A couple of days ago, Good Terms brought their debut headline tour, “Highway to Hell Yeah Brother,” to Greenville, South Carolina – all the way from Los Angeles, California! I was elated to find that this band was playing at Radio Room, because this venue is extremely close to me and I already knew the ropes. Making my way to the venue went smoothly, and upon entering, I quickly got settled in, chatting with a couple of other friendly photographers who were equally excited to capture the artists of the night.
If you’re not already familiar with Good Terms, the emo-pop band consists of vocalist Brian McShea, guitarist Zach Boucher, guitarist Ivan Barry, bassist Geo Botelho, and drummer Brendan McCusker. Their beginning was humble – a group of friends trying to find soundness, literally and figuratively, in one of America’s most bustling cities. They officially formed in 2018 and have been on the up-and-up ever since. Many of the songs on their recent album, Burnout Deluxe, are blasting through radio stations such as SiriusXM and Idobi Radio – not to mention shows selling out across the nation. They have captured the attention of thousands with their relatable upbringing and true-to-heart lyricism. Good Terms made it a priority to find their purpose and make life in such a convoluted world worth it.
Zach Boucher, guitarist of Good Terms, shared a few words about the writing process of the album Burnout Deluxe for their website a couple of years ago: “Burnout is the most stupidly ambitious thing that I’ve ever tried to create. We didn’t know exactly what kind of band we wanted to be going into this; we just knew we wanted to be ‘us,’ and the pursuit of that was not easy. We tried to eliminate any notion of ‘we can’t do that’ and just ask ourselves, ‘Why not?’ at every creative impasse. The album is called Burnout mostly because of the intersection of all the lyrical themes, but it’s also because after producing this album and pouring over every single note and transient, this album has genuinely taken everything out of me. We made 12 songs that we didn’t know how to make going in, and we did it all completely by ourselves. Every single song was written, performed, produced, and mixed by members of Good Terms. The back-and-forth nearly broke us many times, but I think the end result is something undeniably singular. I am so damn proud of what my friends and I created together here.“
Good Terms took the stage loudly and unapologetically. All of the fans pressed in closer against the barricade – completely and utterly engaged in their performance from the first song, “Same Team.” The atmosphere in the venue that night could be described as a shared experience – one of my favorite things about fans coming together to see live music. Everyone there devoted their Tuesday night to dancing and screaming to the sound of their favorite band. Throughout the set, Good Terms showcased their upbeat and unique sound. Fans sang along to every word, and you could feel the connection that they have created and nurtured over the last eight years. The setlist was 13 intense songs and included a cover of “Jump” by Van Halen. Having never heard of Good Terms before, I was invited to photograph the show – it’s safe to say that I’ll be back to see them when they’re back in town. These guys absolutely rock. Hell yeah, brother!
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