“I remember filming that and thinking, I’m going to jail this time.”
Jackson Foster laughs with a sense of disbelief that this is where his love for nu-metal has led him. The Silly Goose vocalist is recounting the riotous video shoot for “Bad Behavior,” the title track of the Atlanta outfit’s viciously fun new EP, during which the band and a host of their fans stormed a MARTA subway car and staged an unhinged performance as the train sped from station to station.
Luckily the authorities didn’t nab Foster and Co. for their bad behavior. But the rush from these unsanctioned shows is clearly quite addictive — and the band aren’t looking to kick their habit any time soon. Silly Goose’s most recent stunt is just the latest in a string of risky but rewarding pop-up gigs, which have also included playing inside a Subway restaurant, outside of Lollapalooza’s gates and on the street in front of venues hosting concerts by Neck Deep, Drain and others.
For Foster, the overwhelming fan response to these DIY shows has proven there’s an audience craving the audacious antics and nu-metal sounds that Silly Goose are delivering.
“I’ve always felt like doing crazy shit in real life,” he says, “and people seeing these things is the best way for us to make new fans. The music we’ve created seems to have become an escape or outlet for people going through something. So, I want to find new ways to push what that escape can be even further.”
Such vigor and virality has hit all the right notes for the group, from garnering invites to massive shows such as last year’s Aftershock and the forthcoming Sonic Temple 2025, to signing to Blue Grape Music, the new label from Roadrunner Records founder Cees Wessels and A&R vet David Rath. It all equates to Silly Goose becoming one of the boldest and brashest voices in this new wave of nu-metal domination.
At 23 years old, Foster wasn’t even alive during the genre’s heyday — but that hasn’t prevented him from going all-in on nu-metal’s outsized attitude and rap-meets-metal sounds. He points to Limp Bizkit’s 2011 album, Gold Cobra — which he first discovered as he graduated from elementary to middle school — as the record that kicked off his obsession. From Rage Against the Machine to Korn, his fascination with genre-defying sounds grew, along with his admiration for these larger-than-life musicians who went against the grain yet still captivated the masses.
In high school, Foster felt like he was one of the few people locked in on this turn-of-the-millennium attitude. He also felt it was his duty to bring these sounds crashing into the modern day and show the rest of Gen Z what they were missing.
So, he joined forces with close friend and drummer Alan Benikhis, and the two set out to bring their dreams to life. Between classes, the pair (who initially adopted the name Student Driver before settling on their current moniker) pieced together their first EP, The Goose Is Out of the Bag, a high-energy mission statement and direct response to the contemporary musical landscape.
“The music currently in the mainstream is cool, but it could be a lot cooler,” Foster says with a smile. “I want to bring the sounds that I grew up listening to back, but I also want to be doing it fresh and new.” The vocalist is also committed to having the best time possible along the way.
“Basically, I’m trying to make myself laugh and make other people laugh,” he continues. “That’s why we have the band name we have, too. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We just want to make people happy, laugh at the lyrics and move around. Our whole ethos is about having a good time.”
Silly Goose refined that spirit on their full-length debut, 2022’s The Streets Heard It First — a collection of raw and rampant concoctions written through their school days that show off as much Bizkit-based brute force as fun-loving Beastie Boys swagger. The good-time vibes are also front-and-center at every Silly Goose show — whether in a venue or at a spontaneous pop-up — and play a key role in earning the act waves of new supporters.
One of the most unexpected, and advantageous, fan conversions happened in the summer of 2022, when Silly Goose crashed Ohio’s Inkarceration Festival. The band staged a rogue show in the fest’s parking lot, which immediately drew the ire of promotor Danny Wimmer. But after he witnessed their infectious performance, he surprisingly added the band to the official lineup for the festival’s remaining two days. (The group are now a regular fixture at DWP events).
Silly Goose are upping the ante with Bad Behavior, throwing in even more hardcore battery and goofball bars for good measure. And as their confidence in their vision grows, so does their ambition for more fun and outrageous performances.
For Foster, the drive to create a space where fun comes first is rooted in some distinctly un-fun times. The singer points back to his school years, when he was often bullied, as well as his early days in the Atlanta music scene, when the lack of support from his peers left him feeing isolated. Silly Goose has proven to be the cure for that alienation — and also a constant reminder for Foster to never let anybody get in the way of what makes you shine. It’s what he wrote the track “Bad Behavior” about, which includes the fiery proclamation: “You say I’ve got an ego problem and I’m rude?/Well fuck you cause I like my attitude.”
“I feel like I have been in a position where people have doubted and not believed in me, and that song in particular is me really wanting to prove everybody wrong,” he says. “Despite all this shit that I went through, I don’t care what you think. I have a dream and a vision and will follow it. We don’t fit in, and now I feel like that’s cool.”
That belief has allowed Silly Goose, which is rounded out by guitarist Ian Binion, to play shows with whoever they want. From hitting the road with everyone from crossover bruisers Unity TX to neon pop-punk party starters 408, there is no blueprint or barrier. And as the band looks toward 2025, which kicks off with a headline tour of their own, Foster is pumped to see just how vast their growing army of fans has become.
But more than anything, he’s stoked to have finally found a community where he can be exactly who he wants to be — a feeling that’s absolutely priceless.
“When I was a kid, I never thought I could be a frontman,” he says. “Now I know that this is the one thing in my life I am really fucking good at. It’s my calling, and that feels really fucking good.”