Goudie (band)

Goudie was an American glam rock band from Austin, Texas, fronted by Johnny Goudie.

Goudie
(left-right) Bill Lefler, Johnny Goudie, Jimmy Messer, Einar Pederson
Background information
Origin	Austin, Texas, United States
Genres	Alternative rock Glam rock
Years active	1996–2002
Labels	The Music Company (1998–2001) India Records (2001-2002)

Goudie started in 1996 as a solo project of frontman Johnny Goudie. In 1997 Johnny's friend Einar Pedersen (who was also a member of Jez Spencer with Johnny Goudie) joined on bass and Bill Lefler replaced the original drummer Kyle Schneider, and Jimmy Messer was brought in as lead guitarist.[1]

In the Spring of 1998, after only being together nine months, and still without a band name, the group played a showcase during the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. Rather than playing a single showscase at a traditional venue, the band rented rehearsal space and played seven showcases throughout the day. The strategy proved successful, and they caught the attention of Dan McCarroll, who was working with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich to scout for bands to sign to a new record label Ulrich was forming as a subsidiary of Elektra Records. After a second showcase in Los Angeles, California, Ulrich quickly signed the band, making Goudie the second band to be signed to the label (Canadian band DDT being the first).[2] The band decided to simply call themselves Goudie and the label decided to call itself "The Music Company" or TMC.

In July 2000 Goudie released their debut album, Peep Show. The band toured the country with such acts as Blur, Supergrass and Unified Theory, building what would become a large and loyal fan base. The second single from the album, "Drag City", was featured on the compilation album ASCAP's EAR Volume 3.[3]

In 2001 Bill Lefler left the band to pursue session work in Los Angeles. The band took a short break from touring, but in April 2001 Nina Singh (formerly of The Borrowers) replaced Lefler and the band continued to tour and write new songs.

In June 2001 while recording their second album, Goudie, along with every other artist who hadn't sold a million records, was released from their recording contract with Elektra in the wake of corporate reshuffling following Elektra Records' parent company Time Warner's merger with AOL.[4][5] Shortly thereafter, The Music Company label was dissolved.[6][7] The band played on, quickly signing with independent label India Records. In July, Jimmy Messer played his last show with Goudie, and Sean Mullens replaced him on lead guitar.

Goudie’s second album, Effects of Madness, was released March 5, 2002 and was extremely well received, garnering comparisons to Kiss, Bob Dylan, The Pretenders, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin.

After five years together, Goudie finally disbanded in the Spring of 2002, playing their final show on May 24, 2002 with Canvas at the Steamboat in Austin, Texas. Their music continues to be influential in the Austin music scene, and Johnny Goudie still performs many of the songs with his new band Johnny Goudie and the Little Champions.

Jimmy Messer and Einar Pedersen are in Kelly Clarkson's band. Jimmy was also the lead guitarist for Awolnation from 2009 to 2010. Nina Singh is the drummer for Kitty Gordon (a duo which also includes Mark Addison) and also played drums for the Ian Moore band and Grady, among others. Jonas Wilson plays lead guitar with Aaron Behrens and The Midnight Stroll (Ghostland Observatory front man), and is also a record producer/engineer and a music teacher and has played guitar with Endochine, What Made Milwaukee Famous as well as fronting his own band Lomita.[8] Mark Addison is a record producer/engineer in Austin.