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GOLD: The Highest Quality Hardcore Punk Band · San Joaquin Sound

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You're listening to the San Joaquin Sound Podcast,
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a podcast about music in Bakersfield and the
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surrounding San Joaquin Valley. I'm your host,
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AJ Rodriguez. For this episode, I travel to the
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415, a DIY music venue in Bakersfield, California,
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to interview the band Gold. I'm Taylor Gold.
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I do vocals. I write a lot of the music. Alex,
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I play guitar and auxiliary vocals, jumping around,
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you know, stuff a lot like that. Noah, I play
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drums. I'm Nate, I play guitar. I'm Bernard,
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I play bass. So in the first episode of the podcast,
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we talked about the Munoz Gym. How many of you
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went to the Munoz Gym when you were younger?
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I lived in the shack behind Munoz Gym the first
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10 years of my life. Yeah, I went there. I started
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going to shows at Munoz in late 2013. The first
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show I saw there was Capitalist Casualties and
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Slight Slappers from Japan. Going from the Jerry's
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Pizza hardcore scene, just from going to every
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show I was able to go to, to then eventually
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finding Munoz, I just got to see the stark difference
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between authentic punk. Like, play it in a place
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that it should be playing in. That's where me,
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Nate, and Noah all fucking met. So, like, if
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you were at Munoz Gym and you're still around,
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you're a fucking lifer and we know who you are.
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You're probably, like, we're still locked in.
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Munoz Gym alumni is a real fucking thing. Nice.
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Yeah, I was really late to getting to experience
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Munoz Gym. I think it might have been, like,
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2015. It was the last couple of shows. My first
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show was Taylor's First Band with Iron Long.
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I saw Give there. It was only, like, three or
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four shows. Going there was my first, like, small
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show experience. I'd never been to Jerry's or
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anything like that, and it was just a, like,
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rattling experience. It changed everything. Seeing,
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like, the energy in the room and, like, just
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hearing that kind of music is an experience that,
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like, will stay with me forever, and obviously
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it shaped my entire life. So I really value that.
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And obviously, like he said, we all kind of met
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there, or at least we were in that space, and
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that's why we know each other. So the three of
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us, like, are still here today, you know, doing
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the same thing. What were some highlight shows
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at the Munoz Gym? Obviously, biggest highlight
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is Infest. Yeah. Final show, grand finale. It
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was fucking crazy. It was dangerous. It was completely
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packed. Another one was Despise You, ACXDC. A
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lot of the power violence shows, I loved seeing
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Doses and Gas Rag. And Stupid Life. Yeah, just
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tons and tons of great shows there. I missed
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a lot of the legendary Munoz Gym shows, including
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the last one, because I thought that I wouldn't
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be able to get in. So for me, the biggest one
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that sticks out is probably seeing Give. That
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band rocks, and that show was amazing. Kind of
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a smaller show, but that was a really cool way
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to see that band. Never got to go to a show at
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the gym, unfortunately. But the first show I
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did go to was at Babylon in like 20... 15 or
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some shit um and then like the biggest show i
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think i saw there was uh crudos and jen su i
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think was probably like the coolest one there
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babylon was kind of the successor to the gym
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and then it became the 415 yeah big gap in between
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big gap Technically, yes. So it goes fucking
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Munoz Gym, fucking Babylon Narducci's house show
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era. And then intertwined in the house show era,
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Jerry's Pizza never leaves. It just depends what's
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happening at Jerry's at any given time. Me and
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Noah had a fucking stint at Jerry's at the same
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time that we were doing the house show era. So
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also when we're talking about Narducci's, Narducci's
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is when me and Noah really start getting in that
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shit. So that's when we're starting to take over
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the shows and run that shit. So even if someone
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else booked it, if it was... Ian or Ronald, they're
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like dipping out. They won't fucking come to
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shows anymore. So now it's either me or this
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motherfucker. At the same time, I think you started
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throwing, when did you throw Gulagun and Casey's
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pad? When was Gulagun at Casey's? What was that,
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Hector's? What year was that though? Yeah, so
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like around then, like big shit. Like, I don't
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know if you could hear him because he's on the
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mic right now, but like we're talking like fucking
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CU Space Cowboy in a fucking like 50 fucking
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person living room, you know? Crazy shit. So,
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like, when we say house show era, don't. We were
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doing crazy fucking shit at people's houses.
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At random houses? Yeah, at random fucking houses
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because we didn't have a venue and we weren't
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in a place to, like, open something like 415.
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Yeah, yeah. Houses of people in the scene. Shout
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out Noah. Shout out 415. Favorite gym shows,
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though. Sorry, I went on a rant. So my favorite
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gym shows, Trash Talk at the gym was, like, some
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of the craziest shit I've ever fucking seen.
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That shit is what destroyed the ring for good.
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There were so many fucking people in there. It
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was a free show, and it was one of the scariest
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things I've ever seen. Martin Crudo's band, Needles,
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at the gym, one of the best things I've seen,
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like, in my entire fucking life. My whole face
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exploded. It was sick. Milk Music, both times,
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amazing. Ice Age, both times, amazing. Those
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were the hits for me. Those were the hits for
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me. Hey, Los Crudos and Babylon was the fucking
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best local show ever, though. I have more to
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add because I'm remembering things. Trash Talk
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was fucking insane. Also, my favorite lineup
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of all time that I witnessed at Munoz Gym was
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Ceremony, Nothing, Dangers. Who else? On Parade.
