Peter Anspach remembers Goose’s last show in Bend with startling clarity.

“It was a Groundhog Day show, on Feb. 2 or Feb. 3, 2022,” he said. (It was Feb. 2, at the Midtown Ballroom.) “I remember we started each set — and even the encore — with the same song, and we said the exact same thing at the beginning of each set.”

Indeed, the fast-rising New England jam-pop-rock band played Duke Herrington’s “A Tribute to Gold” not once, not twice, but thrice that night. They also played, Anspach recalls, a “really good” 18-minute version of Blind Melon’s “No Rain,” and they debuted a new song called “Silver Rising.”

That winter tour — which stretched from San Diego to Seattle to Minneapolis and beyond — featured the debut of many new Goose songs, he said.

“I think there was just a burst of songwriting creativity, which you’ll have every now and again,” Anspach said. “That was a special time. We were just, like … ‘Let’s just play these songs we finished earlier today.’”

‘Everything must go’ goes big

A bunch of those songs now have official, recorded homes on Goose’s new album “Everything Must Go,” a sprawling 14-track, 90-minute collection that finds the band stretching out, pushing against boundaries, evolving its sound and growing from “the next great American jam band” (according to a 2022 Uproxx headline) into a versatile pop-rock band that’s ready to play arenas (and also still knows how to jam).

To play arenas, you have to be able to draw arenas full of people, and Goose seems headed in that direction, if they’re not there already. They’re headlining large concert venues across the country this year — including Madison Square Garden in New York City — and on Friday, they’ll return to Bend for a show at Hayden Homes Amphitheater. Ahead of their triumphant return to town, GO! caught up with Goose’s mustachioed multi-instrumentalist, Anspach, to chat about the band and the new album. Here are excerpts of that conversation, edited for space and clarity.

Ben Salmon: You guys made “Everything Must Go” knowing that a lot more people would be interested and paying attention than ever before. Is that something you try to ignore, or do you just embrace it?

Peter Anspach: I will say, it’s challenging to kind of get out of your head with that. As you have more people listening, it’s like, okay, well, we know the audience that’s going to be there and receive this.

But there’s also a whole lot of people who probably have never heard of us and are going to hear this record, and that’s going to be their first experience with Goose. If Goose continues on like I hope it does — for decades — there’s going to be plenty of people who are young and coming up and they’re going to look for something to listen to and maybe it’s going to be one of these songs.

So yeah, I think when you’re in the studio, it’s kind of like getting out of your own way. It’s important to try not to overthink and just let the song deliver itself in the best possible way. The more of the way you can be, the better it’s going to end up.

BS: Is that easy to do for Goose? Or is it something you have to constantly remind each other of?

PA: Well, it’s not like we’re really in the studio making decisions based on what we think the fans will think. It’s more about just making the song into the best representation of the song. And I think that’s a beautiful thing. Because a lot of the time, we play live shows and it’s about the audience and that shared energy, and that’s a unique space. But in the studio, you can really focus on the song. It’s the song’s moment, you know? So you’ve really got to give it every bit of attention and love that you can.

BS: Goose is most commonly labeled as a jam band, but “Everything Must Go” contains a wide range of styles. Is that the sound of the band sort of trying to wriggle out of certain boxes that people put you in?

PA: There was definitely some intention behind certain aspects of the record. I remember early on, we were thinking about trying to get drum sounds like Lionel Richie or Michael Jackson. The drum sound can really define a track, and I think there was some intentional stuff, where we were like, “Let’s just make this a really tight, ‘80s dance track and see what happens.” But, you know … it’s Goose’s spin on that kind of thing.

Or take the title track, for example. It’s got these really weird, glitchy drums and that’s a totally different influence, like Radiohead. So I think that’s just the vein we found for “Everything Must Go.” I mean, that’s what the record’s called. So it’s like, “This is what the record’s about. This is our statement. We’re pushing boundaries.” And that’s what we want to be doing. We could go in and do the exact same thing we do live, but what else can we do?

BS: I read somewhere that 2024 was a year of “reconfiguration and reinvention” for Goose. Reconfiguration I understand (longtime drummer Ben Atkind left the band in late 2023), but what did the “reinvention” look like?

PA: Reinvention is an interesting word. For me, it was a big year of growth. I think we definitely established a new approach to playing as a group and improvising and communicating about music. One of the most important things about a band is being on the same page about the music you’re playing and the direction you’re going, and actively communicating about it is a good way to grow.

What we’ve found in our lineup at the moment is that we’re all on the same page in a way that I’ve never felt before. That is just the most amazing thing. Like, we all love to just sit after the show, talking about music, talking about whatever, hanging out together, playing (the video game) Super Smash Bros. We’re all kind of on the same wavelength in terms of what we’re going for musically, and it just creates an amazing environment.

BS: Well that’s awesome, man. To be a decade into the band and to feel that way is pretty awesome.

PA: Yeah, it’s the best time I’ve ever had in the band. I mean, it’s truly so special.

If You Go

What: Goose

When: 6:30 p.m. Friday, doors open 5 p.m.

Where: Hayden Homes Amphitheater, 344 SW Shevlin Hixon Drive, Bend

Cost: $62.70

Contact: bendconcerts.com