Goldfinger Band

[Twyla Plack]

Goldfingeris an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. In their early years the band was considered a contributor to the movement of third-wave ska,[5][6] a mid-1990s revitalization in the popularity of ska. However, the releases of Open Your Eyes and Disconnection Notice saw the band shed most of the ska influence, and they have been more commonly placed in the punk rock genre in later years.

Goldfinger was formed by former Electric Love Hogs member John Feldmann on vocals and guitar, Simon Williams on bass, former drummer of Zero Tolerance Darrin Pfeiffer on drums, and Charlie Paulson on guitar. At the time the band was formed, Feldmann and Williams were working at the same shoe store where they were discovered by A&R Executive Patrick McDowell.[7] Before they were signed to a major label, they released an EP titled Richter on the independent label Mojo Records, which received favorable reviews and a substantial amount of airplay on college radio, leading to Goldfinger and Mojo signing a major-label contract with Universal Records.[7]

Many of the songs on Richter are demo versions of songs on the band's full-length debut, Goldfinger, which was produced by Jay Rifkin and released by Mojo Records on February 29, 1996. The song "Here in Your Bedroom" from the album was especially popular and helped the band gain a solid fanbase. In 2006, Alternative Press listed the self-titled Goldfinger album as one of the "10 Albums That Shaped 1996" alongside No Doubt, Weezer and others. The band released its second album, Hang-Ups, on September 9, 1997. Founding bassist Simon Williams left the band following Hang-Ups. During this time, Goldfinger released a popular cover of the song "More Today Than Yesterday" by Spiral Starecase, which also helped the band stay out of obscurity.[6]

In early 2005, they released its first album for their new label, Maverick Records, titled Disconnection Notice, which was written, produced and recorded all throughout 2004. The song "Wasted" from the album was released as a single. The CD was less well received compared to former Goldfinger albums. In 2005, Brian departed from the band after the release of the album. Shortly after Brian's departure, Goldfinger announced that their original guitarist Charlie Paulson would return. Charlie returned to the stage playing three songs at the Key Club in LA when the band finished a Western USA tour.

In November 2010, Goldfinger played a handful of shows on a small, west coast tour with Reel Big Fish. These are the first shows performed without Darrin Pfeiffer on drums. Drumming duties were handled by Branden Steineckert of Rancid. Also, on the Los Angeles show at the House of Blues, original bassist, Simon Williams came out to perform several songs off their first album. This was the first time Williams had performed with the band in over a decade. He played the Las Vegas show as well.

In the November/December 2010 issue No. 43 of SMASH magazine, Feldmann stated that a new EP or a possible full-length album was "in the works" with Feldmann having penned 4/5 new tracks, and Pfeiffer having recorded the drum tracks. Feldmann also states in the article that with the release of any new material would be supported with an extended tour.[8] According to Feldmann, Goldfinger was expecting to have their new album out sometime in 2012.[9] The band released a new song, "Am I Deaf", on Friday May 24, 2013.[10]

In 2015, Feldmann did an interview with Fuse, noting that the band's future largely amounts to the occasional tour: "We'll probably release a song or two but I don't know if we're going to release albums anymore. We play the same songs we've always done."[11]

On July 21, 2017, the group released The Knife, the band's first album featuring Mike Herrera, Travis Barker, and Philip Sneed (aka Moon Valjean) of Story Of The Year and Greek Fire (band) fame. Darrin, Kelly, and Charlie left the band prior to its release. Darrin Pfeiffer left the band due to personality conflicts with Feldmann. Darrin spoke about some of the conflicts with Feldmann on an episode of Mike Herrera's podcast. Kelly Lemieux currently tours with Buckcherry, along with other bands and has cited that for his reasoning behind not being an active participant with Goldfinger. Charlie Paulson did rejoin the band on stage for the 2019 Back to the Beach festival and Vans Warped Tour 25th Anniversary. Paulson has since rejoined the band as he has played with them in all their recent shows as well as joining them on their "Fueling The fire" tour with Less Than Jake in September 2019. The band's live lineup generally consists of Feldmann, Paulson, Herrerra and Sneed, with Barker occasionally playing live shows and other friends of Feldmann playing drums. Other musicians fill-in on guitar and bass when Paulson, Sneed, and Herrerra are not present at shows as well. Their live shows often feature horn players from numerous other ska bands, including Ruben Durazo, Matt Appleton, Billy Kottage, and numerous others.[12][13]

During the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic, Goldfinger began producing and releasing a series of live performances to YouTube, designated "Quarantine Videos".[14] Individual members recorded their performances in their own homes, to be subsequently mixed and mastered by Feldman.[15] The first performance was a rendition of "Here in Your Bedroom".[16] To date, the band have released eight "Quarantine Videos" for songs including their cover of Nena's "99 Luftballons" and original song, "Superman". Notably, seven of the eight video performances featured musician and entrepreneur, Nick Gross, on drums.

