The Common Good

Every so often, the perfect combination of timing, talent, and personality come together to yield a talented rock band with a social conscience and The Common Good most certainly offers their audience an uncommonly good show. Their sound can be described as great rock music. To be technical though, this is what rock and roll is all about: a solid 90’s underground rock sound that utilizes the best elements of punk, grunge, glam, new wave, and classic rock – only with a fresh, modern twist. Couple this sound with an action-packed stage performance and professional presence and you’ve found The Common Good.
It’s what you’d expect from three guys whose musical journeys seemed destined to intertwine. Chris Villarreal answered a “musician wanted” ad on the campus of Michigan State University only to become the newest member of bassist T-man’s heavy rock band Dogs of War. Upon first jamming with Chris, T-man remembers thinking, “This guy’s kinda weird, but he fuckin’ wails on guitar. He’s got this air about himself, very unique and very original, quite comical actually.”
After frequenting Detroit clubs and battles of the bands everywhere, Dogs of War eventually called it quits. Chris went on to play with Kalamazoo-based band Suckerpush and accompanied them on an East coast tour in fall of 2004. Chris also played with Grand Rapids rock band Kingsfoil for a short period. All the while, though, Chris continued writing music that would eventually find its way to The Common Good.
T-man spent his time putting the musical ideas in his head onto CDs. T-man experimented with sounds and styles and ultimately produced three experimental albums under the name r@s – solo projects that demonstrated his musical and stylistic range. Following these albums was Twin Tarrs a biting political commentary done through the style of country music. T-man also did a brief stint in the intentionally offensive punk band The Teddy Bear Joke and finally found his niche in his 'disco-punk-metal' band, The Harold Balsagna Project.
On the West side of the state, Jeremy Dutkiewicz was banging the drums in the cover band Lifter. Jeremy then went on to play with an original rock band from Kalamazoo called American Noise. When American Noise parted ways, Jeremy went on to play with the Grand Rapids-based band Pollywog before taking a brief hiatus to focus on family.
Chris and T-man watched their musical careers come full circle as they reunited in the fall of 2006. Chris had some music, T-man had some lyrics. “I feel musically like I have more in common than probably anybody else I’ve played with and that makes for an interesting dynamic” T-man suggests. T-man and Chris met Jeremy through a friend of a friend of the family (you know how that goes). Jeremy had the experience and talent to round out The Common Good. When the three first jammed together Chris noticed, “for a quiet guy, he sure picked the loudest instrument.” In fact, it was Jeremy’s attention to detail and complex beats that made him stand out from other drummers. Altogether, The Common Good fuses Chris’s power chords and T-man’s support on the bass with a personal and sometimes political message and a kick ass beat.