The roaring now

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

Most people would place classic swing tunes a good distance from electronic beats on the musical genre spectrum.

Not Carey Rayburn.

Members of the Seattle-based Good Co. Electro Swing Band. Courtesy photo.

The classically trained trumpeter always had a love for vintage jazz music, but also discovered a soft spot for electronica in college. After a friend introduced him to electro swing music coming out of Europe, Rayburn went on to become the frontman of the United States’ first live electro swing band: Good Co. The Seattle-based band will play a Mattox Farm Productions show Sept. 12 at the Heartwood Center.

Rayburn argues that the marriage of old and new sounds in electro swing is actually a natural merger thanks to similarities between swing and electronica.

“The music of the 1920s is specifically for dancing, drinking and having a good time,” Rayburn said. “That’s why it mixes really well with the electronic dance music of today — because there are those same ideals in mind.”

Rayburn said that many see jazz as the “one true American art form,” and when you combine that heritage with the very American pop beats of today, the result is what he calls a collision of “sonic history.”

“There’s that nostalgia factor,” he said. “You’re hearing sounds you know and have heard, but now in a new way.”

After delving deep into the music coming from the European scene, Rayburn said he started making electro swing of his own. The first Good Co album was a “passion project,” he said, and came out before he’d established an actual band. The positive response is what prompted Good Co’s eventual formation.

“People would ask, ‘When is the band playing?’” he said. “So I figured I better put together a band.”

The band is currently comprised of several revolving members, who Rayburn met while playing in outfits across the Seattle music scene. Since Good Co first started making music in 2012, more bands have entered the market, bringing the roaring ’20s back to life just in time for this century’s ’20s to start.

“It’s pretty unique. People tend to enjoy it,” Rayburn said of the electro swing sound. “If they come out they’ll be happy they did.”

Good Co. Electro Swing Band @ The Heartwood • Thursday, Sept. 12; doors at 7 p.m., music 8-11 p.m.; $12 for adults and $8 for youth in advance at Evans Brothers or Eichardt’s, $15 at the door; 615 Oak St., 208-263-8699, mattoxfarm.com.