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On Parade. Greatest. Greatest hardcore band from
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Bakersfield, On Parade. Also, another one that
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I'm remembering is Soul Search and Fury. Munoz
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is where I discovered Fury, which is the greatest
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hardcore band of all time. Fury's first show
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was at the Munoz Gym. What music has influenced
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how Gold sounds? I'd say everybody in the band
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is highly influenced by Fury. I see a lot of
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head nods. First real tattoo I ever got right
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when I turned 18 is a Fury tattoo. So yeah, Fury
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is a very important band to us. Nice. For me,
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Ceremony is probably one of my favorite bands.
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Literally just because of, I mean, many reasons,
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but they're so versatile. They show that you
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don't have to stick to one sound. You can do
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whatever you want. I'm influenced by a lot of...
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By a lot of power violence, by a lot of, like,
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crossed out, sex prisoner, coke bust, shit like
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that. Just fast hardcore in general. Okay, nice.
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For me, I'd say that, like, obviously the Rival
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Mob, we've covered Rival Mob for way too long.
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That's a huge influence on the band. And then,
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like, personally, it's a lot of late 80s hardcore,
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a lot of youth crew stuff, a lot of, like, OG
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punk, you know. the big names that's that's what
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really got me into stuff that's what really influences
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the way that i write so also unsung influence
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of gold is morrissey is that true fact check
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yeah yeah unfortunately yeah yeah jack the ripper
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next for gold i think i'm very much like personally
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inspired by like dc hardcore at various stages
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in time ebullition records nineties california
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hardcore fast hardcore more hardcore punk i do
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feel that that the distinction is good hardcore
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punk but you know for me there really is no difference
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a lot of my lyrics are influenced by like a 90s
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revolution summer emo i really like moss icon
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i really like um rites of spring indian summer
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that kind of i imitate the vocal delivery a little
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bit i like trying to put that over like straight
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up fast hardcore um musically like when i write
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on bass or guitar i'm more influenced by painkiller
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records um outbreak but specifically the demo
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record i like outburst agnostic front Cro -Mags,
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that kind of shit. So, like, tough guy shit,
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for lack of a better term. There's this band
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called Julia that I really, really like. They
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put out one record in 94. In my mind, like, that's
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how I want my guitar to sound. It would be remiss
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of me to not mention, like, Screamo. Any sort
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of punk and hardcore that is accidentally artsy,
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like, I'm a big fan. Okay, nice. What if we define
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kind of punk rock? Because not everyone who listens
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might not even know what it is, and maybe even
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hardcore. I think punk is political protest music
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at its heart. I think hardcore is distilling
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that into something meaner and faster. So if
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it's fucking mean, fast, nasty, and loud, then
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it's punk rock, isn't it? Yeah. Definitely agree
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with that assessment. The distinction for hardcore
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is either really stark or very synonymous at
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times. So punk and hardcore are almost always
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said in the same phrase whenever I describe it.
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Yeah. There's also like, quote unquote, capital
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H, which is like the more like outwardly like
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tough guy stuff. I see. And then punk is just,
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yeah. I'm not going to get too deep, but, you
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know. Yeah. Yeah. Punk, hardcore. At the end
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of the day, it's all badass. Especially if it's
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old school. Yeah, old school punk is badass.
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That's it. For me, like, one of the central things
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to punk is DIY. The fact that you're doing it
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yourself. And how do you use that in your own
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music and your shows? I mean, you're fucking
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sitting in it. This room you're sitting in and
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everything that Noah and I have done our entire
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fucking lives, we've done ourself, and no one
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fucking hold our hand through a single step of
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this process. And if someone's holding your hand
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through any step of this process, you're not
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fucking punk. Do that shit yourself. DIY in general,
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I feel, is a very crucial, but I don't think
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as many people understand it. the the like cost
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of it but like i think spaces like 415 can it's
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an applied practice for sure just like the study
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of of uh rocking yourself yeah without like you
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know support from from a larger entity makes
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sense yeah it's just really important because
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I feel like I hate seeing people saying that
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they can't do stuff. I'll see a comment on some
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video of some kid being like, I live in bumfuck
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Idaho and there's no scene here. But if you dig
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into it, surely you'll find something or find
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people to create what you want. Yeah, at the
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end of the day, I think DIY is just like... It's
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about making a decision. A lot of people experience
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DIY. Like they go to the DIY venue. They like
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the punk bands that like participate in DIY.
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They don't understand what they're saying. Like
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you need to participate in that. And that is
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the only way to keep shit alive. Like to what
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Noah was saying is like anyone can see like,
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oh, this is a cool DIY spot. I wish I could do
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that in my hometown. You can. That's the whole
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point. You have to do it. You just have to make
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the decision that you're going to make the leap.
