Fool's Gold (band)
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Fool's Gold is an American musical collective that combines
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pop with
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n and
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
ern music. The group started as a side project of musicians Luke Top (a vocalist and bassist) and Lewis Pesacov (lead guitarist), who set out to explore their shared love of various forms of
African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...
(specifically Congolese,
Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
, Eritrean and Malian),
Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...
, and 1980s dance influenced pop music.


History


Formation

The band was formed initially as a collaboration between Top and Pesacov in 2007. Top had immigrated to Los Angeles from
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
at age three and earned his B.A. in Music and Recording at
SFSU San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...
. Pesacov earned a degree in
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
theory and composition while studying under American composers Mark Randall-Osborn and Franklin Cox. Joining their cultural and musical backgrounds, the two began writing songs together, many of which would eventually appear on their self-titled debut album in 2009. Top has said that the band's name came from a trip he and Pesacov took to Northern California in which a mutual friend described a time when she found
fool's gold The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Lustre (mineralogy), lu ...
in the ocean. Fool's Gold expanded to a sizable band composed of numerous accomplished and unique musicians. Among the members joining Top and Pesacov were Garrett Ray, Jimmy Vincent and Matt Popieluch of Pesacov's other band,
Foreign Born Foreign-born (also non-native) people are those born outside of their country of residence. Foreign born are often non-citizens, but many are naturalized citizens of the country in which they live, and others are citizens by descent, typically ...
; Latin American pop star Erica Garcia; Orpheo McCord (former drummer for The Fall), Michael Tapper (formerly of
We Are Scientists We Are Scientists is a New York City-based rock music, rock band that formed in Berkeley, California, in 1999. It consists primarily of guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray and bass guitarist Chris Cain, with drummer Keith Carne joining the band ...
), and several others. In late 2009, the band was chosen as of one '' Beyond Race Magazine''s 50 Emerging Artists, resulting in a spot in the publication's No. 11 issue, as well as an exclusive Q&A for the magazine's site. Fool’s Gold live shows have earned them invitations to The Hollywood Bowl,
SummerStage The City Parks Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that provides free arts, sports, education, and community-building programs in parks across New York City. Founded in 1989, the Foundation operates in more than 400 parks, recre ...
, and the Black Sessions in Paris. Fool’s Gold have played events such as Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Oya, Austin City Limits Music Festival and London Calling Fest in Amsterdam. In 2011, they toured in England with The
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
.


''Fool's Gold'' debut album

The songs for the band's debut album ''
Fool's Gold The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Lustre (mineralogy), lu ...
'' were mostly recorded live over a two-day session at the Sunset Lodge recording studio in Los Angeles in 2008; tracks were later completed in various apartment living rooms in the early parts of 2009. Top and Pesacov collaborated on the music, written over a three-year span. The lyrics of the album are almost entirely in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
. The album was released on September 29, 2009 through Los Angeles label IAMSOUND Records on both 12"
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
and
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...
formats; it was subsequently released worldwide on January 25, 2010.


''Leave No Trace'' redefines the band

After many tours following the release of their self-titled debut, the once sizable collective organically evolved into a five-member band: vocalist/bassist Luke Top, guitarist Lewis Pesacov, drummer Garrett Ray, multi-instrumentalist Brad Caulkins, and percussionist Salvador Placencia. This line-up redefined their sound for their sophomore LP, ''Leave No Trace'', much of which was written in Wonder Valley, California (an artist/musician collective in the
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
). It was recorded at infrasonic studios in Alhambra in
East Los Angeles East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...
, according to Pesacov, who also produced the album. A notable distinction in ''Leave No Trace'' is that it is sung predominantly in English. This was an intuitive choice, much in the way the debut album leaned towards Hebrew. “Singing in Hebrew on the first record allowed me to find my voice; it helped me to come out of my shell and push myself into letting go, both as a performer and songwriter,” says singer Luke Top. “As the words and themes for this record started to take shape, I knew I had to express them in English, my first language. Being that this is a far more personal and nuanced collection of songs, it was important to me that my ideas were expressed as clearly as possible, both to myself and to the listener.”


Discography


Albums

* ''
Fool's Gold The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Lustre (mineralogy), lu ...
'' ( IAMSOUND Records, 2009) * ''
Leave No Trace Leave No Trace, sometimes written as LNT, is a set of ethics promoting conservation of the outdoors. Originating in the mid-20th century, the concept started as a movement in the United States in response to ecological damage caused by wilderne ...
'' (IAMSOUND Records, 2011) * '' Flying Lessons'' ( ORG Music, 2015)


Singles

* "Surprise Hotel", Limited Edition 7" (IAMSOUND Records, 2009) * "Nadine", Limited Edition 7" (IAMSOUND Records, 2010)


References


External links


Official website
ccount suspended*
Band profile
at IAMSOUND Records (record label) website (archived) *
Fool's Gold The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Lustre (mineralogy), lu ...
at allmusic.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Fool's Gold (Band) Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Iamsound Records artists