Don Goodwin, Ben Rose, Brian McCann and Kenny Sager reconvene as Organism to rock the Hamilton Studio Listening Room

As local fusion group Organism continues their return from hiatus, they will be providing those at Hamilton Studios with reimagined versions of 1980s classics.

Don Goodwin, who was born and raised in Spokane, spent his youth listening to classic rock before studying classical piano. He was bitten by the jazz bug as he entered college at Eastern Washington University. During his time at EWU, Goodwin began playing with multiple rock and jam band groups like Mama’s Dogma – a group that would eventually move to Seattle.

Goodwin returned to EWU to earn his master’s degree in composition before immediately being hired by the university. Up until his recent career change as an accountant, Goodwin spent a number of years as the school’s director of bands. He is also the director of the Spokane Jazz Orchestra.

In the late 2010s, Goodwin and Michael Gerety, the band’s previous guitarist, came up with the concept of expanding the organ jazz trio that tends to consist of the organ, guitar and drums. Instead, they wanted to add a bass player and explore sounds outside of swing and jazz standards, such as funk and various covers.

“Kind of like a party band so we could just go out and play and have fun with our friends,” Goodwin said. “The bass player and the drummer are buddies of ours and we also love their playing, so we pitched it to them, they were into it, and away we went.”

Although the band’s lineup has made some changes and the pandemic put Organism on hiatus for a number of years, the group has been making its return with Goodwin on organ, Ben Rose on electric guitar, Brian McCann on electric bass and Kenny Sager on drums.

With each show, Organism takes classic tunes known by the masses and reworks them for this unique quartet dynamic. For example, with Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” the band takes the pop ballad and its basic melody but shifts some of the harmonies and the groove to become a moodier sounding funk song.

“It’s set up in such a way that we can then go back over it and improvise,” Goodwin said. “Each of us can do a solo that’s based on the new chord changes … that sort of reimagines the way the tune could be done.”

Even with the changes and the fact that the band doesn’t feature a vocalist, Organism still makes sure the songs remain recognizable, even if individuals in the crowd may have to take more time to recall than usual.

“It also adds kind of a mystery or an Easter egg to each song so that they can kind of think to themselves, ‘Well, I hear this melody, but I don’t hear the words, so what is it?’” Goodwin said. “They might need to think back and go, ‘Oh, that’s an old Def Leppard song.”

Goodwin also gets the rest of the band involved in this sense of curiosity by choosing what he calls a “secret song” before each show. Each “secret song” is one the band has never played before and, besides Goodwin, none of the members actually know which song it is. Goodwin simply gives a vague explanation of the chord changes and how the groove should sound before jumping right in.

“At some point in the song, I get to watch the band members and see the light go on in their face when they go like, ‘Oh, we’re playing “Maniac”’ or whatever,” Goodwin said. “It’s become a fun tradition.”

Goodwin is particularly excited to perform Friday at the Hamilton Studio Listening Room because of the venue’s well-known sense of intimacy and overall vibe, but also because shows like these continue to help Goodwin reconnect with the music. After decades of constant work, performing and teaching, he found himself simply overfilled with music despite his love for the craft.

Since his career change, Goodwin’s sense of creativity has been completely reestablished, and performances with Organism only continue to further light that fire.

“I’m so excited about this gig and I look forward to rehearsals with this group because I know that we get to try and be creative and create new things,” Goodwin said. “It’s just been, personally for me, a cool reawakening to music.”