OK, as you may have guessed, this is an appeal to all you children of the 80's. Come on, you know who you are! You loved the decade of skaters and yuppies; your major fashion statement consisted of wearing one glove; you said "Gag me with a spoon!" with much seriousness and grave import. And every Wednesday night, you planted your fluorescent-clad bottom in front of the TV to watch the ultimate in 80's sitcoms,
The Facts of Life. Just admit it - the exploits of Tootie, Jo, Natalie, Blair, and Mrs. Garrett were often the prime-time highlight of the
week. We laughed; we cried; we ate Pop Rocks while learning life's most important lessons from our favorite TV teachers every Wednesday night.
Alas, the ladies of Eastland Academy all girls school left our collective vision in 1988 (R.I.P.). But it appears that a decade later, the facts of life continue to be taught…and often by the most unexpected of teachers. Take, for instance, the zany rock and roll outfit that is Ghoti Hook. Sure, you know them for instructing eager listeners in such lyrical gems as "Christian got mauled at the zoo" and "girls are nothing but trouble," but beneath the outrageously silly exterior lies a different side to your favorite goofball rockers. In talking with bassist Christian Ergueta, one finds an unexpected depth behind this road-weary band and a keen understanding of the way things work in the music world and the world at large.
So for the benefit of all you 80's fly girls and boys, we present a candid look at the way the world turns from a musician's perspective…EXIT and
Christian proudly showcase the facts of life, Ghoti-Hook style.
Episode #1 -- Change, Change, Change (Ghoti Hook on their changing line-up)
"Basically, we've been a four piece for the last year and a half or so, once Conrad (Tolosa, former guitarist) left the band. After that time, we put out our cover record,
Songs We Didn't Write, which has been doing great. And we wanted to bring in some kind of different ideas, so we brought in Mark Lacasse, who is one of our friends from Pennsylvania. So we brought him along, and he's done great. He's been playing, and he's been playing really, really well. He's got great ideas, so you hear a lot of his influence on our new record."
Episode #2 -- Time to Grow Up (the new and improved GH sound)
So how is that new material going?
"It's going good. It's really strong. It's different in some ways more in-depth, I think. It's more emotional, if that makes any sense.
Oh, say it ain't so! Surely, Ghoti Hook isn't jumping on the emo rock andwagon?
"I wouldn't call it emo, no. I think it's Ghoti Hook but a little more grown-up, because time passes and you experience things and you see things, some good, some bad. And we're not a bunch of goofy little kids like we used to be."
So does that mean no more sumo wrestler songs?
<laughing> "I don't know - that's a good question! We're not goofy little kids; we're just big goofy kids, so whatever!"
When should we expect a new album out?
"We haven't set a date, but it will probably be out early 2000; probably January, February, sometime in there, giving us time to just play some good songs."
Episode #3 -- Punk's Not Dead
What would you say to those folks who classify GH as a punk rock band and then make big, hairy deals out of the fact that punk is lagging in popularity and will soon be forever confined to the underground?
"If I have to call us (Ghoti Hook) something, we're a rock and roll band with punk rock influences…As far as I'm concerned, punk was dead a
long time ago. Now you have all this new school punk, which is basically people who like fast rock and roll music with lots of melody and harmony. And everyone is going corporate. There's a couple of D.I.Y. kinda people out there, and that's great for them, but if you're making music and it's only reaching a certain limit, you're limiting your own music. And if that's what you want to do, that's fine, but for Ghoti Hook, we don't want to put a limit on our music or on our audience. We make it, like I said, for everyone. The more people that like it, listen to it, and can get something out of it, the happier that we're going to be."
Episode #4 -- Fans, Fans Everywhere!
So is college radio playing a major role in leading new listeners to Ghoti Hook?
"Yeah, definitely. That's been the biggest increase (the increase in college students). And you can tell we're getting a lot more people who've never seen us before that heard a song and want to come and check us out."
How would you characterize the Ghoti Hook fan base; is it primarily Christian or secular?
"Basically, we'll call it the 'youth group crowd.' They've been really supportive throughout our time, and they can relate to a lot of the things. They understand a lot of the things that we're writing about. Some stuff has a little double meaning where everyone can understand, but some stuff only someone who knows Christ can actually understand the depth of the song. So they've been supportive. They've been great, and they still are. Now we're venturing, playing more clubs, so we're getting an older
crowd that wouldn't necessarily go to a little community center or something like that. And that's been really encouraging. It's kind of like a breath of fresh air for us, because it's a new bunch of people that have never heard us. And when they hear us and they like us, it's a good feeling. And we want to make sure that we're playing for everyone, just like we've always been doing."
Do you think a lot of that expanded fan base came with the MxPx tour?
"That's been the direction that we've wanted from the start for Ghoti Hook. I guess it's kind of sad to say, but there's lack of quality in the Christian music industry. So if there's a band that's halfway decent, even if they're not that decent, they can go pretty far. And that's a sad statement, I think, because it really doesn't glorify God too much. But I just think that when we're in our eighth year of being a band and playing and sharing in our music, we want to be able to have more people listen. So we really enjoy it."
Episode #5 -- Ghoti Hook Around the World…For a Price!
What would you say to those fans that feel that many Christian booking agencies overcharge for performances
and can be generally difficult to work with?
