August 7th, 2024
Ask anyone who was around in punk’s early days – the late 1970s and early 1980s when the music raw, intentionally against the grain, and subversive by its very nature – and they’ll tell you that shows had the potential to erupt into violence, sometimes against police, sometimes against each other.
“People used to tape razor blades to their combat boots and swing around these chains. And the circle pit was just insane,” John Feldmann, frontman for the band Goldfinger, recalls. “I got knocked out at a Suicidal Tendencies show this one time. This guy had these steel-toe combat boots and did a backflip off the stage and just knocked me out. I was laying there unconscious for like five minutes. A little sketchy when you’re a 16-year-old kid.”
Feldmann is best known for being the singer and guitar player for the Goldfinger, a band that throws elements of pop punk and ska into its upbeat songs. Songs such as “Here In Your Bedroom,” “Superman” and “Mable” may be sound like a far cry from these old punk influences.
Feldmann will be bringing Goldfinger to perform at the Glow Plaza at Reno’s J Resort on Friday, August 9th. Joining the group will be southern California punk band Unwritten Law. Feldmann is no stranger to the Reno/Tahoe area, explaining that the area factors into his early years as a performing musician.
“My best friend growing up, Chris Cayton, was in a band Urban Assault from South Lake Tahoe. He pretty much turned me onto every great artist. It’s funny, the first show my old band, Family Crisis, ever played was in South Lake Tahoe with 7 Seconds. It was a pretty cool time in my life.”
Citing some of punk’s heavier acts as early listening experiences, Feldmann explains how Goldfinger took on more of a radio-friendly sound.
“Generation X influenced me as much as TSOL and the Dead Kennedys did, and even when I was a kid, I gravitated more toward the poppier side of punk rock. Black Flag and Minor Threat were more about the message, the aggression more than the melody, but for me when I started Goldfinger, I wanted to do something between Elvis Costello, Bad Religion and The Buzzcocks.”
Feldmann grew up in Southern California and continues to live in Los Angeles. Over the years, he’s worked producing music ranging from Good Charlotte and The Used to Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson to Disturbed and Fever 333. And while his versatility in the studio puts his work in demand for artists across the spectrum, it also gives him something to feed off of for his own performances.
“Since the beginning of Goldfinger, we’ve always tried to be a super high-energy band. I remember seeing Fishbone play with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction in the late 1980’s, and watching (Fishbone’s singer) Angelo Moore do a double backflip off the balcony and then headwalk across the crowd. Now I started running, thinking maybe I can do something like what Angelo does.”
After years of headline tours, festivals appearances, and just shows in general for punk crowds, Feldmann laughs about his onstage energy. “I feel like if people aren’t going ballistic in the crowd, I’m doing something wrong. But I’m 51 now. I started the band when I was 26. I think about the ‘Star Wars’ prequel scene where Yoda fights Palpatine and he’s just going crazy, but afterwards he grabs his cane and hobbles out of the arena.”
Goldfinger will perform with Unwritten Law on Friday, August 9th at the J Resort’s Glow Plaza in Reno.
Tickets are available here.
