Shirt or no shirt, Zach Goode has got it covered.

It was a bright and sunny day when a pop music revolution took place on a hallowed stage in Southern California. Local singer Zach Goode, who has taken over frontman duties for ‘90s alt-rock icons Smash Mouth, recalls the moment. “The Brady Bunch Kids’ performance for The World of Sid & Marty Krofft at the Hollywood Bowl on July 29, 1973 was a pivotal moment in rock ‘n’ roll history. I have not yet been able to fully realize my dream of playing on that same stage, so covering a Brady Bunch song was the next best thing until that day arrives. Plus, our manager is friends with Barry Williams.”

Williams, who played Greg Brady, recently recorded a cover of the classic Bradys track “Sunshine Day” with Smash Mouth; it was released on July 12. As Williams told Reminder Magazine in July, “I have been a fan of Smash Mouth since before they had hits. Since the beginning, they have been in my song rotation. Getting to know the guys has made it just that much better. Talent and style keep them timeless. I am very happy to be on that ride.”

Born in NYC and brought up in the small artist’s community of Provincetown, Massachusetts, Goode began writing, acting, and singing at a young age. Attending the famed Saint Ann’s Performing Arts School in Brooklyn alongside future stars like the Beastie Boys and Jennifer Connelly — “She was in my sixth-grade class while she was filming Labyrinth,” he recalls — he also received classical training at Stagedoor Manor and Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in New York (whose alumni include Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne). He sang and acted in dozens of plays and musicals, even performing in an Off-Broadway production of Runaways as a child.

While living in Hawaii, Goode cofounded the group that eventually became Ghoulspoon. After relocating to San Diego in 1991, Ghoulspoon (2001 San Diego Music Award winner for Best Hard Rock Band) evolved into Divided by Zero (2002 SDMA nominee for Best Hard Rock Album), with Goode occasionally playing solo acoustic shows and stockpiling songs. Then, in early 2022, Goode was announced as the replacement for original Smash Mouth vocalist Steve Harwell, who retired from the group in October 2021 due to health issues.

Covering pop culture icons is nothing new to Goode, who performed in Geezer, a San Diego take on Weezer made up as senior citizen cosplayers who changed lyrics to songs like Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” from being about impending nuclear annihilation to the challenges of finding discounts and freebies in local papers. Weezer themselves thought well enough of Geezer to invite them onstage at Cox Arena in 2008. Geezer was also nominated as Best Tribute Band at the 2010 San Diego Music Awards.

Though preparation for covering “Sunshine Day” appeared straightforward, I expressed concern to Goode that the specter of the infamous television jinx Cousin Oliver might impute a curse to the band, much as it did on The Brady Bunch. Goode was nonplussed about the risk, having somehow performed the Herculean feat of separating television from reality. “Although Cousin Oliver singlehandedly brought down the Bradys in only six episodes, in real life everybody in the LA music community knows [Oliver actor] Robbie Rist is a power pop gem who makes everything he appears in better. I’d love to work with him.” He has a point, as Rist seems to have neutralized the jinx factor inherent in the very character he embodied, scoring films (Sharknado), voice acting (Balto, Batman: The Animated Series), and writing with over 100 artists — including locals Manual Scan.

When I ask Goode if any band members will be getting bowl cuts as an homage to Cousin Oliver, his fashion sense takes a left turn. “I think I might bring back my white-boy dreadlocks from the ‘90s instead.” Finally: is Smash Mouth covering a Brady song the final say in the Brady Bunch vs. Partridge Family saga? “Absolutely,” affirms Goode with weary confidence. “Just in case there was any question who won that war.” Then, as with all endings, the shadow of doubt creeps in. “Well, unless Sugar Ray covers ‘I Think I Love You.’ Then we’re in trouble.”