Greg O'Connor

Who was Andy to you and what impact did he have on your life?

Andy was a son to me for 17.5 years. We had unconditional love for one another. There was no agenda, no ulterior motives and no end goal. Our bond and energy connection was pure. Learning to love someone wholeheartedly and selflessly changes you forever. Taking care of someone who relies on you for food, shelter, companionship and comfort takes you entirely outside of your own needs and agendas. This relationship has been a life altering one.

How did you begin to write about Andy and your grief and was there a moment when it felt right to approach it?

I was able to come up with the title of the song “Good Boy” the day after his passing. We always used to joke that Andy got praise even when he was getting a cookie. Andy was a good boy and he deserved the best life. I also posted after his passing “He was a Good Boy…best ever!” So this title sat with me for a month or so before I could even sit down and turn the pain and grief into a song. As I was procrastinating on writing the song, I was coming up with the style of the music in my head which is a fun summer beach vibe with the influences of The Beach Boys, John Lennon, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and The Traveling Wilburys. After a few months, I approached my good friend Michael Haddad to help me with the lyrics. So we got together one day and I was able to start the process.

Did writing Good Boy, help navigate your grief and what the future looked like for you without Andy?

I feel that the best art comes from something real…a personal experience: loss and grief, a spiritual awakening, or an inspiration of love and passion. Contemplation and examination of our journey has always been a driver for the creative process. The song is a blend of grief and celebration. The balance of those two poplar opposite feelings is necessary to properly express and honor Andy’s life. I think art is a therapeutic way to navigate complex feelings during the grieving process. After writing and performing the song, I was able to clearly realize that the bond with Andy will never be broken. It just has a different presentation. Being present in mind and spirit rather than in a physical body is something that I accept. I can live in gratitude that our connection lives on but in a different way.

How did Andy inspire you and help you learn things about yourself over his life with you?

Andy and I had a very spiritual and metaphysical connection. He was able to anticipate my actions and decisions even before I realized that I wanted to make those particular choices. I now have a better and deeper understanding of my habits, thoughts and patterns. I also feel that loving someone unconditionally changes you forever. You realize there is something out there bigger and greater than yourself. You can get out of your own head and look at the bigger picture of things and realize that we are all connected in some way. The understanding of connectedness initiates a spark of Inspiration which comes from a higher place. This is a much different feeling than motivation which is purely behavioral.

Was there a specific Andy memory that became the emotional center of the song?

The title “Good Boy”, as I mentioned earlier, was something I always said to him, whether it be on a walk, after he went to the bathroom, after he returned a stick or a toy, or right as we cuddled before bed. That song title describes who Andy was, but it is also a way of “setting him free” and telling him that I will be ok now that he has crossed over and that it is ok that he has done so. It is also a playful way of saying “Good Boy!! You made it to Heaven.

”What differences were there in writing about such a personal topic and experience in comparison to writing for other pieces of work in the past? Did you feel intrinsically more connected?

Much of my career has been writing songs and scores for visual media or songs for other artists. These type of projects are usually work for hire writing “gigs” where my job, first and foremost, is to serve the story of the show or film or the artist with whom I am collaborating. When I write songs for me as the artist, I usually am writing from a personal experience so I need to be able to connect with the lyric. The melody needs to paint a picture of the lyric. The main challenge is finding the balance of staying true to my experience while also being able to express the story in a relatable way.

Andy is featured on the track, with recordings of him. Did it feel like an important way to universally honour Andy?

The sounds at the very end of the song are from two different videos of Andy. One sound is Andy begging for a muffin crumb at a local coffee shop while on our morning walk and the other is him running around in circles outside our house. I wanted Andy to have a performance role in the song. I think it highlights his playful spirit.

When you listen to the track, do you feel it bridges emotions between grief and joy from memories in a way that makes grief more understandable and manageable?

Yes. I really was trying to be careful to express the grief without being too on the nose about it. “Run wild, run free, across the sky and over the sea”, “Your spirit shines and remains it’s my soul that it saves”, “I’ll be ok ‘cause you’ll be around” are all lines that suggest crossing over without being too literal. The lyrics also are celebratory in showing that the spirit lives on. I remain hopeful and I live in gratitude for my life with Andy. I hope this song resonates in a positive way with others who have lost a love one.

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