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be the change you want to see and have the show
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or start the band or make the record. Like it
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can be a lot of work, but you have to be committed
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to doing the work if you want to see that in
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your hometown or in, you know, whatever. Hell
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yeah. There is like a degree of like novelty,
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I think, to like people just experiencing this
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for the first time where it's like, oh, I saw
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a band play in an unconventional location. Like
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this only exists out of like... necessity like
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when there's no other place to do it you just
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have to do it yourself as it were yeah the only
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thing i have to add or to say to that part i
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mean is that this the big part that people forget
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is that yourself in diy you know takes a lot
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of work on your part individual part so like
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sometimes you can't always be there or whatever
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but you know if everyone does a little bit of
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work in your in your scene or whatever um could
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kind of help it all come together so yeah What's
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it like being a band from Bakersfield currently?
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Being a band from Bakersfield is better than
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it probably ever has been because there are shows
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to play and people are watching for the first
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time in a long time. People don't pay attention
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to what's happening here. You could be doing
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the fucking coolest shit in the world, and no
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one gives a fuck what's happening in Bakersfield,
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California. Because when you go to one of the
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major metropolitan centers of the state, like
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fucking the Bay or Los Angeles or San Diego,
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and people ask you where you're from, you say
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Bakersfield, they laugh in your fucking face,
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and they treat you like you're a fucking hillbilly.
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And we're abandoned by the fucking state government.
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So being a band from here reflects that. No one
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gives a fuck what you do. So if you don't give
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a fuck and you don't give a fuck about what your
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peers are doing and don't, like, put a shine
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on that and don't care about yourself and others,
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no one is going to come do it for you. No one
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is coming to save you. As well, I think, like,
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Bakersfield is an unsung cornerstone. Well, often
14:39
unsung cornerstone of, like... American, specifically
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California punk history. Yeah. You know, with
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like Munoz being what it is, this almost like
14:52
omnipresent zeitgeist. It's like people hear
14:55
Bakersfield and they might not know, but then
14:58
they might hear Munoz and they're like, oh, I've
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seen like videos of a band playing there from
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20 years ago. I really do think it's a fourth
15:07
corner of like California punk. LA and San Diego
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and San Francisco. Francisco are like the three
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assumed places Bakersfield is easily like just
15:18
as important or maybe more, I'm willing to say.
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Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I've seen in a description
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for your first record. talking about how Bakersfield
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is kind of in an economic sacrifice zone and
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how your music kind of deals with that a bit.
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Growing up here myself, I had a tendency to,
15:39
when I was looking for music or art or movies,
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to look out of Bakersfield because I felt like,
15:45
well, everything cool is from everywhere else.
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And I had to learn how much cool stuff is right
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here. Yeah, and it's like, I think with any scene,
15:56
I think Bakersfield's point, and in turn plenty
16:00
of other scenes, cool stuff is happening in plenty
16:07
of nowhere towns. Yeah. Economic sacrifice zones
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are also great places where culture can just
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happen in ways that it can't in a major metropolitan
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city. Yeah. Yeah. It's a big place. It almost
16:26
has 500 ,000 people living here, and that's the
16:29
same as Washington, D .C., and they had a massive
16:33
punk scene that still is active and affected
16:36
how punk sounds, so we can do that, too. Oh,
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yeah. Well, we're not the Bay, and we're not
16:43
L .A., and I think a lot of us take a lot of
16:46
pride in that statement. And we derive a lot
16:49
of our identity from not being the major metropolitan
16:53
centers that people think of when you hear the
16:56
name California. Because when you say you're
16:59
from California, people assume you're from fucking
17:02
San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego. And
17:05
they never assume you're from one of the buttfuck
17:07
places in the Central Valley. But frankly, I'm
17:10
quite proud to be from Bakersfield. And I don't
17:12
want to be from the Bay or L .A. Bakersfield
17:14
is this place that still maintains a degree of
17:17
integrity, I think. You go anywhere, at least
17:21
on the east side, and there's drive -ins or places
17:25
that seem to exist as they were still. Yeah.
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I like that Bakersfield is what it is and nothing
17:37
else, while still being a part of California.
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Yeah, I can see that. Bakersfield's interesting
17:44
because you could walk down different streets
17:46
and you can almost visit different decades and
17:49
how the architecture looks and what businesses
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are there. If you walk in downtown, you're going
17:55
to see a lot more older stuff. You got Old Town
17:57
Kern. It just depends where you are. As it's
18:00
built, it's been expanded little by little, layer
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by layer like an onion. Big time. Beautiful.
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Like an onion. How did you get the name Gold?
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It's short Sweden to the point. Gold is the highest
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quality precious metal and I intend to be the
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highest quality hardcore punk band. Let's talk
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about your first release, 14 Carats, a six -track
18:23
cassette that came out on Extinction Burst. What
18:27
inspired the sound and the lyrical content of
18:31
that record? So 14 Carats is a political protest
18:35
record at its heart. Really, all throughout the
18:39
year in which I wrote that record, you just watch
18:41
all the worst shit that you could ever imagine
18:43
happen just on your fucking phone constantly.
18:47
So you watch fucking genocide. just after genocide
18:50
after fucking genocide you watch your fucking
18:53
people get put in fucking concentration camps
18:55
you watch this fucking country just unfurl at
18:58
the fucking seams and you watch everyone realize
19:00
that oh maybe america is an empire maybe we're
19:03
fucking collapsing and that's what that record
19:06
is about it's about oh The fucking state of California
19:10
has decided that me and my friends and my family
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aren't worth shit. That you can fucking sacrifice
19:16
every single fucking person in the Kern River
19:18
Delta for your fucking oil interests. That's
19:21
what the record is about. Yeah, to some extent
19:24
or another, we're all pretty politically aware
19:26
and we share a lot of the same political and
19:29
social values. And watching the world fall apart
19:32
in real time for our entire adult lives, and
19:34
honestly longer, but that's when you really start
19:37
to notice. It just it's always been too much.
