We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Goode. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.
Alright, Tiffany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
I oftentimes say that I wish I had truly started performing in front of audiences as a solo performer earlier. I then realize that everything happens at its perfect time. I started playing the trumpet in third grade. I say that the trumpet chose me. My dad bought the trumpet home from the neighborhood liquor house after bartering for it. After asking who wanted to play the trumpet, my brother or I, I promptly claimed the musical instrument as mine to have and to hold from this day forward. It was a marriage from day one. we spent that evening playing around with it trying to see who can make it make a sound. I come from humble means so we didn’t have a case. I wasn’t supposed to start band until fourth grade, but my principal allowed me to begin a year early. The first day of third grade my mom put the horn in a brown paper bag and folded the top and i walked two blocks to my elementary school. The horn was so beaten and broken that my first band director, Mr. Jackson, just shook his head gave me a mouthpiece and the journey began. I took to the trumpet quickly and started getting recognized almost immediately. As a female in a male dominated section, I used to make it my mission to find the dopest player and be better than him by the end of the year so that I could take his spot.
I was sent to the Northside of Richmond, Virginia to join Gifted and Honors School in Middle School. In my eighth grade year the high school band director, Mr. Jasper came over and invited me to start participating in the high school band. It was the beginning of my relationship with my first real mentor. A Richmond Trumpet Jazz Legend, I was honored to learn from him. He often took a trumpet player under his wing, mentored them and made them his principle soloist. Under his tutelage i earned many soloist and jazz band awards. Also under him I started gigging at the age of 13. It was my first time making money. I was excited to play for 30 minutes to an hour and walk away with a check. My Senior year of high school we went to Hampton University to participate in the “Count Basie Jazz Band Competition. Long story short, we won the competition and I won best soloist, the chance to play with the Count Basie Band the next day and a partial scholarship to attend Hampton University. This was a decision point because several players invited me to come to New York and play, but I decided to stay focused on college, I was like many others trying to be the first one in my family to graduate from College. I received my Bachelors of Science in Music Engineering and Technology from Hampton University. I worked with Teddy Riley for a couple of years at Future Studios.
I moved to Atlanta in 2000 and received a MBA from Clark Atlanta University. I started throwing shows with my brother in Atlanta and we formed “Goode Stuff Entertainment LLC.” I became more of someone running the backend while still practicing and producing music in the background. I built a home studio and was constantly recording music. I furthered my education by going to get a Professional Certification in Producing Music for Film and Television from Berklee College of Music.
I was still working my corporate Job at Turner Broadcasting/CNN and was laid off in 2014. The death of my corporate job became the rebirth of my performing. Once I was laid off, I really had to consider what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and if i wanted to stay on the path I was on. The answer was a resounding “no.” A friend and I put together an all female reggae band named “Sol Rizing” first. I also became a member of Orchestra Noir, Atlanta’s All African-American Orchestra. In 2020, Covid came along and during isolation I decided to release my first single, “Forward Movement.” The response was so overwhelming that I released the full album on Bandcamp, “Today Was A Goode Day” remained as the number one recommended jazz album in Atlanta on bandcamp for over a year. In 2021, I released my second project “EnterGoodeLactic,’ which was a homage to my reggae roots and you can feel the influence throughout the album. This too was received very well and actually one of my top singles “Goodie Goodē” is on this album. I then collaborated with a dope MC Tiye Phoenix out of New York. I just released my most recent project, “1217” which is an EP. It has been getting so much love that I am truly humbled by it. I have had the opportunity to open, play for and/or share stage with the likes of MuMu Fresh, Common, Tiffany Haddish, Rhonda Thomas, etc. Today I use my talent and the experiences that I have accumulated throughout the years to navigate my passion and to stay true to who I am and what I want.
Tiffany, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Tiffany Goode and I am an experience creator, musician, producer and an all around creative. My mission as a musician is to use my art to help people heal through escapism. I endeavor to teleport you from your everyday life to a new place where you can escape your worries. My version of music is called “Trip Hop Jazz.” We all know that there is healing within the frequencies that produce our music, within in the energy exchanged and within the words spoken, We endeavor to use this energy for upliftment, rebuilding and fun. My music fuses all different type of musical elements together to create unique music so you will hear some Jazz, Reggae, House, Go-Go, Afro-Beat, Hip-Hop, R&B and maybe even some Country Music. Whatever helps to tell the story and set the mood. The Goode Stuff Experience contracts and flexes as needed. So you could come and experience my band, a solo-performance with just me or a complete theatrical outfit. We also add different elements in our shows to make them unique. I hope to see you at one of our events in the Greater Atlanta area and pick up the vibe that we are putting down.
I also am a music composer that composes music for Film, TV and Stage, I have been blessed to compose for movies “Joy Road,” “Every Scar and Dimple,” “Break/Fast,” and “Spring & 3rd.” Composed music for the dance performance, “The Art of Me” produced by Yasmine Axam. Lastly, I am always focused on giving back to the community through working with children, exposing them to music and igniting a passion for music in their lives through private lessons and educational performances.
I am most proud of the music that I have been able to share with the world. I have released three projects “Today Was A Goode Day,” “EnterGoodeLactic,’ and my latest EP “1217.” Each were deemed the number 1 suggested jazz album in Atlanta on Bandcamp. You can get these on all platforms so do me a favor and follow, buy, stream and share.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Artists are so needed in society. I am not sure that everyone understands that it is not a luxury, but it is truly a necessity to have music and the arts. In my ethnomusicology studies one of the main purposes of the major is to understand the impact of music on culture. From the dawn of time the musician has been revered. The musician was considered a priest, a griot, a historian, a doctor and yes sometimes an entertainer. It feeds our soul and it helps us to get through the craziness of our lives. As a society we have to value the artist more. One of the most undervalued professions is the independent musician. Everyone likes to nickel and dime an independent musician instead of just paying them what they are worth. So as a society we can start paying our musicians well for the musical medicine that they produce. This is the biggest thing. Secondly if you have a musician in your life, support their dream. If you have a young musician let them know that they can make a living doing their art. Music doesn’t have to be their Plan B. It can be their Plan A.
: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I have several missions fueling me. One of them is that I want to ensure musical artists feel confident to use their voice. Miles Davis once said, “Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.” I want us to understand that there is an audience that wants to hear your particular voice. Some people would like to hear you sound like another artist… and they will appreciate you… But people will fall in love with your unique voice. Your unique voice will catapult you into greatness and into spaces that you never felt possible. We oftentimes listen too much to other people and let their opinions delay, shape or sometimes even stop our dreams. When our greatest voice and advisor is ourselves and our intuition. I feel like I have a unique voice in music. I am not endeavoring to be anyone but me.
The second mission is to inspire young ladies that they too can be brass players. Growing up I didn’t see many examples of black female brass players. Many of the examples were women close to my age. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I was made aware of the likes of Clora Bryant, Valaida Snow, Ernestine “Tiny” Davis and Cynthia Robinson to name a few. I was blessed to be able to portray Cynthia Robinson in the second season of American Soul on BET. In this life, society creates so many boxes and if I can do my part to explode this one, I WILL. Today we have many beautiful women brass players around the world. We see all women bands backing artists more and more. I have started my community outreach program for young ladies of color who may be interested in or want to be exposed to brass instruments called, “Brown Girls Buzz.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goodestuff.net
- Instagram: @lifesgoode @thegoodestuffexperience
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanygoode/
- Twitter: @lifesgoode
Image Credits
Kim Salaam IG: @diligentlens_photog Empress Iyahdae: @iyahdaephotography