By Keith Sharp
The Canadian Music Industry is in mourning with the passing of The Sadies’ co-founder Dallas Good who died from natural causes on Thursday February 17th.
As announced on the band’s website “It’s with unfathomable sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Dallas on Thursday, February 17th. Forty-eight years old, he died of natural causes while under doctor’s care for a coronary illness discovered earlier this week.
A son, a brother, a husband, a friend, a bandmate, a leader, a force to be reckoned with, we have no words for the shock we are all feeling. We join the rest of our music community and fans in grief. The stage is dark today with the all too soon passing of one of music’s brightest lights. We love you Dallas”
Formed in 1994 with brother Travis, bassist Sean Dean and drummer Mike Belitsky, Dallas and Travis came by their musical talents honestly, being the sons of Bruce Good who with brothers Larry and Brian Good formed the multi Juno and CCMA winners, The Good Brothers.
Initially touted as Alt-Country rockers, The Sadies released their first album ‘Precious Moments’ in 1998 and have continued to develop a unique combination of country, bluegrass and punk rock, established during a 19-album discography which also included collaborative efforts with the likes of Blue Rodeo, The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie, Neko Case, The Mekon’s Jon Langford. They even recorded a `Good Brothers’ Family Album’ with their famous father and uncles as well as a well-received double live ‘In Concert’2006 release.
Aside from international exposure The Sadies’ often toured in support of Neko Case and Randy Bachman with Dallas establishing his own reputation by collaborating with the likes of Neil Young and The Band’s keyboardist Garth Hudson.
When Music Express interviewed both Good brothers at the Horseshoe Tavern as they celebrated their 2017 release ‘Northern Passages’ Dallas noted that although The Sadies weren’t as well known as Blue Rodeo they had established a strong reputation as skilled musicians who were well respected within the Country Music community.
The Sadies were set to execute a five-night stint in Western Canada, starting March 31st in Winnipeg with further dates set for Hamilton Casbah Club April 22nd and Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern April 30th after having to cancel a tour of Spain last November due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