19:40
There's always been shit to say. And Taylor's
19:42
always been really good at saying those things.
19:43
So as far as I was concerned, it's really about
19:46
making sure there was the proper backdrop to
19:48
support what we needed to get across. One of
19:52
the core themes of gold really is just like the
19:56
righteous anger and plight of those of us that
20:01
live in places that that are forgotten by. by
20:07
the powers that are supposed to protect, serve,
20:11
rule, however so. And yeah, just righteous anger
20:17
and being scary during scary times. Yeah. I've
20:25
seen you perform live a lot, probably like seven
20:28
times maybe. And the song Plata O Plomo. A lot
20:35
of times, Taylor, you have like an introduction
20:36
to that song. Do you want to talk about that?
20:40
Yeah, this song is about how rich people are
20:42
allowed to burn down California and ain't nobody
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give a fuck. Watch us burn down. Watch Los Angeles
20:48
burn down. You notice where it burns down. It's
20:51
always fucking poor areas. It's our lives that
20:54
are fucking ruined because rich people will burn
20:56
down. every fucking thing that we have ever laid
21:00
fucking claim to in order to further their own
21:03
interests for example we produce this entire
21:06
fucking country's food but we're all fucking
21:08
dying here because you are poisoning our ground
21:11
with oil and mercury like fracking has destroyed
21:14
this entire fucking valley we are sinking so
21:18
many fucking feet by the year so We are quite
21:23
literally being sacrificed in order to feed rich
21:27
people. Me and you. You too. Every fucking person
21:31
sitting in this room. And why is that? Why are
21:35
we less valuable than them? How do you determine
21:38
how another human is worth more? Are we not all
21:41
the fucking same? When you watch your home just
21:44
get disregarded your entire life and like you're
21:47
treated like a second fiddle politically, even
21:49
though you live in actually a very politically
21:52
relevant place, considering how much oil and
21:54
how much fucking food is all exported from here
21:56
and how much culture is exported from here. And
21:59
you just watch it all get erased and you watch
22:01
you and your family and your friends just. get
22:03
fucking poisoned and get cancer and die. And
22:06
that's really is what is at stake for all of
22:08
us. Like we're all very unhealthy. We are actively
22:11
fucking dying. And, um, I want people to care
22:15
because like when people care, then maybe it's
22:20
not just me screaming into the fucking void about
22:22
this and something can actually be done. If everyone
22:24
in Bakersfield, all the sides that they care
22:26
about this are all the side that they want to
22:28
see the current river flow again, then maybe
22:29
we can see the fucking current river flow again.
22:31
And you don't just sing about it. Because I've
22:35
noticed there's been multiple benefit concerts
22:38
here. In fact, I just went to one a couple days
22:42
ago where we collected tons of cans of food for
22:46
people in need. Doge recently just cut funding
22:50
for this hospice home. So that's to feed the
22:53
elderly people in there. We've done benefits
22:56
for the UFW Legal Fund. We've done benefits for
22:59
Gaza. We're anarchists, so we put our money where
23:02
our fucking mouth is. I think that doing benefit
23:05
shows is something that we all would like to
23:07
do a lot more of, and I think that I am really
23:10
proud of what we have done, but it's not us.
23:14
It's the community. We've got a lot of good people
23:17
here who have come out to support these events
23:19
that we've thrown for these benefits, and I just
23:22
hope that we keep seeing that because it's really
23:24
heartwarming to see Bakersfield come together
23:25
in this way. I didn't know that we had it in
23:28
us. I always wanted to hope so, but these past
23:31
few shows where we've raised the money for the
23:35
UFW and we've collected this food, it's really
23:38
given me a lot of hope, and I hope that we can
23:41
continue to do that and help the community. One
23:44
of my favorite things to say about the nature
23:48
of benefit shows is this is punk after all. We're
23:53
all here for the same reason. If that is important
23:57
to you, like punk as a form of identity, like
24:02
I think you should be here and you should bring
24:04
canned goods or should pay five to ten dollars
24:10
to support people who have been wronged by the
24:15
powers that be. And for anyone out there listening,
24:18
I mean, if you have a platform, use it. If you
24:21
care, then fucking care. direct action and makes
24:24
the world go around no one is coming to save
24:26
any of us yeah for that ufw show i know i saw
24:30
you donated 1250 dollars and when i was there
24:35
everyone was giving extra money to get in more
24:39
than the suggested donation scraping a dollar
24:42
here a dollar there because they cared about
24:45
the issue so i think that's really admirable
24:48
that a lot of people do talk about you know things
24:52
need to change but the fact that you're all doing
24:56
something about it means a lot more it's directly
25:00
for our community like bakersfield is an undocumented
25:02
place um we're all mexican if that's who you
25:06
are and you are like sitting idly by if you're
25:08
a latino for trump i don't with that like if
25:12
you're being silent right now you would have
25:14
been silent in the 1930s too and remember that
25:16
i think i really was Not shocked, but I was very
25:21
glad to see people showing up and donating money,
25:27
but then not even to stay. I got to go back to
25:31
work. I'm on my break. Here's 20 bucks for the
25:35
donor fund. Multiple people did that. It's a
25:40
lot bigger than music. It's community building
25:44
and community actualization. very real tangible
25:50
good happening so after 14 carats which dealt
25:56
with all of these issues that we're talking about
25:59
then you had eternity lies and it even released
26:05
on a on a record right a full record with both
26:08
releases on it yeah that's a it's a ep comp so
26:12
uh You got the new single on that. And then there's
26:15
also 14 carats on the back. That's the last time
26:18
14 carats will ever be pressed. So I think it's
26:20
sold out. We might have like one or two more.
