Goldfinger, The Vandals, The Suicide Machines, Pulley, and sullvn

Prior to forming Goldfinger vocalist and guitarist John Feldmann had played in the band Electric Love Hogs before being discovered by A&R Executive Patrick McDowell in a shoe shop with bassist Simon Williams. Alongside drummer Darrin Pfeiffer and guitarist Charlie Paulson, Goldfinger was born and released their debut EP “Richter” in 1995 on Mojo Records. The EP earned significant airplay on college radio, the success of which led Goldfinger and Mojo to sign a deal with the major label Universal Records.

Goldfinger’s eponymously-titled debut album was released on February 29, 1996, and earned the group a large and devoted fan base. Produced by Jay Rifkin, “Goldfinger” spawned the singles “Here in Your Bedroom”, “Mable” and “Pictures”, and became a highly influential record of 1996. Following the release, Goldfinger embarked on a tour alongside the Sex Pistols, No Doubt and Reel Big Fish, and appeared on the year’s Vans Warped Tour. The band subsequently released their sophomore album “Hang-Ups” in September 1997, after which bassist Simon Williams announced he was leaving the group. The band remained in the relevant spotlight through the release of the Spiral Staircase cover “More Today Than Yesterday” which was featured in the Adam Sandler film “The Waterboy”.

Replacing Simon Williams on bass was former Electric Love Hog member Kelly Lemieux, who made his debut on the cover album “Darrin’s Coconut Ass: Live” in 1999. Goldfinger’s subsequent album of original material “Stomping Ground” appeared in 2000, after which the group embarked on their most ambitious tour to date including the U.S. and parts of Europe. A recording of one of the band’s sets from the tour entitled “Foot in Mouth” was available to purchase at shows and online. Following the tour, Paulson left the band and was replaced by Brian Arthur, who had previously played with the Alt-metal group Unloco. After signing with Jive/Zoomba, Goldfinger issued the 2002 album “Open Your Eyes” which focused the band’s energies away from reggae towards a heavier style of music.

“Disconnection Notice” was issued on Maverick Records in early 2005, however didn’t prove as popular as its predecessors. Guitarist Paulson returned to the group around this time playing his comeback show at the Key Club in Los Angeles, California. After signing with Side One Dummy in 2007, Goldfinger released their sixth full-length album “Hello Destiny” and toured the U.S. alongside Less Than Jake and performed at the UK’s Reading and Leeds Festival.

Forming in 1980 with the original line-up consisted of: Jan Nils Ackerman (guitar), Steven Jenson (vocals), Steve Pfauter (bass) and Joe Escalante (drums), The Vandals surrounded by seminal punk bands like Social Distortion, Bad Religion and Descendants absorbed the emerging punk trend prevalent in the Southern Californian scene. What saw The Vandals distinguish themselves from the rest was their distinctive humour which they have maintained throughout their career.

In 1982 the band signed with Epitaph Records to release their debut EP “Peace Thru Vandalism” which took inspiration from some very real personal experiences apparent in tracks such as “Legend of Pat Brown” and “Pirate’s Life”. Integrating well into their live sets, the EP also featured future fan favourites as the release saw the band mark their territory. As The Vandals toured relentlessly in their local area, they soon built up a loyal following.

The Vandals appeared in director Penelope Spheeris’ 1984 film “Surburbia”, exploring the punk movement within suburban areas of California and the prominent youth culture of the 60’s and 70’s. Within the same year the band released their first full length “When in Rome Do as The Vandals” through National Trust Records as Pfauter announced his departure and was quickly replaced by Chalmer Lumery. A departure from their previous release, the band experimented with fusing several genre combinations such as “Mohawk Town” which blended punk rock with country twisted with their signature humour. With rising tension in the band down to personality clashes, Jenson left the band in the late 80’s and Dave Quakenbush from Falling Idols stepped in.

