"The Public Good's "A Varied Program Of Stereo Dynamics For Your Wild Nights Alone" sort of remind me of my daily soundtrack for doing dishes. You see, I get home after my day job, put on the tv (usually the news), whilst sometimes leaving on the radio that has been playing all day (to keep my dogs occupied. Bizarre, you say? Maybe, but I'll tell you this: my dogs are a better judge of music than you may realize. When shitty music is on, they just stare at me with a look that says "Stop torturing us, Jay. Seriously. If we have to listen to U2 one more time we are gonna leave a hot, steaming pile of what used to be our lunch in the middle of your bed. Now please go and put on some Elvis Presley. Thank you". When awesome stuff is on, they happily drift off to slumber, enveloped in this comfy musical cocoon. But I digress...) Where was I? Oh, the radio and the news...

So I'll go over to the sink while the talking heads on the news drone on, in a sort of monotonese, about the events of the day: Lindsay Lohan, Afghanistan, LeBron James, oil spillage, etc. all the while the radio is still blaring some form of rock and roll underneath it. This is exactly what The Public Good sound like to me. Monotonese vocals over a rocking backround. The music has potential, in that decent, mid-western indie rock and roll sort of way, like they grew up listening to the right records (Replacements, Uncle Tupelo, Twin/Tone stuff, Soul Asylum before they became craptastic), but the vocals are lacking the bile, bite, and bravery of those very same bands. I want some "oomph" behind my vocals. Sometimes it also goes by the name of "passion". I'm hoping when the Public Good hit the stage this guy sings the shit out of these songs, 'cause then my rating would go from a 5 to an 8. Until then, I found myself wanting to go back and listen to "Let It Be" by The 'Mats, and hoping someone else will come along to get it right. Or these guys shake the singer out of his complacency."
Rating: 5/8
- Jay Mazeffect


Washington DC's The Public Good is led by songwriters John Elderkin (guitar, vocals) and Steve Ruppenthal (bass, vocals), who were also the nucleus of North Carolina’s now legendary The Popes. One of the most acclaimed bands to emerge from the early 90s Chapel Hill music scene, The Popes’ first release, “Hi We’re The Popes,” received national airplay on college radio stations and made a splash on the College Music Journal charts, landing a spot higher on the "new releases to watch" poll than REM’s release at the time. Billboard , Cashbox, SPIN Magazine and others gushed about the record and the band. Billboard , Cashbox, SPIN Magazine and others gushed about the record and the band.

The Public Good’s live shows in and out of the District have developed a cult following intrigued by the band's special mix of heart-pounding rock-n-roll, brain-wrenching IQ quizzes, and occasional costume dramas. The band is rounded out on stage by literary genius Sam Esquith on guitar/keyboards/tambourine, and the supremely talented roaming percussionist Chris Garges (Mitch Easter band, etc.) on drums.

Band History

As The Popes, Elderkin and Ruppenthal penned songs for independent releases such as the cassette-only “Afar” and WXYC’s collection “DemoListen,” and compilation records such as Mammoth Records’ "Frequency." The Popes also contributed to the internationally released tribute to Alex Chilton, “Not the Singer But the Songs" on Munster Records.

After a failed record deal with First Warning Records, The Popes split up. Years later Elderkin and Ruppenthal found themselves in Atlanta, GA. The two played together again first as muscular pop group Stumble and then as the hard rocking Lovely Lads. The Lads released two acclaimed CDs on Put It On A Cracker Records, first “The Lovely Lads v. The World” and then “Lucky Jim.”

Another break in the music followed when Elderkin left the US for a Fulbright teaching exchange and subsequent graduate work in Gainesville. Fate intervened eventually, however, finding the two songwriters blocks from each other in Washington DC in 2007, when they formed The Public Good. Longtime listeners have noted that they are writing the best songs of their career.

What has always separated Elderkin and Ruppenthal’s songs from the pack is their ability to rock the house in their own style while singing with humor, originality, and empathy about the foibles and pleasures of everyday life. When one of their songs cranks up, you know it’s them right away.

www.thepublicgoodonline.com