26:22
So if you need that, you could check. But I think
26:25
it's gone. But you can still listen to it. Don't
26:27
worry. Forever. And I'm making some CDs. I might
26:30
make some tapes. But 24 carats next. Eternity
26:34
Lies starts with... just bass and drums on the
26:37
track Do You Miss the Feeling? So I wanted to
26:39
ask Bernard, how do you approach bass for that
26:43
album? So originally Alex wrote the riff and
26:46
I was kind of figuring out how to play it still.
26:48
And while I was doing that, I think Noah was
26:50
just like banging on the toms. And then we at
26:53
one point were like, it would sound really cool
26:55
if we had like feedback and just, you know, it
26:59
would give it like some edge or like some angst
27:02
to it. I don't know. Nice. Yeah, but Alex wrote
27:07
the riff, so. On some basis, I see they're really,
27:10
like, standing still type, just, like, chilling.
27:14
You don't do that. You jump around. You're all
27:17
over. Something like that. And you're still playing.
27:21
No, I love playing shows live because I feel
27:29
like the music, like, takes over my body, and
27:31
I literally want to just go fucking crazy. Yeah,
27:34
it's awesome. That's the best way to explain
27:35
it, I guess. I don't know. I jump around. I like
27:38
to have fun. You think Bernard chill as hell
27:40
till you see that boy get on stage. So Noah,
27:52
you engineered the records too. Yeah. What's
27:56
your approach for drumming? Just trying to play
27:59
as tight as possible. I still got work to do,
28:03
but I'm trying my best. So you're just trying
28:05
to lock in. Yeah, I'm just trying to be locked
28:07
in. I don't even really see myself as a drummer
28:11
just because I've always seen myself as a guitarist
28:13
first. Oh, yeah? I learned how to play drums
28:18
just from playing rock band. The maps stuck with
28:22
me, and I knew how to play Say It Ain't So by
28:26
Weezer. From memorizing the game. I've never
28:29
heard anyone say they learned from rock band,
28:32
but I'm like, you can't learn from playing the
28:34
guitar, but the drums you can. You're playing
28:36
the beats. Yeah, it's tangible. Like you're playing
28:38
it. Yeah, you're playing the songs. Yeah. They
28:41
even have the pedal, so you could learn the bass
28:44
drum. I can see that. I became a drummer out
28:47
of necessity when I was in like 2015, 2016. I
28:57
started a grindcore band just because I wanted
29:00
to play grindcore so badly. Is that Sand Coffin?
29:02
This one is Mind Funeral. I didn't know anybody
29:07
that could play grindcore drums, so I had to
29:10
teach myself how to do that. So do you have any
29:14
drumming influences in the way you drum for gold?
29:18
It's really hard for me to even think about what
29:22
my influences might be. Like in terms of just
29:25
drummers, because like it just feels really natural
29:28
to me, but I don't really think about it. Yeah.
29:32
As a side note, all of you play multiple instruments,
29:36
right? Because you played bass for Sand Coffin,
29:41
drums and vocals for Only One. And you said you
29:47
play guitar. Alex, you drum for So Real and you
29:51
were guitar vocals for Mascot Year. Nate, you
29:54
play bass for only one. Bernard, did you ever
29:57
play drums? Yeah, I thought so. Give this man
30:00
the mic. God damn it. No, I'm just kidding. For
30:03
Great Expectations. Is that right? Whoa. Yeah,
30:07
that's true. How do I know? Why are you an armoire?
30:12
Yeah, how did you know about that? Yeah, I played
30:16
drums in Great Expectations. But I played guitar
30:19
first. I learned how to play guitar when I was
30:21
like 13 or something like that. But before that,
30:25
I had learned piano at like a younger age. Nice.
30:28
So I can play guitar, bass, piano. I can't remember
30:34
why. I think I just wanted to start learning
30:36
drums. So me and two friends that I originally
30:39
started a band with started jamming. And yeah,
30:44
we were called Great Expectations. Nice. And
30:47
I don't know. I wasn't super great, but I did
30:50
like playing drums. He's lying. He's really good
30:52
at drums, especially my pad. Nice. And Taylor,
30:57
you play instruments. You play guitar. When you're
31:01
writing some of these songs, you're playing it
31:03
on guitar? And bass, yeah. Bass too, nice. I
31:06
prefer bass these days. I play guitar first.
31:09
I play drums too. Nice. Me and Noah were... We've
31:13
been in a bunch of bands together where I was
31:15
either on drums or bass or fucking vice versa.
