Good Paper

By: Kat Perry

I had a two-hour drive before the holidays, and I needed a stimulating CD for my journey. Good Paper rolled across the desk, and I tend to sit up and take notice to bands found on jambase.com. Call me biased, but I enjoy looking forward to a groovy, jazzy band who can entertain through the holiday season.

Good Paper encapsulates my need for quality entertainment, with a laid-back atmosphere and music that is sophisticated, pleasant to the ears and a little funky. They weave together elements of jazz, rock and blues that soulfully carries listeners on a junket of funk.

Personally, Good Paper reminded me of a mixture of Widespread Panic and Lynyrd Skynyrd, with a little Reel Big Fish flavor that includes up-tempo collaborations and music that will make you want to get up and dance. With typical jam band influences, these guys also include a mixture of covers in their sets, consisting of Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine, and Government Mule's Lay Your Burden Down. Worry not they also play an extensive list of original titles you can be certain will entertain that first much-needed show after the New Year.

I didn't have a set list with my disc but with song titles like Hobo Steve, Eyeless By Choice, Two of You, Everything is Backwards and Goodtimefeelgoodsong, I think we can all, at some, point relate to this band's message.

Their melodies are quite reminiscent of a band like The Black Crowes. There's a soulful wist in the voice that reels you in.

Overall, Good Paper will bring an evening of fine talent and musical enlightenment. And I anticipate that most will not be disappointed. Their name alone should be enough to intrigue you. Head to The Whiskey Friday January 7, 2005 to see what the buzz on Good Paper is all about.

- ENCORE MAGAZINE: WILMINGTON, NC

KEYSTONE - Good Paper found its way out of the jam.

Five years ago, four musicians started as a jam band but soon grew tired of the extended format, so they broke out and began writing catchy pop songs and alternative funk.

"Instead of dragging it out, we get right to the point," said Scott Doler on bass and keyboard.

The musicians - Doler, Rob Mortimer (guitar, vocals), Ben Skelton (drums) and Alan Jones (lead guitar) - grew up in the Mississippi Delta. Since they were 16, they sat in bars and played with musicians, soaking in the essence of the blues - its soul.

"We played with a lot of black musicians who were solid and had a lot of feeling," Doler said. "You kind of pick up on that."

Though Good Paper isn't a blues band by any means, its funky guitar riffs borrow from blues and rock, and Mortimer's voice is seeped in soul.

The band calls its music alternative jam, comparing itself to Modest Mouse with Ike Turner singing, Mortimer said.

"It's a great variety, but you can tell it's us," Doler said. "We're versatile, yet we're stable."

Good Paper experiments with all types of music and entertaining stage antics. In addition to originals, its cover tunes range from the Doors and the Dead to Herbie Hancock and Ben Harper.

"We try to capture your attention live and try to make it more than just listening to music," Mortimer said. "The songs have general themes, so if it's a song about monsters, we act like monsters."

But don't be scared.

"It's nothing really crazy," Doler said. "It's just energetic. We don't stay still on stage."

The one crazy thing about Good Paper, though, may be Skelton.

"Our drummer's really animated in his movement, his words - and his haircut, which he does himself," Mortimer said. "The one he's got now really looks terrible. It started out long, then he cut it so he looked bald in the middle, so he whacked too much off in the back and left streaks where he cut himself."

Fortunately, he's better with sticks than scissors. - SUMMIT DAILY NEWS: KEYSTONE, COLORADO

Herman's Music Picks
by Herman Snell, Music and Events Editor, JFP

"Good Paper at George Street on Thursday is better than your average white jam band. This Mississippi Delta quartet is a blend of feel-good Blues Brothers R&B and Phish Rock, with a pinch of funk to loosen up your dancing shoes."

--As reported in Jackson Free Press, Vol. 3, No. 19. Jackson, MS. February 3 - 9, 2005 - JACKSON FREE PRESS: JACKSON, MS

Good Paper will headline Greenville Celebrates America in the 8:00 slot this 4th of July weekend.

