Goldfinger

by Greg PratoAlong with No Doubt, Sublime, and Rancid, the Los Angeles quartet Goldfinger helped contribute to a mini-U.S. ska-punk movement in the mid- to late 90s. The group was originally formed in 1994 by ex-Electric Love Hogs guitarist/singer John Feldmann and bassist/singer Simon Williams (who were both working at the same shoe store at the time), in addition to drummer Darrin Pfeiffer and an unnamed second guitarist (who would leave the group before any recordings could be issued and later become a pro surfer in Costa Rica). A friend of Feldmanns, Charlie Paulson, signed on shortly thereafter, playing his first show with the group just a day after being given a tape of their songs to learn. A six-track demo EP, Richter, was issued in 1995 and received favorable reviews and a substantial amount of airplay on college radio, leading to Goldfinger signing a major-label contract with Universal. Their self-titled full-length debut hit the record racks a year later, spawning the popular single/video Here in Your Bedroom (a track which originally appeared on their EP) and toured alongside the Sex Pistols, No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, and the multi-band festival the Vans Warped Tour. 1997 saw the release of their second full-length, Hang Ups, which failed to live up to the expectations set by their debut, although the group kept their profile in the publics eye by donating a cover of the Spiral Starecase song More Today Than Yesterday to the soundtrack of the hit Adam Sandler movie The Waterboy. Williams left the band in 1998, replaced by a former bandmate of Feldmanns from Electric Love Hogs, Kelly Lemieux, and Goldfinger debuted their new lineup with the eight-track all-covers live EP, Darrins Coconut Ass: Live, a year later. The quartets third studio release, Stomping Ground, was issued in 2000 as the group thoroughly toured both Europe and the U.S. (during their tour of England, Goldfinger recorded one of their sets, issuing the live Foot in Mouth, available only at shows and through the bands official website). Come 2001, it was Paulsons turn to jump ship, replaced by Brian Arthur (formerly of the Texas alt-metal outfit Unloco), as Goldfingers first studio album for their new label, Jive/Zoomba, was issued in 2002 with Open Your Eyes. Disconnection Notice from 2005 found the group switching to the Maverick label.