Matthew Good has finally emerged from his coma. The extended sleep wasn't a medical condition but rather the result of being trapped in a restrictive relationship with his former band.

"Obviously, it was a huge misconception the Matthew Good Band was a group of friends; none of us spent any time together outside of work," Good reveals. "It was a negative situation for so many years. I was stuck in a negative situation that's successful. It's like being a successful criminal -- you can't get out of it."

Good hooked up with Geoff Lloyd (bass) and Ian Brown (drums) when recording his debut album Last of the Ghetto Astronauts at his rehearsal space in 1995. He hired Dave Genn to play additional guitar and keyboards, and when the independent album sold 25,000 copies, Good realized they were a band.

"At that time it was 'Let's see where it goes.' The band lasted as long as it could have. Underdogs was good; Beautiful Midnight was a case of a negative situation producing positive results; and Audio of Being was a case of disastrous results from a negative situation."

As time went on, Good became more disgruntled with the band and, in turn, almost everything else. His unhappiness manifested itself during interviews, earning him a reputation as difficult and negative, and leading to verbal scraps with other artists, notably Nickelback's Chad Kroeger.

The internal tension which engulfed the MGB finally became too much, and the band imploded after Audio of Being in 2001.

"Behind the scenes I tried to keep it together to do a tour, but at that point everyone's head was up their ass, and Dave Genn probably thought he could go on and do his own thing. I'm still waiting for their solo records," Good says.

Since then, Good has released two solo albums and is officially retiring some of the MGB material with the retrospective In a Coma 1995-2005, which is available as a single CD or a deluxe edition with two CDs of singles, acoustic performances, rare EPs and videos.

"I think I just wanted to put a lid on it, that's my reason for agreeing to it. I'm not interested in going on and playing the radio game and the rest of that horses--t. For me it's kind of like taking off a coat you don't want to wear anymore."

The title is a reference to his feelings about his life with MGB but could also be aimed at the music industry, which he believes has been sleepwalking for too long.

Good, 34, has become disillusioned with the industry and the way it operates. After delivering Universal the final album he owes them next year, he plant so re-evaluate his career.

"In this country right now there's lots of great independent bands doing their own thing, like the Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene and Feist. Having been with a major label and dealing with all the huge headaches that come with that, I think, 'Why did I do that? Why, you idiot?' It's great to see bands that have the potential to keep creating fantastic music. Your town is great, with bands like The Weakerthans and Christine Fellows. That Paper Anniversary album (by Fellows) is my favourite of the year so far," he says.

"Obviously independents will never match the marketing dollars of the record companies, but let's face it: Who the hell are they selling anyway? I can't believe people are tuning into Canadian Idol in droves and The Weakerthans only play in front of 600 people. When some idiot who shows up at a mall for a contest gets all this attention, it's marginalized the work of intellectual property."

Good plays Cowboys on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first show is sold out, but tickets for Wednesday are $30 at 694-SHOW or Canad Inns Windsor Park.