A Loving Ode To A Prostitute

The Good Ship’s unique brand of self-professed ‘porno country folk cabaret’ has built them a strong following over their six-year tenure together, but all good things must eventually pass. The crew’s pulling out their ever-theatrical show for one last bawdy singalong, and founding member and co-songwriter John Meyer explains that while it’s bound to be a sad occasion, they’re collectively proud of what they’ve accomplished over the journey.

“We’re all pretty happy about how everything’s been progressing musically. We’ve pretty much written an entire new album’s worth of material, and we all feel like it’s the best stuff we’ve ever done – and we’ve played a few of those live and were really happy with the reaction – but it just didn’t feel like we had it in us to keep going for another album. We could have decided to stay together and just play the occasional show, but we figured it was just better making a clean cut and giving it some closure.

"We crossed the line many times, although weirdly we would have expected more people taking offence — I think it’s about how it’s delivered"

“It’s been an amazing ride. The three albums we did were all really different, especially the third one [2013’s The Seven Seas] and the big theatre show that we put together – that was an amazing experience. We got to tour Canada and play a bunch of festivals – we’re all really happy with what we’ve achieved. “

This is all the more remarkable given The Good Ship wasn’t ever planned as a long-term proposition.

“It was definitely a side-project,” Meyer admits. “I think it’s pretty common that side-projects develop a better energy, perhaps because there’s less pressure. When I started the band with the other main songwriter we both had our own things in the indie-pop world, and this was something for us to have a bit of fun with and not take so seriously, and then it took over. We did work really hard and take it seriously, but the primary motivation was to just hang out with our friends and make some great music and not really worry too much about all the other crap.”

And, naturally, it’s always fun creating with a less serious mindset, as even a cursory listen to The Good Ship’s ribald tunes would attest.

“Absolutely, it opens up different sides of your personality in your songwriting, and this in particular was heaps of fun,” Meyer smiles. “We had this little collection of songs which were a little dirty and bawdy, so we decided to run with it. We crossed the line many times, although weirdly we would have expected more people taking offence – I think it’s about how it’s delivered. We’d use pretty foul language and what could be perceived as awful concepts, but it was delivered in a friendly and lighthearted and almost loving way. If we wrote a song about a prostitute it wasn’t anything horrible or judgmental about their life, it was more of a loving ode. It’s the spin you put on it – we’re nice people and we’re not assholes and not out to rip anyone down, and I think that always shone through.”