Interview: Goldfish – Back in SA To Get Busy Living….

This is the story of Dom and Dave. Collectively you’ll recognise them as Goldfish, the duo that all of SA (and it’s Media) has fallen in love with.  The duo that seldom have had a bad word said about them [if you don’t count the odd snide remark or sarcastic dig that no doubt happens in the shallow hallways of the music biz, more commonly known as professional jealousy] and the two fresh surfer dudes that have captured the hearts of many with their good clean looks, sprightly positive attitude and of course their groovy, uplifting music.

I met the boys when they were still scratching around at a little sunset bar called Baraza on the Camps Bay strip playing to a small but appreciative crowd, albeit one that was slowly growing exponentially with every month’s worth of performances, so I find myself curiously wondering what they’re like some eight years down the line. Having been privy to their music at a time when Caught in the Loop was still a few rough cuts on a CDR to the heady heights of their massively successful second album, Perceptions of Pacha plus the past two years of globetrotting to gigs all over the world coupled with a residency at Pacha, Ibiza in the European summer, I am more than just a little curious, actually. Have they changed? Has their music changed? What of their new album? Is it any good? Has Dom developed a drug problem and Dave left his family for a nubile young Ibizan babe?

These are the questions I am waiting to ask them as I sit on Kloof Street at a popular little burger joint called Hudson’s anticipating their arrival. I haven’t spoken to either for what feels like ages, had not seen them perform until recently [their album launch the week before] so it was going to be an interesting chat…

Dave arrives first. That’s kind of expected. He is the more business-like of the two; the brains behind the project although I would not discount Dom for a second when it comes to input, it’s just that the latter enjoys the luxury of having the blonde surfer dude persona. You know the type? The fun-loving but harmless cat that just lives to surf and sleep. But he isn’t. The band may have got its name from Dom’s endearing slant of forgetfulness, a story the duo readily enjoys retelling although to be honest I’ve never actually heard anybody say ‘you have a memory like a Goldfish,’ except for, well… ‘erm Dom and Dave.

I’ve often had a good giggle watching them be interviewed (countless times) on TV or YouTube as this is the obvious question each first time interviewer asks, and whilst the boys always relay the story dutifully with a good chuckle at the end, it’s usually the interviewer that has that blank stare and looks more like a Goldfish as he or she pretends to ‘totally get the connection.’

Pleasantries out the way we grab a couple of drinks… I politely wait for Dave to order first to take my cue and it is of course a soft drink (a rock shandy actually) so I follow suit. No point getting pissed (tipsy would have been nice) on my own as tempting as it is. Dom arrives soon after and once he settles in with his, surprise, surprise… rock shandy, we excitedly catch up on the past for a while before settling in to chat about where they’re at right now, how their live performances have changed and of course the brand new album, Get Busy Living.

Two weeks prior I had attended their ‘official’ album launch in Central Park at Century City, Cape Town. Having not heard their new tracks I was really interested to hear them play. Now if I was completely critical (actually I am, what am I saying ‘if I was’), I would say that the event was a mixed bag of good and okay. I know what I thought but it’s the first burning question I broach with the twosome. Dom’s answer is priceless, “We broke the eggs to make the omelette.” He is referring of course to the venue, a little known piece of grass hidden away in the middle of the Century City which is where they decided to do their launch, lamenting that a better known location may have been wiser. I’m dying to say ‘who’s crap idea was that,’ but I’m far too polite and to be honest with them you don’t actually have to. They are two completely self aware, conscious individuals who can assess a situation very quickly and honestly and they do both agree that it may not have been the 100% resounding success it could have. [It was still pretty rocking but, by their own standards could have been better]. Not to say it was bad, mind you. Pics of Zolani Mahola (she of Freshly Ground fame) and surfer hottie Roxy Louw, Michelle Maclean, Dino Moran and others all attest to a fair share of celebs getting down to their beats, but as anally picky as us music biz peeps can be we do sit there and over-analyse together.