GOLDFISH INTERVIEW - CONTINUED

Perceptions of Pacha is so entitled because of the fact that you have recently signed on to the record label Pacha, which is also part of the massive overseas nightclub group, Pacha (in particular centred around the club in IBIZA called Pacha .) In addition, Perceptions is a series the label does each year and it’s your turn this time around. How do you feel you compare to previous artists who have made a Perceptions album with the label? And how does Perceptions of Pacha differ from Caught in the Loop? How did you change and grow musically?
The last three years of touring solidly have had an enormous effect on our sound as Caught in the loop was recorded largely before we started performing live. I think Perceptions takes off from Caught in the loop and just cranks it up a notch!

It is a great honour to have been asked to do the perceptions album this year, we have also just finished a mix cd for the Pure Pacha release this year which is a double cd alongside Pacha resident Sarah Main.

Which song on your new album is your favourite and why?It changes daily I love them all as they are all special moments in our musical landscape.

Who are you listening to right now? What CD is in your car / Cd player or top on your iPod playlist?
Deadmau5, Koop – Koop Island, All the incredible remixes of the album that are coming in from all over the world and from the remix competition (www.goldfishlive.com) and Mix’n Blend’s Help is on the way mix (bootleg). Panic at the disco’s – 9 in the afternoon,

What is the craziest thing a fan or person in the crowd ever done at one of your performances? How did you respond?
Some drunk guy in Jozi decided to do a run and jump onto the stage and succeeded in snapping two of the double bass strings and one of the machine heads. We didn’t do anything we let the very large bouncers, who should have stopped him in the first place, sort him out…

Has anyone ever thrown panties onto the stage or at you? What did you do?No, but we had a massive Bra thrown at us at the Armchair theatre once, I hurled it back into the crowd.

How important is a slick media image to you as Goldfish? I am referring to the slick website design and the YouTube video Goosebump Productions created for you (both of which I like very much!). You have a very distinct style and you’re sticking to it. And when one compares your style to musical heavyweight, Kurt Cobain and the way he “hated” media exposure and being in the limelight, Goldfish and the way you handle the media tells a very different story. How do you approach or view the media? What kind of a relationship would you or do you seek to maintain?
Things where very different back in 1994 in the music world especially, people where still buying cds, at one stage Nevermind was moving 500 000 units per week!!!!!
That was part of his image and it worked for him.

These days it has become more accepted that music and media need each other to keep head above water. The internet has revolutionised all forms of media with those not able to move swiftly and adapt finding it the most difficult. We always wanted as many people as possible to experience our music and the only way we could achieve that was with huge media support.



Since signing to Pacha and thus becoming part of the Pacha lifestyle brand (owners of restaurants, hotels, record label, clothing label etc), what exactly does your contract entail? Do you have to wear the clothes and be seen at their hotels and clubs? Are you ‘slaves’ to the Pacha brand or are you still maintaining a certain amount of independence?
We have signed a one album deal with the record label which is associated with the Pacha brand as a whole but it doesn’t make us there gimps.

As a proudly South African band, why isn’t Goldfish registered on Load the Show – www.loadtheshow.co.za?

Everyone is trying to adjust to the internet revolution and coming up with new fancy ways to offer music to people but at the end of the day our strategy differs from theirs in this regards as we feel music is of value to people and we are all trying to foster this as a lot of people do not understand that if they download a song or whole album illegally they are making it harder for that artist/producer/dj/whoever to make more music in future.

On the other hand The load the show idea is great for up and coming bands who would have put their stuff out for free anyway and now they are earning some revenue out of it. We gave away loads of free music when we where starting out and it helped us progress faster to a point where our music was of enough value to people and they wanted to buy it. The music world has changed from a business model of Buy – Listen to nowadays where its Listen – Buy. So basically I am saying that there is a place for Loadtheshow and other sites like it but I don’t think we fit into it.

You (Dave) said on the YouTube vid that you take the studio into the clubs and play there live. How long does it take to set up the equipment? Is it stressful travelling around with your entire musical studio and all your costly equipment?
Yes it is a pain from time to time with airlines losing bags etc. but it is worth it in the end.

Our touring setup is not the same as our studio setup as we would need a small truck to move our studio around with us everywhere! Travelling is probably the main stress in our lives at the moment!

What’s the worst thing that has happened to you or your equipment while travelling to gigs? Do you pay for extra insurance on your equipment? Do you wish you could keep it all with you in the overhead compartments?
Definitely wish we could keep all our gear in the overhead compartments. Insurance companies don’t like insuring musical instrument so its very expensive…like each year you could buy yourself all new gear instead.

The worst thing to happen to our luggage so far was thanks to Air France and Charles De Gaul airport in Paris (avoid like the plague). They lost Dom’s bag with keyboard in and clothes and it never surfaced…other than that America is fun the double bass takes an extra day to pitch up each time as the TSA (transport security agency) thinks it’s a bomb or something suspicious! Come on didn’t these guys all go to band camp?

What legacy would you like to leave behind?A great catalog of amazing music.

What are your plans for the future? What are you currently busy with or working on?We just finished the Pure Pacha mix cd, we have also just finished the music video for This is how it goes which will be on our You tube site (www.youtube.com/user/goldfishlive ).

We are also working on the Remix album and a live dvd release of our cd launch concert at Kirstenbosch gardens this year.

How do you feel about the Independent Armchair closing down? The end of an era in Cape Town...
We where devastated by it closing down as it had become such a legendary place with so many special moments for Cape Town and us. It is such a pity that the city council can’t see past all the usual crap and just open its eyes to how culture could be one of our biggest exports and without venues like that it is hard to foster truly creative culture.

And finally, how do you make a goldfish live for decades?Feed it.