Brad Goodall w/ Melody Federer, CoJo Ko + Goody

It’s the moment where you feel on top of the world and the wind gets knocked out of your sails that’s the emotional core of Made In America. “It’s never easy being grateful for having the stuff you have or the life you have,” says Goodall. “That was the through line: People on the surface appearing happy, and just beneath it is that same miserable streak, especially in America. I wanted to attack the idea of, ‘you’re rich, you got all this stuff but you’re still slumped over.’” The album, which borrows its title from the Sopranos finale, uncovers uncomfortable truths underneath sly The Nightfly humor and jazzy mind-bending piano jams.

On the album opener “Changed Man,” which features guest drums from Steely Dan drummer Keith Carlock, Goodall sings of going to therapy for the first time. He sings over a lushly arranged production, “I’m a changed man / watch me work the room / I paid a Ph.D. to look at me / now I’m a sunflower in bloom.” Goodall explains, “You can do something positive in your life like go to therapy but still come out with negative traits like overconfidence.” While the writing is clearly funny, the jokes aren’t tossed off distract to hide the craft behind the songs. “Indie rock after a certain point kind of began to take itself too seriously,” says Goodall. “But I just regard two things a lot more seriously than I think most might: improvisation and humor.”

Melody Federer’s music is at once enigmatic and candidly charming. Texas-born with a nomadic soul, she honed her craft in New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Nashville, Seattle, and back to Nashville where she continues to gain recognition as an up-and-coming talent in the world of Indie, Pop and Alt music. With her new single, "Falling Out,” Federer examines how easy it is to fall in love and how difficult it is to fall out of it. “It's like we get sucked into this beautiful fantasy so fast, chemicals firing off in our brain, cheeks glowing, every love song come to life, aka 'spring has sprung' — that magical phase that has inspired poets and musicians and painters and writers and dancers and every other human who's been lucky enough to feel it since the dawn of time — and then, just like that, love can be over,” says Federer. “Your best friend is a stranger. Your lover is an enemy. You're 'falling out,’ with no wings or parachute to catch you, in a dream from which you can't wake yourself up. And you just have to keep falling until you hit rock bottom. And you live there for a while. And every day feels unending. The longing gnaws at you. But you keep breathing somehow. And hopefully, eventually, you get yourself up, brush the dirt off, and hope to have the courage to maybe someday try falling into the whole love thing again. It's a dangerous, beautiful business, love. ’Falling Out’ started as an acoustic guitar song, then it turned into a sort of synth-pop animal.” About Melody Federer: A noted solo artist as well as an accomplished writer for various musicians, her style is genre agnostic, and her stage presence effortlessly versatile. She can capture a room with just her voice and guitar or with a full band, and she holds her own standing in as a guest with legends of the industry. Her talent has taken her around the globe to historic venues and buzzing clubs, having performed at the Musee D’ Orsay in Paris, Paris Fashion Week, The Royal Hall in London, New York City’s Harvard Club and Zinc Club, The Basement in Nashville, and The Moroccan Lounge and The Saban in Los Angeles. She’s played numerous other shows and festivals in major North American and European cities, and a large portion of her solo tracks have been, and are currently being featured on multiple SiriusXM channels as well as tastemaker terrestrial radio stations like WXPN and KUCI. Melody has worked with a vast range of musicians, from major pop artists P!nk and Hilary Duff, to electroclash producers Plastik Funk and Gazzo. She’s written R&B tracks for Kelly Rowland, traditional folk-rock tunes for Jacob Whitesides, and crafted alongside titans of the jazz world like Michael Buble and the legendary Burt Bacharach, who described her lyrics for their duet “Bridges” as “a gift.” Her penchant for word play and her emotional, memorable, and passionate toplines have put her in the songwriting room with the likes of GRAMMY Award Winners Emory Dobyn, Mike Pool, Daniel Tashian and GRAMMY Nominees Scott Chesak, Billy Mann, Chad Carlson, and Roget Chahayed In 2020, she made waves with her track “This Town,” a smoldering Alt-Rock track that made radio stand at attention, and “The Wonder Years,” an indie ballad that received rave reviews and was featured on Elton John’s “ The Rocket Hour.” Just as she was gaining momentum, the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, and like many performers, she endured financial hardships that forced her to take a detour from her music career to provide for her family as a single mother. This led her to revisit her journalism roots, landing a job as a news editor for KIRO Radio and juggling shifts as a waitress. During this time, she submitted an autobiographical story about sex, love, power and music to The New York Times, and to her surprise, and to her parent’s dismay, they published it. As the industry got creative about bringing live music back to fans, Indie-pop veteran Andrew McMahon took notice of “This Town,” and invited Federer to open for his band at the country’s first ever Drive-In Theater performance. Word of that show spread, and Multi-GRAMMY® award-winning rock icons Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo invited Federer as a featured artist for an intimate performance at The Grove in Anaheim. On Valentine’s Day 2021, her pop-alt single “I Hate Love” went viral on TikTok, amassing 10M views. The instantly catchy, anti-love story was produced by Absofacto, Nathan Barlowe, Kosuke Kasza, and CASTLE. It was later synced to Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q, Season 3 Episode “Little Boxes,” which aired in December 2022. Coming off recent successes with collaborators Plastik Funk, Telykast, and SAMATHA, Federer had been preparing new solo material as a follow up to her 2017 debut album, Where The Dogwoods Bloom. Her daily song posts on social media caught the attention of Kerry Brown, who signed Federer as the first artist on his label Licorice Pizza Records. Her sophomore album finds her evolving once again, drawing sonic comparisons to artists like Jenny Lewis, Blonde Redhead, Sharon Van Etten and Neko Case. Chapters from the Fairy Tale is due out September 7.

CoJo Ko is a Nashville native Soul, R&B, Smooth Jazz singer and SESAC songwriter and publisher. She is the originator and lead vocalist of Nashville’s hottest all-female funk, soul and jazz original song and cover band, CoJo and the Konectts, and founder of the Natural Soul Experience. As the curator of Natural Soul Experience, CoJo invites emerging artists and musicians to partake in a quality stage experience. Natural Soul Experience has taken place at City Winery (Nashville) and Analog (Hutton Hotel- Nashville) with a packed house. In 2012, CoJo Ko jump started her career in music by opening for international recording artist Julie Dexter and N’Dambi at the Jazz & Jokes (Nashville). Additionally, CoJo Ko has recently shared the stage with Jeff Bradshaw, trombone player to the legendary Patti LaBelle and Earth, Wind & Fire. Other past performances include Women Who Rock Nashville (Omni Hotel, 2019), Nashville CARES - Uniting for Equality Legislative Reception and the 38th Annual African Street Festival. CoJo Ko recently performed her very first show on Broadway at Acme Feed & Seed, videos of which are soon to be released.

CoJo Ko has been nominated several times as “Best R&B / Soul Performer” at the Nashville Industry Music Awards. Her unforgettable, energetic performances awarded CoJo Ko the title of Southern Entertainment Awards’ Slept On Artist of the Year in 2014. Her new single “Smile” is available now and “Speak to My Soul” is scheduled for release soon on all streaming platforms. Offstage, CoJo Ko is a healthcare worker and gives back to her community by volunteering her time and talent at New Covenant Christian Church’s Community Day, The General Sessions Music City Community Court, and with the African American Cultural Alliance. CoJo Ko’s mantra is “Connect and Change the World Through Music.”