Biography
Most people in Philadelphia know Collingswood, N.J., for two things: the Pop Shop and that it’s a dry town. For four of the five members of the Goodnight Lights, however, it’s just home. Brother and sister Faith and Ian Charlton grew up in Collingswood, as did Faith’s boyfriend Michael Schraeger. Add in the Charltons’ neighbor Michael Ziegler and Ian’s college friend and roommate Jonah Delso, and you’ve got a quintet that knows each other pretty intimately. But rather than cause tensions in the group, the band feels it’s an asset.
“ are brother sister, man. They can say anything to each other and it’s okay,” says drummer Ziegler. “It kind of opens the door for us to say anything to each other and it’s okay, too.”
After forming in the summer of 2007, the band is about to release its first album, a self-titled full-length. The album features the songwriting of Ian, Schraeger and Delso, while the other two members helped flesh the tunes out. The result is an album that showcases the songwriters’ various influences, while maintaining a common sound and theme.
Faith explains, “ tends to have more eccentric, not straight pop-rock types of songs; Jonah tends to come out of a singer-songwriter aspect, but then warps it so it works with our sound … and a lot of stuff is influenced by ‘90s alternative bands like the Pixies and Superdrag.”
While Goodnight Lights pride themselves on their diverse songwriting, Ziegler says it’s the live shows that bring out the best in the band.
“The people that come to see us play, I want them to have a blast. I want them to walk away and say ‘The music was fucking good, but holy shit, these guys can fucking play and it’s fun to watch them do it.’”
By Katherine Silkaitis
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