Shortly after Aaron Silverstein aka The Good Night Son (and one half of the L.A. based duo Herculion) injured his knee, and subsequently had to have ACL surgery, the guitarist/vocalist started to write new songs. He was unable to stand long enough to play a live set with Herculion and in his words:
“Although it may seem more punk-rock/rock-n-roll for me to say “eff-it” and play a show in a chair, I am no BB-King. I don’t think anyone would come to see that. So we opted to take a break. I soon found myself with the time to get these songs out of my head.”
Those songs resulted in the album Mother —11 blues tracks, as humble pie as Aaron’s attitude. For Aaron, the album came as a natural outlet for him to express a crowd of ideas and move forward.
“Once I stopped being able to play shows for an extended period of time these songs crept into my mind and started to fester really. Left to my own devices, late into the evening, it soon became apparent that I HAD to record them otherwise there would be no room for anything else.”
For me, listening to this album and talking to Aaron was a surprising reminder that within the realm of music, blues or any other genre — from any position within it — musician, music fanatic or average listener, music serves as a significant creative release that we mustn’t neglect. Though it may not be the key to our physical health, on emotional, mental or spiritual planes — it helps us grow, move on, evolve, contribute to society and others, and truly makes our world go round.
Why We Dig HIM: Herculion, aka the duo of Aaron Silverstein and Mitchel McKenzie already impressed us when we discovered the blues, rock n’ roll duo’s gritty and fierce cover of the Bill Wither’s classic “Use Me.” Even though Aaron’s solo project, The Good Night Son is a more low-key, down-to-earth approach to blues, it still rocks. He even managed to transfer his style to a gratifying cover of Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack.”
Best Songs:
“Candy Cane Girl” is a light-hearted, guitar and harmonica driven song of a conflicted love relationship. We may have all felt this way about a sweetheart at some point in our lives, whether you stay together or break it off, this song is here for you.
“The Walk” is a heavy, weary, rhythmic song that digs into dark lyrical territory (“You got a body, but you ain’t got no soul.”) and low, wavering harmonies that elicit a throwback to chain-gang era singing, that can easily and eerily fill any room.
“Burn the Bed” is a steady, rumbling blues number that will have you clapping along, swaying, throwing your shoulders back and forth and likely singing or humming along by the time the five minutes is over (which comes way too fast). Aaron lets the soul really erupt in the vocals, guitar and tinkling keys in the latter half of the song — the kind of song that leaves you with a thumping heart and a dumbfounded grin on your face.
Three Words To Describe The Good Night Son: Humble — Soulful — Expressive
Upcoming Shows: No Good Night Son’s shows planned as of yet, but stay tuned for Herculion Summer 2014 shows!
Words: Emily Saex
Grab The Good Night Son’s new album Mother!
