JACKSON, Wyo. — Music performance has mellowed since March. And we’re not just talking about the amount of offerings, but the actual songs chosen for a set. And we’re not just describing livestreams void of an energetic audience, but also the in-person performances. For better or worse it has been the nature of the storm, though not always the preferred mode of expression as experienced by local band Tasha & the Goodfellows.
Talent at venues such as the Million Dollar Cowboy and in recent years, the Silver Dollar, has been encouraged to lean towards lively, dance-friendly material with a drummer-supplied backbeat. When the pandemic hit last spring, bands softened their sets and in some cases, scaled-back lineups to smaller combos without drums to fit with the Silver Dollar’s “Sit Down, Get Down” vibe. Acoustic music experienced somewhat of an unexpected revival. This was due, in part, to the venue’s footloose dance policy but also in a joint effort to not fire-up a bar crowd.
Akin to the sit-down concerts that once took place at Dornan’s in Moose each winter, or the intimate, songwriter-focused Bluebird Café in Nashville, the venue transformed into more of a listening room overnight. Audiences responded with fatter tips and perhaps a greater appreciation for the music beyond the beat. But for a dance band like Tasha & the Goodfellows, the upbeat outweighs the downbeat in the repertoire, so it’s decidedly time to live a little—again.
“At first, we altered our song list,” said Ghozali. “We skipped a lot of the super exciting dance tunes and played mostly mellow stuff to keep with the sit down vibe. Now, we are pretty much back to a lot of our standard tunes because honestly, how long can one play just mellow tunes? There has to be at least a little bit of excitement or we will all fall asleep!”
Originally from Medan, Indonesia before moving to Jackson Hole in 2004, Ghozali learned to sing as a child in a musical household that included her singing parents. Her father that was a karaoke connoisseur. She began singing karaoke at age three, then joined vocal groups and choirs in church and school and didn’t stop until she graduated high school. Those formative years exposed her to everything from traditional Indonesian music to Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Elvis, Michael Jackson, and Elton John.
“Most of my training is what we’d call ear training,” Ghozali said. “I don’t really understand a lot of music theory. I’m able to sing harmony simply because I hear the lines I should be singing. When we started performing in Jackson, we had a lot of help from a lot of seasoned local musicians. Having a regular gig at the Wort for the last few years has been a godsend. I have grown so much as a singer, the band has gotten much tighter, and the banter gets better every time we hit the stage.”
Ghozali shares bandleading duties with her husband and the band’s namesake, bassist Rob Goodfellow Sidle. Ghozali and Sidle met at the Hootenanny in 2014 and formed the band the following year. They perform predominantly jazz, Motown, and country covers with a dash of blues and bluegrass. Rounding out the quartet is seasoned musicians Derrik Hufsmith on lead guitar and Jason Baggett on drums. Grove Miller usually plays keys, though not since the stripped-back lineups have been enforced due to distancing.
“We try to not replicate songs,” Ghozali said of the band’s arrangements of cover songs. “We like to make it our own while still respecting the original.”
While the duo has aspirations to perform original music, Ghozali explained, “we haven’t made it that far. I’m not the best writer, so I’m looking for songwriters to collaborate with.”
Tasha and the Goodfellows perform 6:30–9:30 p.m. on Thursday (and about one Thursday per month) at the Silver Dollar Showroom.