By the time The Vandals released their second album “Slippery When Ill” in 1989, the band had undergone more line-up changes. With Escalante moving from drums to bass and the welcome additions of Warren Fitzgerald on guitar and Josh Freese on drums, The Vandals had once again solidified their line up in the early 90’s.

The 90’s saw a revival of the Californian punk scene as it began infiltrating the mainstream headed by bands such as NOFX, Green Day and The Offspring. As The Vandals made their third release “Fear of a Punk Planet”, they soon found themselves deep within the scene as they appeared on radio stations and rock television shows with their first video “Pizza Train”.

In 1994, the band signed with The Offspring’s Dexter Holland’s imprint label Nitro Records to release the albums “Live Fast Diarrhea” (1995) and “The Quickening” (1996). As they continued touring relentless, The Vandals were eventually embraced by the Warped Tour culture. After the release of “The Quickening” Escalante and Fitzgerald set up Kung Fu Records initially to release the Assorted Jelly Beans’ “Riverside” album and soon the label became involved with the movie soundtrack for “Glory Daze”. The Vandals would also release the Christmas album “Oi to the World!” off Kung Fu at the end of 1996.

In 2000 the band released their last album with Nitro “Look What I Almost Stepped In” and now with Kung Fu Records having become more established, The Vandals signed with their own label where to this day they remain. Despite a string of lawsuits and several line-up changes, The Vandals have remained true to themselves, persevering and championing the DIY bands and cementing their precedence as one of the most seminal punk bands to emerge from that era.

The original line up coalesced in 1991 originally under the name Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines. This formation included Jason Navarro (vocals), Dan Lukacinsky (guitar), Jason Brake (bass), and Stefan Rairigh (drums). Over the course of the 1st three years the group experienced several line up changes. Rairigh was replaced by Bill Jennings who was in turn replaced by Derek Grant. The position of bass also opened and closed a few times. Jason Brace was proceeded by Dave Smith, but this lasted only brief time until Royce Nunley took up the role. By this point the group truncated Jack Kevorkian from their name and released their split album with the Rudiments, “Shank for Brains”.

1995 saw the band sign to the Walt Disney subsidiary, Hollywood Records and by 1996 they issued their studio debut album, “Destruction by Definition”. Their sound took musical cues from ska pioneers like The Specials, hardcore punk acts such as Bad Brains, and pinnacle new wavers like the English Beat. It was quickly accepted by the punk community and they even scored a moderate hit with their single “No Face”.

Their follow up album “Battle Hymns” came out in 1998 and acted as a continuation of their ska-core sound. It featured songs that exploded with catchy melodic riffs and blasts of punctual brass. The songs rarely hit over the two minute marker, seeming to disintegrate with visceral excitement before one realized it had begun. The album peaked at no. 127 on the Billboard 200 and it’s track “Give” was included in the Disney original movie “Brink!”.

The Suicide Machines released their 3rd self-titled album on 15 February 2005. The album was spearheaded by the single “Sometimes I Don’t Mind” and closed with the Joe South cover “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”. The latter of the tracks appeared in the 1999 film “SLC Punk” starring Matthew Lillard and Jason Segel. A year later they issued their album “Steal This Record”, which included an R.E.M. cover and in 2002 they put out their compilation album “The Least Worst of the Suicide Machines”.

The group switched over to the label Side One Dummy in 2003 and issued the albums “A Match and Some Gasoline” and “War Profiteering Is Killing Us All”. Navarro also developed a record label of his own entitled Noise Riot Records” and put out the Suicide Machines’ 2nd compilation album “On The Eve of Destruction: 1991-1995” through it.

The group suddenly broke up in 2006, but have since reformed, playing their 1st reunion show in 2009. From 2010-2014 they have played various festivals like the Fest 9 and Riot Fest as well as sporadic gigs here and there. In 2015 they scheduled a two week tour, in which they would perform their album “The Definition of Destruction” in it’s entirety.