31:18
Nice. Yeah, gold is not your first project. All
31:21
of you have been playing in bands for a long
31:24
time right here. Besides Miss Pigeon, we're old,
31:27
dog. Hell yeah, we've been in bands. Anti -psychotics,
31:30
Mercy, Strategy, Dead Spirit, Barrette? Richie?
31:36
Is that everything we've been in together? Yeah,
31:38
Bad Trip. Fuck, my bad. You're looking at Bad
31:41
Trip, shit. Let's talk about La Matadora. That
31:46
song is a tribute, and it's a highlight of your
31:48
live shows. It gets the crowd super amped. What's
31:53
that song about? That's a tribute for our friend,
31:57
rest in peace, Brianna. Forever means forever.
31:59
We ain't never gonna stop talking about it. She
32:01
was murdered in the fucking street. We ain't
32:02
never gonna forget. As time passes and you see
32:05
people start to forget and quit talking about
32:07
her and quit saying her name, I mean... after
32:10
it happens, everybody's screaming forever. When
32:12
you watch people start to forget about her, that
32:14
shit hurts. Cause like when me and Noah say forever,
32:17
we mean fucking forever. And like, I'm going
32:20
to scream that shit till the day I fucking die.
32:21
And wherever the fuck we go, I'm carrying her
32:23
fucking name and her fucking memory with us.
32:25
Yeah. Rest in peace, Brianna. La Matadora is
32:29
my favorite song that you've released. I really
32:33
like how it changes throughout the song and there's
32:37
a big breakdown. and then it speeds up again
32:40
and hits you like a truck. It is just a really
32:43
good song. Alex, I noticed for some of the songs
32:47
on the album that I like to say you're adding
32:50
spices into the mix because you add harmonics
32:54
and dissonance and feedback and stuff. I've noticed
32:58
that, at least playing live. What's your approach
33:01
for that? Exactly what you described, honestly.
33:04
I think that's a good way of putting it. I just
33:07
want the music to sound interesting. And I think
33:10
for my approach to recording, I like for there
33:14
to be really as little barrier between the sound
33:18
of someone or a band playing in a room, but in
33:21
my case, a guitar player playing. I don't seek
33:25
to do anything really that different when I'm
33:28
on record. Whatever is there live, I try to have
33:34
it be there. The noisiness and the spice, so
33:39
to speak, is really just like never stop being
33:43
engaging. Yeah. It adds a lot of texture to the
33:47
song, and it really adds a lot. I agree. Nate,
33:52
what influences do you have when you're playing
33:55
guitar? I feel like I've always been... somewhat
33:58
bad at distilling my influences I'll like say
34:01
I want to write a song like this and then until
34:03
recently that's not really what happens yeah
34:05
I guess my biggest influences would be Closet
34:08
Case which we've talked about yeah that's a mutual
34:10
band that we both like that's the probably the
34:14
biggest the most influential band in my life
34:16
just that 7 -inch I think is one of the best
34:18
records ever written so everything I do is trying
34:20
to reach those highs I would say like Fury is
34:23
a huge influence, but I don't write anything
34:24
that sounds like that. I would love to. I try
34:26
to. It just doesn't happen because however I
34:28
distill that, it doesn't come out that way. Yeah.
34:31
A lot like Gorilla Biscuits, Judge. Those are
34:34
really what I'm pulling from when I write for
34:36
gold. Taylor, what's your songwriting process?
34:39
How do you go about writing a song? For lyrics?
34:43
I write that shit without music most of the time
34:45
first. Before the music or after? Typically before.
34:49
Occasionally, whenever they bring songs, I'll
34:51
write specifically to what they bring, but if
34:53
it's something I write, I write the lyrics first.
34:57
I'm really inspired by beat poetry and Bukowski,
34:59
so I like Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, that
35:02
kind of shit. Nice. And I try to emulate that
35:04
in the writing style. I don't know how successful
35:06
I am, but that's what I'm going for. Also, that
35:11
and Moss Icon. You want the fucking Taylor Gold
35:14
songwriting fucking starter pack, go read some
35:17
fucking beat books and listen to the Moss Icon
35:19
discography. Let's talk a little bit about your
35:22
live shows. You've performed at the 415 plenty
35:27
of times. You're basically the house band. But
35:30
you've been on tour this summer all around. What's
35:34
it like taking Bakersfield music on the road?
35:37
I feel a great sense of pride. I think, like...
35:41
people's ears perk up for better or worse when
35:44
they see Bakersfield on a flyer. I think it's
35:47
good to challenge people's preconceptions of
35:51
places of which Bakersfield has no shortage of
35:56
those. It's one of my favorite things. It's literally
35:59
the mission statement. I just want to go places
36:03
and for people to know that we're from Bakersfield
36:05
and that we're doing cool shit in Bakersfield.
