Last Saturday the Punk In Drublic tour kicked off in Tacoma, WA and I had the esteemed privilege of sitting down for a chat with front man and founding member of Goldfinger, John Feldmann. I found him to be very congenial, intelligent and passionate (but he wouldn’t be the artist he is without passion). Having just turned 50, he still has the on stage energy of a 21-year-old.
EPB: It’s been nine years since the last Goldfinger record. What has GF ben doing these last nine years?
John: When GF started I had about three years to make the first album and now I’ve had nine years so I feel we’ve made about the most concise GF record of our career. I know I’ve played ten thousand shows, I know what people react to live, so I knew I wanted a great big hybrid of ska and reggae, punk but I also wanted to make a record that was age appropriate. I’m a 50-year-old man now with children and I wanted to write about what I know today vs what I knew when I was 21. I probably know a couple more things, I don’t know.
EPB: This new record seems to lean a bit more punk than ska. Is this a new trend for GF or is it just what felt right at this time?
John: I think we’ve always been more of a punk band than a ska band. I love Social Distortion and I love punk, but I also love ska and I love reggae. I love all kinds of music, but we’ve always been maybe two or three ska songs per album and everything else has been more aggressive. I’ve always been a very high energy guy, I’ve always been rebellious whether it’s parents or school, I just need to get all that shit out. So I think this record is pretty punk rock.
EPB: GF has a whole new lineup even since Warped Tour last June. Is this current lineup permanent?
John: We have the same bass player, same guitar player. Our drummer Cyrus (Bolooki) is from New Found Glory and he’s out on the road or he’d be out with us. My friend Aaron Stern is subbing in for Cyrus right now. He’s a really good drummer. So I feel honored we have such really great players. These guys have all toured for 20 or 30 years.
EPB: You have Mike (Herrera) from MXPX. They’re from here.
John: Bremerton, yeah.
EPB: Well, just across the pond.
John: Mike’s a great guy. He’s got kids. When you get older you want to be around similar people and people with similar lives. I feel like we have similar lives, me and these other guys for sure.
EPB: Even after nearly a decade of not releasing any new material, GF still has a strong and loyal following. Does this surprise you? Did you think you’d have to build a whole new fan base?
John: I think us, and Less Than Jake, NOFX & Bad Religion, we’re all like, melodic and singable. I think great songs withstand the test of time. I think our songs are still good and that’s why we still matter.
EPB: The Clash have withstood the test of time. Even my kids who are in their twenties and both play guitar, like the Clash.
John: My kids like hip hop. It is what it is.
EPB: I love the song Mila (written for his daughter). How old is Mila and what does she think of the song?
John: I recorded the song and played it for my nine-year-old and she gave me the stamp of approval, but just like the song Julian from our album Hello, Destiny (2008), I just lie in bed with them and I sing my kids to sleep, so they’re just made up on the spot and I just turn them into songs, so I did one for my son on our last album and I had to do one for my daughter on this album.
EPB: How old are your kids?
John: Twelve and nine. My son is twelve now.
EPB: What is in the future for GF? Will there be a headlining tour to promote the new record as opposed to being part of a festival?
John: I think we’ll be touring this new album beginning of next year. The record’s been out now for I think four months and I just love this album so much and I want to keep going, but when NOFX asked us to come out and tour with them we said yes.
– Holly Homan (Photos by Holly Homan, all rights reserved.)
