John Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the band Goldfinger.

Early life

Feldmann grew up in

Saratoga, California Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California. Located in Silicon Valley, in the southern Bay Area, its population was 31,051 at the 2020 census. Saratoga is an affluent residential community, known for its wineries, restaurants, and attra ...

. He started writing songs around the age of 13 or 14. Around that time, he met the band

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

, and was inspired to be like them.

Career

Feldmann's first band was Saratoga-based Family Crisis. In 1988, he moved to Los Angeles, where he formed the band Electric Love Hogs and met future Goldfinger bassist Kelly LeMieux. The Electric Love Hogs (which also included Dave Kushner of Velvet Revolver and Bobby Hewitt of

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) put out one album, their self-titled 1992 debut, which was co-produced by

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...

. Feldmann formed Goldfinger in Los Angeles in 1994 after meeting original Goldfinger bassist Simon Williams in a shoe store where they were both working. Goldfinger played 385 shows in 1996, breaking the Guinness Book of World Records for the most concerts in one year for a touring band. In 1999, Goldfinger's song "Superman" was featured in the ''

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'' video game. Starting with their self-titled debut album in 1996, Goldfinger has released eight studio albums, including '' Never Look Back'', which was released on Big Noise on December 4, 2020. In 1998, Feldmann began producing for other bands, starting with Showoff, producing their self-titled debut album, followed by

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and The Used. He produced

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's 2003 debut album '' Page Avenue'', which was certified Gold by the RIAA and peaked at number 51 on the

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, and included the hits " Anthem of Our Dying Day" and " Until the Day I Die". He produced and co-wrote

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's 2016 album ''

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

'', which reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. He co-wrote and co-produced "Made An America" by

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, which was nominated for a

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. He has also co-written and produced for

All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band to ...

, 5 Seconds of Summer,

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, Panic! at the Disco, Beartooth,

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, Korn, 311, Black Veil Brides, Avril Lavigne,

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, Ashley Tisdale,

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, and Papa Roach. The albums Feldmann has worked on have grossed more than 34 million sales worldwide. Starting in 1997, Feldmann has worked as an A&R executive at

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, scouting talent and overseeing artist development. Feldmann is a former A&R consultant for Red Bull Records. In 2016, he became the Vice President of A&R at BMG. Along with Jon Cohen and Nick Gross, Feldmann started the record label Big Noise in 2017. Feldmann,

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Tran ...

, and John Reese started Back to the Beach Festival at Huntington State Beach in 2018. The two-day ska and punk festival featured The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, 311, and

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its first year, and was headlined by Blink-182 in 2019, but has not returned after that. Feldmann is published by Big Noise and managed by Lucas Keller and Nic Warner at Milk & Honey.

Personal life

Feldmann is a former

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

(now pescatarian) and former activist for

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

Awards

Selected production discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Feldmann, John Goldfinger (band) members 1967 births American animal rights activists American male singers Record producers from California American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers Living people Punk rock record producers Guitarists from Los Angeles Electric Love Hogs members 20th-century American guitarists