For five years, Good Paper has been traveling everywhere from the Leland Blues Festival to Colorado to the East Coast performing to their best ability. With Mortimer on guitar and vocals, Doler on bass, Ben "Madman" Skelton on the sticks, and Alan Jones taking lead, Good Paper is a delight to hear and see.

While their music is purely entertaining, Good Paper has pushed the entertainment bar by creating a strong stage presence that greatly adds to their entertainment value.

To Skelton, playing with Good Paper is simply a good time. When we get up there, it's like we're hanging out and having fun amongst ourselves, and I think that comes out to the crowd.

One Block East owner David Weiss said "People love them. They have their original style, and they're endeared to people around here."

By David Vowell - Delta Democrat Times: Greenville, MS

It's called organized chaos, all four members rushing to set up drums, guitars, and wires running everywhere. This is routine for these four guys who grew up in the Delta.

Together since 2001, Scott Doler, bassist, Ben Skelton, drummer, and Rob Mortimer, vocals, decided to add Allen Jones, guitarist, to the entourage and became Good Paper.

Having toured through Mississippi and Colorado, this band has seen all aspects of the music scene. After a year on the road, they managed to produce their own album, "Peep."

Songs such as "Tino," a peppy rock anthem in tribute of actor/director Quentin Tarantino and "Thirst for the Worst," mixed blues rock and funk. "Different on the Ground" and "The Hardest Queen" lean more on the influence of CCR.

The crowd in Dark Horse is ready for them to start. After a quick bite of pizza, they all take the stage. An hour into their performance, they have a steadily gowing number of fans filling what is left of the area.

After playing a cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds," and a crowd pleasing "Have a Cigar" by Pink Floyd, it became obvious this wasn't a band that played your typical cover songs. With an album already under their belt and the team working on a sophomore album, who knows where the band will go next.

If you want to see pictures, read brief bios, download songs or even see which radio stations currently play their music, check out Good Paper's website at www.goodpaperband.com.

By Matt Weeks: Entertainment Editor - THE DELTA STATEMENT: CLEVELAND, MS

Ever go to see a jamband and find yourself falling into coma midway through the second 25 - minute song?

The members of Mississippi band Good Paper, unashamed of their jam-flavored roots, figured they could keep more people interested by simply getting to the heart of the song instead of belaboring the point with solo after solo.

"When we were in high school, we were into jam music, playing a lot of Phish, Widespread Panic and that sort of thing," said guitarist and lead singer Rob Mortimer. Now we're moving forward into something that's more of what we're about."

And these days, Good Paper is all about writing slick hooks with a diverse range of stylistic influences. "Being from the Delta, our biggest influence was all the old blues musicians that you can catch all over, any night, in the blues clubs around here," Mr. Mortimer said. "Our roots are there, but we're trying to do something very diffrent, even though you can hear (the blues) in the music."

"At the club in Grand Junction, Colorado, they did four different encores," said the band's manager, David Macvaugh. "The crowd was not going to let them leave."

The fact that each member has his own tastes means that the band's sound is wildy diverse.

The band's debut, Peep, features some bouncy, upbeat numbers as well as some down and dirty, blues flavored pieces that showcase Mr. Jones and Mr. Mortimer's ample guitar skills.

The songs are well constructed and hop all over the place rhythmically with ska scented downbeats and barbituate droners.

"We're concentrating more on themes in our songs instead of constant soloing," Mr. Mortimer said. "The idea is to keep the theme going along with the groove. It tends to make our eight minute songs more like five minute songs."

"Someone once called us Modest Mouse with Ike Turner on vocals. I'll take that."

By: Zach Hanner, Correspondent - STAR NEWS: WILMINGTON, NC

"Thursday at George Street brings Greenville's Good Paper to town, a band that is part of the "jam" band scene, but -- yeah, I know you've heard this one before -- not your typical "jam" band. They keep their tunes around the three-minute mark usually reserved for pop, but their funky grooves and outstanding musicianship will definitely please fans of the genre. They've (been) described... as "Modest Mouse with Ike Turner singing," which is about as far from typical as you can get. Check 'em out."

---As reported in Planet Weekly, issue 287, Proteus Publications: Jackson, MS. February 2, 2005 - PLANTET WEEKLY: JACKSON, MS