"I agree. I mean, our booking agency, like other ones we've worked with, is not perfect. They have problems. They mess up a lot. When we were on the MxPx tour, they (MxPx) had problems of their own. They had to do their own advancing. Their booking agency didn't really do it for them as well as they should've, but what can you say? They work with so many bands; it's hard to keep focus on one certain band, things like that. And a lot of it has to do with money, because that means the booking agency would have to hire more people. And if they hire more people, they can't make as much. There's money to be made in the music industry, but it's really, really hard until you get that break …. But if (a band) can bring in 3,000 kids to a show, they better be getting a significant amount because they (the kids) are not coming to see the venue or the promoter.
They're coming to see the band. So I don't know if that makes any sense, but be ready to pay what the band's worth. If you think the band sucks, pay them a little bit. If you like them, then be ready to work real hard, get lots of kids in, and keep the cover cheap."
Episode #6 -- The Wonders of Capitalism (more GH thoughts on touring)
But do you think that a bit of a dichotomy can be perceived when bands who claim to be ministry-oriented charge high ticket prices?
"Yes and no. I would agree that they're ministry-oriented, but I don't think it's ministry toward people who aren't Christians. I think it's ministry toward Christians. So basically, people are paying a horrendous amount of money to go and maybe praise and dance and do their skanking kind of
thing, and that's great. If that 25 bucks is worth it to them, fine. And again, if you can't afford it or think it's too much, don't go. It's pretty easy.
Capitalism works beautifully.
We'll do some shows that are real cheap, maybe even free. It depends what it's worth; it depends what the cause is; it depends who's putting it on. But if a club or a venue or a promoter is going to be making a lot of money off of it, well, the band should be making a good chunk of it, too. I think it's only fair. And the kids are the ones who have the parents who have the money, give them the allowance, give them the 20 bucks. So
if they want to spend it that way, it's up to them."
Episode #7 -- On Partnership
with The Man (Ghoti Hook + Tooth and Nail = ???)
"Our relationship is great. I mean, they're really helpful. They've given us a lot of support; they push our record and our video. Like, our record has been number 58 on the CMJ charts, and it's stayed on for a while, fluctuating up and down. Our video for "Walking on Sunshine" is in heavy rotation on MTV2 and MTV Latin America. It's playing in Finland and Germany, so there's a lot going on now. So we're excited."
Episode #8 -- Welcome to Life in the Christian Market!
What do you think of the criticism of a good bit of Christian music as always being a couple years behind
the mainstream and resorting to "copycat" groups and styles?
"Well, I think if you're going to be behind, you might as well not do it, because the whole idea of making art is to make it original. You know, if you want to make it for yourself and rip off all these other artists, you can do it, but it's not going to be fulfilling or maybe impacting the culture the way that art should."
Uh-oh…here comes the evil "Christians in a band vs. Christian band" question…your response?
"That's really easy. It's simple. Everyone in Ghoti Hook, we're all understandably born again Christians, and our music is rock and roll. So we play rock and roll music at rock and roll shows. I mean, if you want to call us a Christian band, because of laziness to actually think through things, (that's fine). 'Cause you don't call your dentist a Christian dentist; a Christian plumber, a Christian club, a Christian classical song, whatever. It's the person who composes it, who writes it. And then it puts you in this dilemma: what if three of the people in the band are Christians and two of them aren't? Is it Christian or non-Christian? (Does) it depend on subject matter? No. It's not about the object; it's about
the condition of a person's soul."
How do you feel about the incident in which a major Christian music/bookstore pulled your Songs We Didn't Write CD your covering songs by non-Christian artists)?
"I have mixed feelings. It shows ignorance of people to look further, I guess. When people are listening to a Ghoti Hook record, I would think they should think of Ghoti Hook and what's being talked about…We did songs that were written by Christians and songs that were written by non-Christians, but things that were good quality music. So if that good quality music that talks about playing a guitar and having fun with it, if
that's surpassed by the bands who wrote it or their spiritual lives or something like that, I think it's a shame. Because the CD is about the music. And we don't endorse anything that's against the Bible or against Jesus Christ, so we had a lot of discernment in choosing the songs that we did. But just because people aren't Christians doesn't mean that their music and art is not good. If it's good, it should be appreciated, because creativity comes from one source: it comes from God. It's us, in a small way, mimicking our Creator. And some people know that, and some people don't."
Episode #9 -- The Future and Beyond…
Where is Ghoti Hook going in the future?
"Good question, too. It's a really trying time right now because being together eight years, we're all getting older; we all have things that are becoming more important priorities. And playing music is awesome, playing shows is great, but years and years of sacrifices financially have made it really difficult and straining. So we're playing our music, we're trying to do everything that we can do on our side, and as soon as the whole music industry falls back into place after this whole merger with Seagram, Universal, Polygram and all that craziness, let's see if some doors open. We're going to keep at it for a couple years, and I think God will open doors. And if He doesn't, that's alright 'cause He's taught us what He wanted to."
Episode #10 -- Everything I Need to Know I Learned on a Tour Bus (Ghoti Hook on the important stuff in life)
What do you think is the most important thing you've learned from being a part of Ghoti Hook?
"It's easy to talk and say that you believe something and to say that you're doing it for a certain reason, but it's a different thing when you have to live it every single day, when you're gone 150, 180 days of the year. You want to go home and see your girlfriend, hang out with your family; you want to spend your birthday with your friends, things like that. It doesn't happen when you're touring in a band full-time. I guess you just have to see that God has a plan for (you) and trust that even though sometimes it might not be where you want to be, it's where He wants you to be. And that's important."
Photos from In search for
a CCM Webpage
Ghoti Hook Official Website -|
http://www.ghotihook.com