36:08
Yeah, I'm incredibly proud to be from where I'm
36:10
from, and I am incredibly stoked on the music
36:13
that we make. So it's my favorite thing in the
36:15
world to go out of town with this group of people
36:18
and play music. If I could, I'd be in a different
36:21
city every night playing music. I just want gold
36:24
to go everywhere. That's all I want. It feels
36:26
really good when we get to do that. I love saying
36:28
that I'm from Bakersfield and I want Bakersfield
36:31
to be the spot that every band says that they
36:33
want to play at least once because or like if
36:35
they want to play in Bakersfield it's probably
36:37
because they want to play here at 415. It's also
36:40
nice to get to go on tour and take our names
36:42
elsewhere because it does take a toll I guess
36:47
playing here all the time but yeah we're trying
36:50
to get that sound more. I think adding intrigue
36:55
to to Bakersfield and being like, oh, I liked
36:59
hearing that band. And then they might feel curious
37:04
to go north of the Great Vine. Yeah. Yeah, often
37:09
when they DM us to book them here, they'll be
37:13
like, hey, but will Gold play? And let me tell
37:16
you, that's the bane of my fucking existence
37:17
because Gold's played over 50 fucking shows in
37:20
less than a year because people want to play
37:22
with us here. But I'm incredibly fucking flattered
37:26
and I wouldn't change it for the world. And the
37:27
answer is always yes. So if your band wants to
37:29
fucking play here and you want us to play with
37:30
you, yeah, I fucking guess. Hell yeah. You know,
37:36
I want to contrast that because at the beginning
37:38
we talked about a lot of negative things about
37:40
Bakersfield that are happening. But all of you
37:43
said you're proud to be from Bakersfield, to
37:45
rep Bakersfield. and you're trying to make something
37:48
awesome here to show how cool it is. I mean,
37:52
Bakersfield's always been kind of sick. I think
37:55
it's important to emphasize that it's a very
37:57
difficult place to live in, and in particular,
38:00
it is a very difficult place to grow up because
38:03
when you're a child here, frankly, you have access
38:05
to a bunch of terrible things that can ruin your
38:07
life in a fucking instance, but you really don't
38:10
have access to a whole lot that's beneficial
38:12
or constructive or cathartic or even... just
38:17
safe like kids here are very in danger there
38:20
there's there isn't shit to do but drugs and
38:23
crime like that's what people do here And giving
38:26
them an alternative to that shit means more to
38:29
me than you could ever fucking imagine. Because,
38:31
like, we all were lucky enough to have that.
38:35
We all didn't stay out of fucking trouble, but
38:37
it didn't get nearly as bad as it could because
38:39
there were places we could go to be safe. There
38:41
were places we could go to meet people like us.
38:44
We didn't have to be fucking freaks. Sure, you're
38:46
a freak every day of the fucking week, but when
38:48
you go to the fucking gym or when you go to Babylon,
38:51
that's all your homies. Everybody's the fucking
38:52
same. So yeah, it's important to provide that.
38:55
If you were lucky enough to have something like
38:57
that, then you understand what it did for you
38:59
and you need to pay that shit forward. Yeah,
39:01
and that was something that was done at the gym
39:06
before it was a music venue. A lot of boxers
39:10
went there and had a place to go outside of the
39:13
struggles that were around them. Yeah, my grandpa
39:17
provided a very good example for us. You have
39:20
to be the change you want to see. Because there
39:23
aren't. We don't have fucking resources here.
39:26
Our communities are poor. We don't have community
39:28
centers where people can go be safe and fucking
39:30
congregate and build a community. But how you
39:33
mentioned earlier when you asked us about why
39:35
we do the benefit shows, we want to build a community
39:37
here. We want people to feel like they have a
39:40
place here and with each other and in this fucking
39:42
city. Because eventually, if we are all the change
39:45
that we want to see in this fucking world, then
39:48
actually Bakersfield is going to change. And
39:50
we're trying to show these kids that they can
39:51
do whatever the fuck they want. Oh, they look
39:53
at you. different because you're from Bakersfield
39:55
fuck them we do whatever we want Bakersfield
39:58
has changed music history in a massive way at
40:01
least two times there's probably more with the
40:04
Bakersfield sound with country music everyone
40:07
wanted country music to be really flashy at the
40:10
time and Buck Owens was like no let's strip it
40:12
down to its roots and it was a massive success
40:17
and started a new genre. And Korn in 94, new
40:22
metal, no one had ever heard anything like that.
40:24
And the only place that could have invented that
40:27
was right here. Our band camp is tagged under
40:29
Bakersfield Sound as well. Nice. There's hardcore
40:34
punk, Cro -Mags, Bakersfield Sound. To add to
40:39
the Munoz... conversation and in turn the the
40:44
punk and hardcore conversation like i think in
40:48
particular punk and hardcore like has a very
40:52
strong sense of like recontextualizing the violence
40:56
that's inflicted on working class people just
41:00
outside of spaces like this and you know people
41:04
can mosh people can can get violent in the ways
41:09
that that that let off steam so to speak for
41:14
better or worse a lot of the the kids and you
41:18
know adults even that need it are able to express
41:24
themselves in this sort of dance yeah it is a
41:29
dance yeah i've seen i've seen it firsthand just
41:33
kids coming up to us and saying that their lives
41:37
are fucked up, they go through fucked up shit,
41:39
and coming here is just a release. And it's like
41:43
the only place they feel like home. And just
41:46
going to do this and let out their aggression
41:49
helps them a lot and gets them out of trouble.
41:52
And just, yeah, you know who you are. And every
41:57
fucking time I think about quitting, I think
41:59
about those kids who tell us that we're helping
42:01
them keep their fucking noses clean, and that's
42:03
why we're still going. So No Threat Bakersfield,
42:06
that's all of you? Or that's a group? No Threat
42:09
is primarily Noah and myself, and it has been
42:12
for a long time. But, oh, we are growing, and
42:14
we are a conglomerate. Yeah, we got a team now.
