Music can be a great way to exorcise your demons, and that's good news for Matthew Good.

See, when it comes to writing songs, Matt's always been drawn to the dark side: Fear, anger, regret...basically, the messy stuff that makes us tick. Back in the '90s, he was riding high with the Matthew Good Band, which produced a couple of platinum-selling albums - seems there were a lot of us who could relate to Matt's angst.

But Matt was also dealing with an undiagnosed bipolar disorder. He found himself losing consciousness - at times, unable to eat or sleep. When the band won a couple of Junos, and Matt failed to show, people pegged him as 'difficult'. It also didn't help when, back in 2001, the Matthew Good Band imploded. Makes you wonder if behind the scenes, all that creative intensity took its toll.

Fortunately, Matt found a second act for his career: as a solo artist he's made five outstanding records, including last year's Juno winner for Best Rock Album, 'Vancouver'. He also became a prolific blogger, writing about American foreign policy, the Middle East, social justice - basically, whatever's lighting the fire in him.

Lately, there've been some pretty big changes: Matt's now a dad, he made a move out to the 'burbs, and he's got a new record: 'Lights Of Endangered Species'. It's a mellower sound, which begs the question: Is the Angry Young Man still angry?

You can catch Matt this week at the following dates:

Nov. 30 Duncan, BC @ Cowichan Theatre
Dec. 2 Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
Dec. 3 Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre