Goldfinger Interview
Why did you decide to go with Jive Records?
Kelly: They were the only label that made us an offer. The Mojo deal dissolved. We were happy about that. Jive came to one of the shows we had with Reel Big Fish and saw that we sold out the Roseland and were like "God, why hasn't anybody signed them?" They offered us the package deal with Reel Big Fish. They gave us a great deal and have been really cool to us. That's the way it happened.
What was your goal with the new album?
Kelly: There wasn't really a new sound, but we just wanted to write really great songs and make a good Goldfinger record. We have so many songs it is a battle trying to figure out which ones we play. We could probably put out another record right now we have so many extra tracks. We have like thirty more tracks. That's our goal.
On the new record, it says "Jive/Mojo." Are they still a label?
Kelly: Not really. We are really just Jive. Jive bought our Mojo and are keeping the name. We are all Jive. We don't have anything to do with Mojo. It's just going to say Jive/Mojo. We were actually like, "Can you take the Mojo part off?" (laughs)
How did you get on the Sum 41 tour?
Kelly: They asked us to be on it. I think they really like us and asked if we wanted to tour with them. We said "fuck yeah." They are really nice guys. Good band, great songs.
What is the object of "Woodchuck"?
Kelly: It's kind of a spoof of the new metal stuff just because we can. We aren't trying to diss them, but you get to a point where you get beat over the head with something so many times. ..It was definitely a spoof. It's kind of like that Korn song "knick-knack paddy wack." We are just goofy mother fuckers and like bagging on people.
Do you still play "The Innocent" at shows?
Kelly: We did up until about three months ago. John wrote and recorded it at his house about two days after it happened. We put it out right away and all the monies went straight to the Relief Fund. John deal's with a lot of stuff by writing a song about it. Benji and the guys from Good Charlotte came in, Tony from Mest came in, Jeremiah played guitar on it. We thought we would do something good and cathartic to get it out of the system.
Why did you decide to put "FTN" and "Radio" on this album?
Kelly: We've been playing them live for a long time. We did a 7 inch with only 5,000 copies and both songs were on it. Those were two songs we wanted to go on Stomping Ground, but we always have tons of songs. Everyone always asks us to put it on an album, so we finally did.
What is Goldfinger's relationship with PETA?
Kelly: That's kind of John's thing. John's a big animal rights activist. I respect that. I am not into factory farming, I don't wear fur. I do wear leather, but I'm not omnivorous. I try not to eat factory farmed animals. I don't go to Burger King, and I don't go to McDonald's. I'm not trying to make a political point, it's just my own personal point. John is really into PETA. It's really a driving force for him and I respect that.
The band did one Warped Tour and then never did it? Are there any plans to do another?
Kelly: That was before I was in the band. We are actually doing four dates this year. There are a lot of politics involved, like everything musical.
Do you have any future tour plays after this?
Kelly: Yes, we finish in Vancouver, B.C., we go home for two days, then we leave to do press in Germany and one small show in Cologne, Germany for our new European record label. It's going to be a private thing. Then we are going to London for three days to do the same thing there. Then we are going to fly back to do our U.S. tour. It's going to be with Mest, and Used, that John produced.
How much easier is it recording the album at John's house?
Kelly: It's awesome. I'll call John up and tell him an idea for a song, and we'll track it. It's awesome. "Open Your Eyes," the title track, was the last song we wrote. He had an idea for a riff, but nothing else, and I said, "What about this?" Boom, its finished in three days. We were already working on the record before Jive signed us. It was just a matter of who we were going to go with and what was going to happen. Whether we were going to put it out ourselves, or change our name or whatever. For five minutes we were actually going to break up, because we wanted to get out of our deal with Mojo. The owner wasn't going to let us go. We said, "Fuck you, we'll just break up." Then Jive came along. They actually saved us from breaking up the band.
"Open Your Eyes" will be released May 21st and will be supported by a headlining tour.
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