Goldfinger Don't Need To See Each Other Every Day

Meet the latest indie band in ska-punk's ever-blossoming ranks: a little four-piece from Los Angeles called Goldfinger.

Yes, that Goldfinger: The ones who've been kicking around the scene for some 14 years and have grown weary of the false promises and headaches of major label life. They've signed with SideOneDummy — the label responsible for assaulting ears with the likes of Flogging Molly, Suicidal Tendencies, The Casualties and Bedouin Soundclash — for their sixth studio effort, Hello Destiny.

Goldfinger have previously been associated with such heavyweight corporations as Universal, Mojo, Jive and Madonna's Maverick label. Those are some pretty big wallets to have backing your music for more than a decade. But vocalist/guitarist John Feldmann, drummer Darrin Pfeiffer, bassist Kelly Lemieux and guitarist Charlie Paulson figured it was time to cut some dead wood and get back to working with true music fans for a change.

"We'd been lied to in the past and had bullshit, but, after talking to SideOne, there's no bullshit or lies," says Pfeiffer, the Toronto-based member of the band.

"We've known these guys for years. John used to live with one of them. Kelly was in a band with one of them and they've been in [punk band] 22 Jacks. They know how to treat bands, they love ours, and they're down-to-earth. When they heard the music, they said, 'We knew we made the right choice.'"

Still, working with SideOneDummy wasn't a foregone conclusion. The band toyed with the notion of taking the DIY approach, but reality quickly grounded them. With members scattered across North America and personal commitments overtaking band duties, Pfeiffer confesses that, without SideOneDummy's enthusiasm and conviction, Hello Destiny would have been more like Goodbye Future for Goldfinger.

"After we left our last label, we thought about being completely independent — maybe going to find a distribution deal and doing it ourselves. Our friends Reel Big Fish did it and said it was a lot of work, but it was worth it. Part of our strategy was to do that, but John's busy producing bands, I'm busy here in Toronto, and Kelly and Charlie have their own lives. With Reel Big Fish, the band is their career, so they have time to address the issues you have to when you're independent. Goldfinger is important to us, but it's not our number one priority.

"It sounds weird, but we all have our own things going on. We've hit a point of success that we can afford to live wherever we want. We're not kids anymore. We don't need to see each other every day like we used to. When we first started, we'd call each other to jam or hang out and get drunk. Now, I could care less."

Goldfinger will play Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom on April 30 and Toronto's Kool Haus on July 9 with Less Than Jake.