Interview with Goalkeeper: ‘It’s easier to write about heartache because it’s so visceral’

Philadelphia-based band Goalkeeper brought out their EP ‘Life In Slow Motion’ last week, a thumping, gritty 5-track offering of melodic hooks and hard hitting, pure pop punk.

Goalkeeper comprises Ryan Beebe (vocals/bass), Cody Richie (drums) and Marc Juliano (guitar).

Richie describes ‘Life In Slow Motion as ‘so persoanl, a lot of personality and passion was put into these songs. People are desperate for new music, a lot of them are stuck at home, so we have to adapt in this virtual world and find new ways to be creative.’

The first song on the EP, ‘Just Say It’ was written by Richie last year. He describes it as being ‘about that moment of confrontation when you know something is up with your significant other or someone else and you have to have a hard conversation about it’. In other words, ‘there’s a relatability – it’s a real earworm!’

The lyrics back that up: ‘Give me your worst, don’t leave anything out now, your walls are high so nobody would find out, give it a rest would you, I can see through how everything I said to you only brought us down.’

Another track on the EP, ‘Black & Blue’, is about being accountable to yourself, according to Richie. ‘The first line is “I woke up again feeling stuck in slow motion”. It’s about trying to understand what you’re doing wrong and how you can change it when you’re uncertain and lost. We recorded it back in January when we had no idea what was coming but the message of the song really resonates now. Even the title, ‘Life In Slow Motion’ was decided on before quarantine.’

As the lyrics go: ‘Feel the weight of the world crushing my shoulders, starting to think that my life might be over, dazed and confused, broken and bruised, I’m reaching for something new.’

I point out that other than ‘Sunshine’ on their EP The Bad Times Don’t Last (2018), most of their songs are about heartache, in one form or another. Richie laughs: ‘It’s easier to write about heartache because it’s so visceral, everyone can relate to it. ‘Sunshine’ is different, though, because it’s dedicated to whoever lifts you up. People need to be able to relate to each other right now, I think we’ve lost the ability to connect with each other.’

When the band started writing the EP last year, they knew they wanted to double down and move their careers forward, doing bigger tours, Richie said. ‘We had 100-125 shows planned this year before the pandemic hit.’

‘Our mentality has changed due to quarantine’

Initially, Goalkeeper had planned to spend the last few months touring and making music videos for their new EP. ‘Our mentality has changed due to quarantine,’ he said. ‘We’ve started writing again. Never deny a song – writing’s like a muscle, you’ve got to always keep working it!’

His favourite of their songs is ‘Screwdriver’ (2018) ‘because it’s such a slow burner of a song’. He asks what mine is and I say I can’t pick between ‘Left Lane’, because it’s a proper belter, and ‘Lately’, which is more of a ballad. ‘Oh, that make me so happy because we were worried about the opening line to ‘Left Lane’, which goes “Ever wonder wonder why we don’t chill anymore?” We were worried that maybe it was too lackadaisical.’ I reassure him that it isn’t.

They all know each other from running into each other whilst previously playing for other bands in the areas. ‘We played a cover show around four years ago when we were called The Pizzas – you can’t get more punk than that!,’ he laughed. They hit upon their current name when Beebe was mulling sports metaphors. ‘Ryan just said “Goalkeeper” and it was the first one that we all agreed on, so we thought it was a good sign for our collaboration going forward. We’re not just bandmates, we’re good friends and I think that comes across in our songs. People here just know us as Ryan, Cody and Marc. We have something honest and real with each other, something very genuine.’

‘It slams open, people can really jump to that’

Prior to lockdown, they typically opened their shows with another song from Bad Times Don’t Last, ‘Nothing at All’: ‘It slams open, people can really jump to that,’ he laughed. They’ve often closed with ‘Leftovers’ from their 2017 EP, Gut Feeling. ‘It has a nice ending vibe, a big rock feel,’ he said.

The last gig he went to before lockdown was to Baltimore-based emo band, Have Mercy. ‘Philly has a great music scene. One phenomenal band is FRND CRCL (a pop punk band), I love those guys.’ He’s also a big fan of local pop punk band Midfield. Goalkeeper has supported bands such as State Champs, The Starting Line, Hit The Lights and Real Friends. He mentions that some bands in the US have started doing drive-in shows where cars just drive into a field and a band performs on a stage. ‘I don’t think we’ll play a show before March next year.’

However, when it comes to musical inspiration, he cites Billy Joel as being one of his favourite artists of all time: ‘He’s an artist who can transcend time,’ he said. ‘He’s himself, he’s honest.’ If he could collaborate with anyone, he’d love to work with American rock band, The Wonder Years: ‘Their progression has inspired me, they’re a real favourite for me. If we’re talking touring, my dream line up is me and Billy Joel! If I can add others, I’ll say All Time Low (an American rock band) and Fall Out Boy. That’s the biggest I could possible dream!’ I tell him he could rope in Dave Grohl to drum with him. ‘Oh, that’s the dream that would be the highlight of my career! How could you beat that?! He always seems such a nice guy as well. Can we make that happen?!’

(Photo from left to right: Ryan, Marc and Cody. Photo credit: Jesse Joseph)