The FEEL GOOD Effect

Feel Good is a five-piece out of Omaha, Nebraska sparked by siblings Mary on vocals and Mack on keys, who first came together writing emo-leaning ballads before cranking up the energy and leaning into pop-punk fire. With Mark tearing on guitar, Drew driving the drums, and Tanner holding down bass while shaping the sound behind the board, the band feels less like a lineup and more like a tight crew of friends. At the center, Mary’s voice cuts straight through, powering songs built to uplift, connect, and leave every room buzzing.

SNQLX: Mary and Mack — as siblings, what first pushed you two to start creating music together?

MARY HERE!: 😁 I’d say it was a combination of the bond we’ve always had, having similar tastes in music and good timing. We’ve always been incredibly close – Mack’s only two years older than me and we’ve always been two peas in a pod. When our family moved to the Midwest, we were just 2 bummed out, pretty lonely teenagers looking for something to do and found ourselves at the piano quite a bit. We were both starting to write original material and it just naturally worked out that Mack’s specialty is writing the music and mine is writing the lyrics & melodies. There wasn’t much of a discussion – it just happened and we said “hell yeah” and never stopped lol

SNQLX: Take us back to those early days: what did the band’s first practices and songs sound like before you found your footing?

MARY: Our humble beginnings had some member swapping, playing very out of time and shitty equipment hahaha but it was still fun!

MARK: We started very raw and jammed in a bedroom at Mack’s place before moving to Mack and Mary’s parents basement, that’s where our sound found its foundation. After meeting Tanner it really evolved with roots, then evolved even further after meeting Drew. But we’ve always used that foundation of an emo ballad coming to life. Even with the pop punk stuff, it has that emo ballad escence just with shorter songs

SNQLX: How did the rest of the lineup lock in, and what sealed the chemistry between all five of you?

MARY: Once we met Tanner, it all fell into place. Our guitarist Mark introduced us to Tanner as a producer who could help with a demo. Once we were working with him, he noticed we didn’t have a bassist and liked our sound enough to want to join the project! He became our bassist/producer/audio engineer all at once. Once we needed a drummer for live performances, Tanner introduced us to Drew. I think what sealed it for us is having friendship at the core of everything. We value and respect each other as friends and as musicians alike.

SNQLX: Your debut leaned heavy on emo balladry. What pulled you toward shifting into a more pop-punk driven sound?

DREW: We wanted to bring our roots with the piano ballad coffee-shop style to a more pop punk and energetic sound. I think it came from a lot of the music we were listening to at that time and me being a true 90s pop punk rocker and having influences like Travis Barker, on the drums it made sense to get more upbeat with our foundation on the drums which in turn elevated our production and how we write.

MARK: I think the energy came from wanting to create songs that hit you in the mouth but with the Emo ballad emotion. We found that had more impact while sticking to our roots

SNQLX: Do you see those early emo roots still bleeding into your newer material, or has the shift felt like a complete rebirth?

MARY: Absolutely! It’s a cool merging of who we were and who we’re becoming. Taking all the best parts and blending them together for a cool, new, but familiar sound.

SNQLX: When you listen back to your debut now, what stands out to you most — pride, nostalgia?

MARY: Growth! As musicians, as people. So much has changed for us all since then and we’ve managed to grow together through it all.

SNQLX: Feel Good’s mission is baked right into your name. How do you balance spreading positivity with still writing honestly about struggle and real emotion?

MARY: We aim to be as authentic as possible which means not sugarcoating things and acknowledging all parts of life. The good, the bad and the inbetween. Life can be very hard and there’s no way around that. But it can also be very beautiful. You can choose to love and spread kindness, even when things are shit. Your perspective is essentially how you choose to spend your energy. We try to make life a little easier on ourselves by spending energy on the good stuff. It makes the shit not as shitty.

SNQLX: Tell us about your live shows — what’s one moment on stage that perfectly sums up who Feel Good is as a band?

DREW: I love how the first time at a smaller venue show where Mary started asking the crowd to say “I FEEL GOOD” and they said it back to us and now in every show we will say “Let me hear you say I FEEL GOOD” and the crowd roars back at us and it’s a very cool moment to feel that energy reciprocated back to us on stage.

SNQLX: If someone is hearing you for the first time, which track should they start with and why?

DREW: They should stream all of our new releases (Keep Fighting For Me, Follow your Lead, As long as you’re the one to take me home) then stream “Smiling from the heart” since that one has became somewhat our “Feel Good Anthem”

SNQLX: What’s next on your horizon — are you building toward another full album, singles, tours, or something unexpected?

MARK: We don’t want to reveal too much but we are working with an experienced talent in the industry that we really think will push us to places we have not been while capturing our roots and potential!

DREW: We have an EP coming out very soon!

SNQLX: How do you see the Feel Good community growing around your music in the years ahead?

DREW: I see Feel Good becoming more of a family even as we continue to grow our following. One of the most incredible things is to have your music make an impact on someone and getting those messages or comments that a lyric or song specifically changed someone’s life for the better is exactly why we do this and why we are Feel Good.

MARY: I couldn’t be happier with the community that has come together around us. I feel so lucky to have the support we have and hope it only continues to grow as we do. The Feel Good fam is so special to me. I hope to provide a safe haven for them through our music.

SNQLX: If you could dream-collab with any artist (alive or gone), who would it be and what kind of track would you want to make together?

MARY: This one is tough to answer! So many people, really. I have a different answer every day haha I think right now I’d say working on something with Demi Lovato would be a dream come true. She’s coming back into music and seems to be having a lot of fun exploring different avenues and I’d love to see how she writes a banger and learn from the best. And her vocals are unmatched obvi!!

Huge inspo for me 🙂

At the heart of it, Feel Good is more than a name — it’s a mantra the band carries from basement jams to crowded venues, from emo ballads to pop-punk anthems. Mary, Mack, Mark, Drew, and Tanner aren’t just writing hooks; they’re building a family where honesty, friendship, and joy sit side by side with the hard stuff. Every “I FEEL GOOD” chant that roars back at them from the crowd is proof: this is a band turning connection into community, and community into something bigger. However loud they get, the effect is the same — you walk away feeling good.