By Kyle Khatchadourian
Staff Writer
A little bit of Johnny Cash, a dash of Social Distortion and a whole lot of rock and roll sums up the musical recipe of local band Goodfellas. The band poses a musical alternative to the overwhelmingly large amount of reggae/roots bands present in the South Bay.
Goodfellas, compromised of Connor Morey, the vocalist and guitarist, Blake Zingale, the guitarist, and Evan Hein, the bassist, was formed over a year ago. Shortly after the group was created, it began playing a slew of shows in several local hot spots, including Lighthouse, Saint Rocke and the annual Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair.
“Goodfellas is different from other bands around these days,” fan Tommy Petroni said. “I love going to their shows and listening to their old-school rock and roll sound. It’s nice to watch a local South Bay band make their way through the music scene.”
The Goodfellas’ sound itself reflects back on the punk rock that has historically ruled the South Bay area for years. Their musical influences include Social Distortion, Elvis Presley, Tiger Army and Chet Atkins.
“We wish nothing more than to bring the old-fashioned rock and roll genre back into the area that once pumped out numbers of prosperous punk rock bands like us,” Morey said.
With such intense competition in the music business, Goodfellas hope to prove to everyone that they not only have ability, but that they are in fact very different from other bands. Their motivation to improve along with their ability to land gigs keeps them on track to achieve their overall dream and goal of becoming successful musicians in the music industry.
“We try to write songs that we can put a lot of energy into, and the lyrics are a big part of our music,” Zingale said. “The lyrics always tell a story. There is not a whole lot of music coming out of the South Bay like it, so we are trying to do something different than the typical reggae bands.”
As of now the band is looking for a permanent drummer. This does not discourage Morey and company from their dreams of touring and signing a legitimate record label.
“We are trying to find a drummer who is committed,” Hein said. “We want someone who is serious about pursuing music professionally since we have a lot of growing interest in our band from fans and record producing-type people.
Although the band is incomplete as of yet, Goodfellas expect their music carreer to pick up soon, with or without a full playing ensemble.
“We need someone who excels at playing the drums and that can fit our look. We will hopefully be opening for major shows in the future,” Hein said.
Goodfellas is still trying to assemble a concrete lineup for the band, but with their new EP coming out they feel confident that they will start to progress as a whole very soon.
“We just finished recording our first EP as a full electric band. We are planning on releasing the EP in December of this year,” Morey said. “We love playing gigs for people who love to listen to our music and who support local bands like ourselves.”
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