“Papa” Tim Goad and the Desperate Man’s Blues Explosion will hit the stage for the first time Saturday at the Chocolate Church Arts Center in Bath.
Tim Goad has performed at open mic nights and small productions across the Midcoast — including recent Chocolate Church production “One Way Trip to Mars” — and recently assembled his blues ensemble for the opening night of the Chocolate Church’s Kill the Chill concert series.
Goad, who grew up in Virginia surrounded by blues, gospel and southern rock influences, has been an avid music fan since he was a kid, but only started singing three years ago.
“PAPA TIM” GOAD, top, and the Desperate Man’s Blues Explosion will perform at the Chocolate Church in Bath on Saturday. Above, the band practices in Bath in December.
Goad moved to Maine with his now-wife shortly after a visit in 2000, but it would be another decade before he picked up a microphone.
“When I started singing, my vocal range went right to the gospel and blues that I had listened to as a kid,” said Goad. “It’s a completely different experience listening to this music when you’re older. We all have problems, we all get the blues, and this style of music resonates with me.”
Goad — who also plays harmonica — began singing at open mic nights around the Midcoast and in Portland, and quickly gained a name for himself.
“I kind of feel like a preacher up there, bringing people together,” said Goad. “People would see me around town and call me the Preacher Man, and that’s how I came up with the name ‘Papa Tim.’”
Goad said that his open mic experiences set the stage for the next step in his musical career.
“The more I sang, the more people started to listen,” said Goad. “At 41 I’m ready to start doing this full-time.”
Goad said that his sound is “a mix of the Allman Brothers and the Isley Brothers.” To delve deeper into the blues, he needed to surround himself with a band. After booking Kill the Chill, Goad recruited five local musicians to bring his vision to life.
“Each musician has set musical careers, but they’re really taking the time to help me out with this,” said Goad, whose band members include guitarists Aaron Nadeau from the Maine Dead Project and Andy “Beaver” Johnson from Beaver Johnson and the Subtle Undertones. “Aaron is into southern rock like me, and Andy has a really unique flavor, a sort of driving, kinetic energy, like Appalachian rock. The cool thing about the blues is the song structure is relatively easy to begin with, but then the musicians flesh the songs out in all kinds of fascinating ways.”
Goad said that getting the band together has inspired him to reach for greater heights in his music.
“It has always been my dream to just get out there and sing,” said Goad. “When you hear a band bring your vision to life, it’s a wonderful thing, and it makes you want more.”
“I have been a long time admirer of Papa Tim,” said Jennifer DeChant, executive director of the Chocolate Church. “I’ve watched him grow as an entertainer and musician. I thought, ‘this is exactly what we’re in the business for, giving a showcase to someone like this.’”
Goad said the band will be playing a mix of covers and originals tomorrow night, and that the covers will have “twists and tempo changes to keep the audience on their toes.”
“It’s a good time to be in music right now,” said Goad. “There’s a rebirth of blues and soul going on, and we’re trying to get on the crest of that.”
bgoodridge@timesrecord.com
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