Interview with Kelly, the Goldfinger bassist with amazing hair!

What do you think of Britain as a whole?

Britain as a whole? Well I don't think it's quite a hole but... Erm I like Britain. There's definately an English... god, you guys have like the English work ethic like where you just kind of take things as they are. And in America everybody's like aw well. For example, the hotels. I mean this stuff right here, [pointing to a sink in the room with hot and cold taps] hot and cold running water. Why not put 'em together so you don't have to burn your hands and then freeze 'em, burn your hands and freeze 'em. That part of England, you guys need to step it up a little bit. But the people are great, they're cool, they're crazy; I love the crowds here. You know, America is just pretty much an extension of every country anyway. I like it you know? There's crappy weather here but I grew up in crappy weather too so... I like it. The crowds are good, everybody's friendly, I'm not a big soccer fan but I'm trying!

Is there anything which sticks out as being different here than from the states?

Err yeah. I have to look 30 different directions before I cross the street. You know the more I come over the more I'm aware of it. I've been over here a few times now. That and just little luxuries; Americans are very luxury orientated and things that I take for granted over there and they're not here and I'm like... why? Come on you're one of the leading countries. But I like the transit over here; it's easy to get a cab. You guys got the tubes and everything and that part I like, but yeah it's a little culturally different but I like that; it's one of the things I enjoy about travelling. Seeing other cultures, and I like tea so that's good, I'm always down for tea time.

You website is all very pro animal rights and stuff, are you all vegetarians?

John's a vegan, Brian's a vegan, Darrin eats fish and I'm omnivorous, I don't deny my canine teeth. That's John and Brian's kind of thing, they're very into that and I have nothing against it and as long as nobody gets hurt what harm can come from it?

Do you get stick from the guys for eating meat?

I told John, when he first went vegan he wanted to get really pro-active over the whole thing and [sound check starts and fills the room with noise] it always starts when we start talking doesn't it?

Yeah!

He wanted to get really pro-active over the whole thing and I said I respect you, I respect what you're doing, but I'm a grown man and my Mother doesn't tell me what to eat and so you can't tell me what to eat. I respect you and I won't eat a hamburger and then belch in your face and be a dick about it 'cus that's just rude anyway, and I wouldn't do that to anyone even if they liked it. But I'm gonna eat what I eat and that's just the way it is and if you have a problem with that then you should get another bass player! And I'm still here so yeah... I respect it but its not for me. I grew up on a dairy farm as a kid and I'm quite aware of how the world works. I didn't grow up in a city I saw the inside of a slaughter house at the age of 4, and it's not pretty, but I'm not into eating a lot of meat either, I like a lot of everything.

Is there always a lot of meat supplement stuff bought?

Erm, well as you can see here there is no meat and there's still a lot of things here [waving arm over the food on the counter beside him]. I usually eat at the hotel but those guys take all that stuff, yeah. They have to or they'll die. They need the protein.

On your forum you were trying to find a guitar tech...

Yeah we have him, he's awesome. I like him a lot, he's very cool. He's about 6ft tall and... [A techie bangs on the door from the other side, and has to be let in. He asks for Mark and goes away again.] Yeah, we like him. His name is Nigel and he snores like a mother and he kept me up 'til about 6 in the morning before I switched off and had to fall asleep, but he's a great guy and a good tech.

Was he a fan of yours before?

No strictly business. He's a cool guy and I'm glad we got him.

Would you have preferred a fan?

No, I want strictly business. I don't want someone like, [puts on weird American accent] "Dude, I can't believe I'm touching your bass!" Nah, I prefer it if they don't you know, get all awestruck, it makes it better, it makes for a smoother machine.

How has the tour been going?

Good, awesome. The shows are great. I think everybody's gotten sick at least once, it's my turn now. Brian's actually sick too, but you know, that's what happens when you travel and switch time zones and don't get proper sleep and sweat everyday for an hour onstage. But yeah, it's awesome; I love Reel Big Fish, I love Zebrahead. They're all fucking great guys; it's like a high school party on wheels, you know what I mean?

Do you have a band that stands out as one you really enjoy touring with?

I do like touring with The Fish a lot. Touring with No Doubt because of the time period and everything was just kinda backed up and the little ska explosion was starting to happen again in the states. I like touring with the Bloodhound Gang and err... [knock on door] WHO IS IT?
Darrin: [from other side of door] Open the fucking door!
Kelly: What do you say? [gets up and lets him in]
Darrin: Why are you locking the door?
Kelly: I'm not, it automatically locks, go ahead fix it! Oh fixer of fixers...
[Darrin fixes the door and leaves]
Kelly: Anyways...[looks blank]

Bands you like touring with?