December 4, 2020, marked the release of Never Look Back with members John Feldmann, Charlie Paulson, Mike Herrera, Philip Sneed, and Nick Gross. It is the first album since 2008's Hello Destiny to feature Paulson, the group's original guitarist.[17]

On December 10, 2020, the band held an online-only release party in support of the album where they live streamed an entire set. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, an in-person event was not feasible.[18] The band started playing shows again in late 2022 and early 2023, with The Planet Smashers, Mustard Plug, and Catch 22.

On July 29, 2022, the band announced the deluxe version of Never Look Back, which features three rerecorded tracks (that of Here in Your Bedroom with Avril Lavigne, Superman with Biffy Clyro, and 99 Red Balloons) and four new bonus tracks. It was released on August 5.

Since the band began, Feldmann became a vegan and animal rights supporter, as can be seen briefly in the music video for "Open Your Eyes". They also donated the song "What Gives You The Right" to the Southern Animal Rights Coalition benefit CD, Until Every Cage Is Empty,[19] as well as writing the song "Free Kevin Kjonaas", an animal rights activist in prison, known as the most involved individual in the SHAC 7.[20][21] One of the songs, "FTN", harshly criticizes Ted Nugent and Jennifer Lopez for their hunting tactics and fur fashion, respectively. He also advocates and supports the Animal Liberation Front.[22] For the song "Behind the Mask" from the album Disconnection Notice, Feldmann convinced PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk to allow him to sample one of her speeches on animal cruelty.[23]

The band's video game debut was in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater with the song "Superman" and was reused as part of the soundtracks in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2. Another song, "Spokesman", was used in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. "I'm Down" was featured in the game MTV Sports: Skateboarding Ft Andy Macdonald. "99 Red Balloons" is also featured in Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. Goldfinger's song "I Want" from Disconnection Notice is featured in Burnout Revenge on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360, and is also featured in Burnout Legends on the PlayStation Portable."My Everything" is featured on SSX On Tour also by Electronic Arts. Goldfinger also appeared in the Reel Big Fish video "Sell Out" for a couple of seconds. The song "Counting the Days" is featured on Shaun White Snowboarding. The song "Superman" was released as downloadable content in the music videogame Rock Band 4.

Ihr Debtalbum Goldfinger wurde 1996 verffentlicht und strmte innerhalb krzester Zeit die Chartlisten amerikanischer College- und Indie-Radios. Mit ihrem zweiten Album Hang-Ups versuchten die Kalifornier an den Erfolg von Goldfinger anzuknpfen, was ihnen aber nicht ganz gelang. Die dritte Platte Stomping Ground jedoch erreichte wieder das Niveau ihres Debtalbums. Um dieses Album zu promoten, tourten Goldfinger 2000 mit der Bloodhound Gang (als deren Vorband) unter anderem durch Deutschland. Zum Song Counting the Days drehte die Punk-Band ein Musikvideo, in dem die deutsche Pornodarstellerin Gina Wild mitwirkt. Nach dem Labelwechsel zu Jive/Zomba und personellen Vernderungen verffentlichte Goldfinger 2002 ihr Album Open Your Eyes. Zwei Monate spter tourten sie als Vorband von Mest durch Nordamerika.

Mit dem Labelwechsel und der Verffentlichung des Albums Open Your Eyes thematisierte Goldfinger zunehmend auch politische und Tierschutz-Themen. Der Frontmann John Feldmann ist seit der Grndung der Band Veganer und Aktivist der Tierschutzorganisation PETA.

Formed in 1994, the band signed to Mojo Records/Universal Records and released their first three studio albums, with one album from each song (Here In Your Bedroom, Superman, 99 Red Balloons) earning the band radio and Billboard success. Initially a ska-punk band, in the mid-2000s they drifted away from the sound in favor of a more pop-punk driven sound, but returned to ska in the late-2000s.

Goldfinger is an American punk band. It was founded in 1994.[1] They released their self-titled first album in 1996. They were named after the Ian Fleming book and 1964 movie Goldfinger, based on the James Bond franchise.

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