42:18
I saw a tape from 2014 that said No Threat 2014.
42:24
That's the label. It's not a label anymore. Now
42:25
we're a production company or conglomerate, whatever
42:28
the fuck you like to call it. So that's where
42:29
the name comes from. But what does it mean? Does
42:31
it have any relation to minor threat? Yeah. Are
42:34
you even minor than a threat? That was the concept
42:37
when I was a little kid. Yeah. That's when we
42:39
came up with the name. So, yeah. Yeah. No threat.
42:42
No threat. No threat has meant me and Noah for
42:44
a very long time now. What are some of your favorite
42:47
shows that you've thrown with no threat? So some
42:51
of the recent ones that really stick out. We
42:53
just did Haywire. Haywire was a fucking blast.
42:57
That was one of my favorite shows I've ever fucking
42:58
thrown. Noah and I did Necron 9 recently. That
43:01
was a goddamn blast. Noah did fucking Speed Plans
43:05
Ultras. That was like the Speed Plans Ultras
43:07
God Gold. That was like the best fucking side
43:10
to side lineup we've had in fucking years. Yeah.
43:16
Haywire definitely was a big favorite. It was
43:19
just goaded. Yeah, I got a black eye at that
43:21
show. It was good. Yeah. Fuck. Yeah, the Speed
43:27
Plans Ultra show is just like my favorite contemporary
43:31
punk. One that I am super excited for that hasn't
43:36
happened yet is Weekend Nachos because that's
43:38
one of my favorite fucking bands of all time.
43:40
Nice. A recent No Threat show. that I really,
43:45
really enjoyed being at and playing and just,
43:49
like, being present for was Seamoss and Spring
43:53
Breeding. Oh, yeah. Two very cool sort of no
44:00
-wave, highly experimental bands, but I really
44:05
just enjoyed the fact that they didn't use any
44:09
of the shit provided by the venue. They played
44:12
on the floor, all their own, like, speakers.
44:16
Both bands in some way, shape, or form operated
44:20
very, like, independently and very aware of what
44:26
they wanted to convey. Very, very memorable show.
44:29
And very DIY because I saw, I think it was CMOS.
44:34
She had made her own synths out of tin cans,
44:39
and they had buttons on them that looked like
44:42
arcade buttons. It was sick. I love a crazy -ass
44:46
drummer and a crazy vocal technique and crazy
44:50
noise boxes and synths. Yeah. It's all awesome.
44:55
It's a lot of the same, honestly. Necron 9 is
44:57
one of the best punk bands I've seen in a very
44:59
long time. Speed Plans is one of the best punk
45:01
bands. Maybe ever. I mean, it's just great. But
45:05
if I want to add something new to the mix, my
45:08
favorite band I've ever seen in this space was
45:10
definitely Tieni Paa from Finland. I actually
45:12
go back and listen to that shit all the time.
45:14
One of my favorite more recent shows was Big
45:17
Ass Truck. It's not necessarily a punk show.
45:20
And you're wearing their shirt from the show
45:22
right now. I am wearing it. Have you heard Speed
45:25
Plans? Speed Plans are the saviors of American
45:29
punk. Hey, real quick. Rest in peace, Brianna.
45:31
Rest in peace, Jordy Loke. Up in smoke. Fucking
45:33
big XIX in this bitch. Por vida y después. What
45:37
are your plans for the future? Trying to play
45:40
a bunch of gigs. Trying to write an album. Trying
45:44
to do the thing. Nice. Play, write, record, and
45:49
then do it again. Rock. Yeah, what they said.
45:52
We just got booked out of the country for the
45:54
first time. I'm trying to go across the fucking
45:55
country next year. I don't know. As far as we
45:58
can fucking take it, we're going to take it.
46:00
If you hear this shit and you want us to play
46:01
your shithole, hit us up. I'll come play your
46:03
shithole. Or on the other hand, if you want us
46:06
to come play Paris, we'll come play Paris too.
46:07
Fuck. All right, so I like to end off every show
46:11
by shouting out some current local artists. Now,
46:16
what's interesting is you are current local artists,
46:18
but what are some artists you think people should
46:21
check out? So from Bakersfield, you need to listen
46:24
to Pump Fake, Prohibition. Listen to that new
46:28
Sack Tap EP. Everybody go listen to Amputation
46:31
and check out Glass Angels outside of Bakersfield.
46:34
Everyone needs to be listening to Axe Collector,
46:36
Gun, and Pseudo Youth. Please check out About
46:39
Face. And that's it from me, folks. Yeah, Taylor
46:43
named a lot of them. Yeah, Start Today, The Difference.
46:47
Start Today, The Difference. Human Resources
46:50
is... One of my favorite bands I've seen recently
46:55
from San Diego. Same with Bayonet. A lot in life,
47:01
Conspiracy. They played here recently. Those
47:02
bands rock. Definitely worth checking out, 100%.
47:05
Hey, real shit though. Shout out to Stark Today
47:08
and The Difference. Speed plans. Punk rock, skateboarding,
47:12
hardcore moshing. One last thing I really need
47:16
to know. Is old school punk badass? Hell yeah!