God we've toured with so many. Well, especially Reel Big Fish 'cus I get along really well with them so it's been really cool for us. And actually, The Matches are really nice guys too, have you seen them yet?

No.

Check 'em out, you'll really like 'em.

I hear you're doing a darkness cover.

Ahh, part of one.

How did that come about?

Err... Darrin needs an excuse for everyone to stare at him and point, so we decided it would be a good one.

Are you going to be doing it tonight?

Erm... yes! I'm sure we will.

Do you like the darkness?

I don't dislike them, I'm just older so I was around the first time that type of music was happening so it's nothing new to me. It's actually quite old hat and I think it was actually done better the first time round, but I like the way the guy sings and I give him fucking "A" for effort cus you know what? It takes some fucking big fucking eggs and balls to go and do shit like that so you know... I like that one song, you know, and I bought the CD and that one tune really stands out as being the big one. The rest to me are you know... like I said in another interview I liked them better when they were called Kicks and were from Baltimore in the early 80's. How about you, do you like them?

Yeah, they're alright.

Ahh, you missed it. See, you guys are young, you missed the whole scene. I bet they're real nice guys but I've seen it before, it's like going to a movie again and your friends go, "Oh, it was a great movie!" and you're like, "Yeah, I saw it already" but you know... good for them!

Are they getting big in America?

They're just starting to get played on the radio over there. I don't know, I am curious to see how it goes later.

They exploded over here in a matter of weeks, from no one knowing who they were to everyone knowing who they were.

Yeah, that's 'cus you're so small and compact. The states is like Europe, every state's a different country almost, so you can be big in one state and guys can go fuck you in another.

Are there any other bands you like listening to at the moment?

Erm... I like the Living End and Queens of the Stone Age. Erm, you know, I don't have cable anymore so I haven't been watching any of the music stations. There are so many bands, I'm just, I don't know, name some and I'll say if I like them... who do you like?

Erm... Bowling for Soup?

Yeah, they're alright. They're nice guys, they used to be on a label with us, they're cool. Erm, yeah, but the newest stuff I bought was the Living End and I got the Coldplay record, I mean they're not quite rock, but... there's so many bands and I'm just trying to think of them.

Jess: do you like Muse?

Do you know? They're hardly even known in the states. Nobody even knows who the fuck they are, I think the only exposure I've had to them is over here. So I suppose they're good, I should maybe listen to it and see.

What's on your CD player at this very moment?

Motorhead I think... yeah, it's Motorhead.

What's been your favourite album to do so far?

Probably Stomping Ground, because it was my first album with them. I actually liked making Foot and Mouth 'cus that was just playing shows and that was cool, but yeah, probably Stomping Ground. [in sound check the bass guitar is turned up really loud and makes the air conditioning unit behind our heads go skitzo] Jesus Christ! [it stops] See that's all you gotta do, just say his name! Jesuse Christo! Yeah, Stomping Ground 'cus it was my first record with the guys and it was all new and fun and friendly.

Do you have a favourite song?

Right now it's... Erm, Life on Mars by David Bowie. rRight now that's my favourite song, but if you ask me tomorrow it'll probably be Ace of Spades by Motorhead. You ask me the next day it will probably be Feel Good Hit of the Summer by Queens of the Stone Age or who knows, Surrender by Cheap Trick. Who knows, it depends on my mood.

What do you usually do to get ready for a concert?

Err, I do a little stretching, 'cus my neck is so sore right now, you really have no idea. It actually hurts to go like this [turns head to left and right]. Erm, I do a little stretching and sometimes do some vocal warm ups. Maybe I'll drink a red bull, warm up a little bit.

Do you get worried at all?

I get anxious, get a little nervous energy. It's like, hmm, how's this crowd gonna be or like a fear of the unknown. Not fear of the unknown, but anticipation of the unknown. So I know we're gonna do certain songs but I don't know if someone is gonna throw something at me or beat me or if something is gonna fall down or I'll fuck up or lose my voice.

Are you ready for this concert?

I will be by the time we go on. I need a couple more hours of sleep but I had to come down early and do interviews, but if I'm a little tired I wont show it.

Is there anything else you want to say to our lovely readers?

Yeah, I'd like to say to all the would-be parents and soon to be fornicators, wear rubber, man! There's too many people and let's all get a different form of petrol 'cus this shit is destroying the planet! That's all I want to say, thanks!

Thanks a lot to Kelly for the interview. You can find more out about Goldfinger by checking out their site, www.goldfingermusic.com.