Good Old War is made up of Keith Goodwin and Dan Schwartz. The band’s name comes from the last names of the three founding members; Goodwin for “Good,” Arnold (former member Tim) for “Old,” and Schwartz for “War.” The band was started in 2008 after Days Away (former band of Keith and Tim) went on hiatus; Schwartz previously played in Unlikely Cowboy.[2] They began by recording some free demos in a late night session at a recording studio, then played with Anthony Green, a fellow Pennsylvania musician, on a short stint of dates along the east coast as well as at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Texas. Good Old War is currently signed with Sargent House, a label which also serves as the band’s management company.
The band recorded their debut album in May 2008 in Los Angeles with producer Rick Parker, who also produced the final EP from Days Away, entitled “Ear Candy for the Headphone Trippers.” Good Old War then recorded Anthony Green’s 2008 album “Avalon“ as his back up band, and continued to perform as his band in addition to playing direct support as Good Old War with Person L (a project featuring Kenny Vasoli of The Starting Line) for a nationwide headlining tour that began on August 6, 2008 and ran through September 14, 2008.
On November 4, 2008, Good Old War released their first album, “Only Way To Be Alone.” Anthony Green makes a guest vocal appearance on the track “Weak Man,” along with Dave Davison from the band Maps & Atlases, who plays a guest guitar solo in “Weak Man”.[3]
Good Old War released their self-titled second album on June 1, 2010, which peaked at #150 on the Billboard 200.[4] On April 22, 2010, the band released “My Own Sinking Ship,” the first single from their sophomore album made available for free download.
On December 6, 2011, Good Old War debuted a new single entitled “Calling Me Names” from their latest album, “Come Back As Rain,” on the radio in the Philadelphia area. Good Old War released the entire album on March 6, 2012.[5][6]
Arnold left the band in 2014 to move to Atlanta in order to raise his family. Later in the year, on October 14,[7] the band announced their return to the studio to record a new albumIn April 2015,[8] Good Old War released their first single “Tell Me What You Want From Me” from the new album “Broken Into Better Shape.” “Broken Into Better Shape,” a 10-song collection, is the band’s fourth full-length release
