At first glance, Shane Gooding appears to be one of the many singer-songwriters, who roam Southern California’s coffeehouses with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and a spiral notebook full of intensely personal songs.
However, Gooding has something that most of the other simpering songsmiths out there would kill to have: soul.
Gooding’s sound is simple yet powerful. Musically, it is a combination of traditional folk and blues that occasionally incorporates elements of country. Lyrically, his songs are personal observations of life and love. On the surface, his songs are well crafted but do not appear to break any musical ground.
What sets him apart from the rest of the pack is his use of sparse yet beautiful acoustic melodies and raw blues riffs that perfectly suit his strikingly descriptive lyrics. He also incorporates the harmonica in his songs in a way that sounds natural rather than forced.
It certainly helps that he has a drawling yet powerful voice that sounds like a more soulful Bob Dylan with a shot of adrenaline.
Gooding’s debut album, “Paid Driver For Hire,” is a remarkably consistent collection of traditional-minded songs that are performed with so much passion and intensity that they sound downright revelatory. The album has the improvisational and electric feel of a live performance, making the end result sound like someone just happened to turn on recording equipment, while Gooding was playing.
The album features many highlights that are proof of Gooding’s gifts as a songwriter and performer, including the chugging folk stomper “Whiskey Bound,” the haunting meditation on mortality “Dig,” and the raw straight-from-the-pit-of-the-soul blues of “Heavy Levee Blues.”
Most notably, “Everyone Deserves a Good Witch,” is a gorgeous lament with a devastating harmonica solo that is literally the sonic definition of the word “heartache.”
Gooding’s songs are effective not only because of the melodies and poetic lyrics, but because they are very accessible and universal in appeal despite their intimate nature.
“It’s like ‘people music,'” Gooding said. “It’s like folk songs, but not folk music as it’s come to be known.”
Although Gooding primarily writes tunes that are deeply rooted in traditional folk and blues, his music has been influenced by a wide variety of genres, including jazz, punk and foreign music. This all-encompassing range of musical influences is reflected in his planned side project Patients, which he hopes will serve as a vehicle for his more rock-oriented material.
“[Patients] will use pianos, a drum set, electric guitars, maybe strings or foreign instruments,” he said when describing the scope of the project. “It’ll basically sound like rock/pop stuff.”
The New Jersey native moved from his home state to Orange County two years ago to make a better life for himself.
After briefly working as a courier in an attempt to be a self-described “normal, responsible twenty-something-year-old,” he decided to pursue a career in music.
Since moving to Southern California, Gooding has played at countless local bars, coffeehouses, parties and even street corners. Although he has yet to play in larger venues or even smaller places outside of the region, he doesn’t seem to mind.
“There’s not much going on in Hollywood or anything, where everybody says stuff’s happening,” he said. “It’s more in the divey, dingy places where there’s a lot of ‘people energy,’ like Long Beach or Santa Monica.”
Gooding has not performed much in recent months since undergoing surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his mouth. Although he is still undergoing treatment, he remains optimistic and is now healthy enough to play more shows.
“I try not to dwell on it,” he said. Gooding has considered signing with a record label, although he says he is at a point in his life where he is open to all possibilities.
“I might want to sign with a label eventually, but I could probably also move to China and live in a mountain and play blues for the rest of my life,” he said with a laugh.
Regardless of where he decides to go in his life and career, though, it is clear that Shane Gooding is and will remain a remarkable talent who deserves to be heard.
