoint (the real town of Goodnight in the State of Texas, a tiny hamlet east of Amarillo), the four-piece also exists at the center of its songwriters’ contrasting styles — with a Gibson A mandolin from 1913 and a Danelectro from 2015, at the crossroads of folk and blues and rock ‘n’ roll, in a place where dry wit and dark truths meet hope and utmost sincerity.
In March of 2020, the band released its first live album: “Live in Seattle, Just BeforeThe Global Pandemic.” Jonathan Kirchner recorded, mixed and mastered a weekend ofOctober performances at Tractor Tavern that featured a newly expanded five-manlineup. GN, TX rookie Chris Sugiura brings precision and flair to the bass (and stronghair); grizzled veteran and former GN, TX bassist Adam Nash slides over to lead guitarand pedal steel where he can truly dazzle; extra grizzled veteran and former GN, TXbassist Scott Griffin Padden holds steady behind the kit, beating the hell out of theavailable objects with aplomb. In a strange and often dark time, here is a totem of life,and a great example of the raucousness and dynamics of the band’s live performance.
Also in March 2020, as the world confronted a new indoor reality, two long minutes ofthe GN,TX mainstay “The Railroad” found themselves in the intro sequence of the firstepisode of Netflix’s “Tiger King,” which shattered streaming records with 34 millionviews in 10 days.
On September 10th, 2021, the band’s unique version of Metallica’s ‘Of Wolf and Man’will be featured as part of the 30th anniversary of The Black Album on the ‘TheMetallica Blacklist’. Avi from Goodnight, Texas occasionally plays and sings withMetallica when they perform acoustic.