Fred Fest 2006 ... from Gonculator's Myspace page.By Derek Degraad
After four years of playing shows, writing songs and recording music at Fredonia, the band Gonculator is zeroing in on its ultimate goal: To leave college with a solid music career already well under way.
Winning the Fredonia battle of the bands in 2006 and then opening for Fred Fest headliner Rufus Wainwright surely couldn’t have hurt their progress.
“That was pretty much the way we got signed to our first label,” said Gonculator bassist Derek Stoll.
Gonculator came on the scene in Fredonia out of Rochester in 2004 and will be leaving this year. In their time at Fredonia, its members managed to establish a fan base as well as create a moderately successful first album.
“So I mean, Jim Goldsworthy came up to us after that show, was pretty much like ‘I’d like to talk to you guys about a possible record deal,’” said Stoll. “So that was one of the more substantial things, obviously, that came out of playing that show.”
Jim Goldsworthy is the former manager of Subcat Records. The company, based in Syracuse, recently evolved into its present form as Fierce Little Records.
“I think also that playing that show just made us feel really good,” said Stoll. “We were out there playing and I think I heard that there were around 2,000 people out there. You know, and some people were telling us they had come out just to see us...so, that was just amazing and I think that’s when we first felt like ‘hey, maybe we can do this the rest of our lives.’”
Gonculator formed in 2003, the brain child of l Jake Kodweis, Stoll and Sean Grief, all childhood friends who shared an interest in music and a sense of humor. All of them attended Hilton High School near Rochester. It wasn’t long before Cameron Griffith, an accomplished marching band drummer during his time in Hilton High, joined up and completed the foursome.
It’s the shared sense of humor that has produced tongue and cheek song titles such as “Dana Novocaina” and “The Day She Took a Dump on My heart.” Their first studio album, “Gonculators Family Restaurant” has sold over two thousand copies so far. They routinely draw big crowds in cities like Ithaca and Syracuse as well as their native Rochester.
“People in Ithaca go nuts!” says Kodweis. “They’re all about having a good time, that’s why we make it a point to play their whenever we can.”
Kodweis, the band’s front man and main song writer, easily deserves most of the credit (or blame) for Gonculators’ reputation for bizarre onstage behavior.
“The kid’s facial expressions are outrageous,” laughs Kara Patrick, a long-time friend and fan. “He’s just so funny to watch onstage.”
Kodweis has sometimes been known to sport a pair of fairy wings on stage.
“I saw them at the thrift store, and I figured ‘hey this might be entertaining’…and sure enough it was,” he said. “They started to smell after a year and a half however, so I pretty much had to toss them out.”
A gonculator is a word that describes a type of paddle used to stir chemicals in a laboratory. That analogy is quite fitting for a band that delves into so many styles whilst managing to emerge with a sound that is still completely their own.
Tracks off “Family Restaurant” like “Motorcycle Love” and “Corruption in America” are straight up rockers in the tradition of Van Halen and Queen, filled with chunky riffs and Grief’s hyper noodling guitar solos. “25 years,” with its slow build up, could be taken as indie, whilst “Sexual Harassment,” a fan favorite, starts as a head-nodding funk song before collapsing into a head banging thrasher.
During their senior year in high school, the boys collectively decided they would attend the same college so that the band could stay together. It also turned out that the Fredonia music scene was just the right fit for them at just the right time.
“Our strongest base is definitely in Fredonia,” said Stoll. “We’re all from Rochester and we play in Rochester and people go, but we definitely have our base established here. And it’s nice because it’s a college town and people go home and spread the word around and we feel that our base expands that way.”
“Fredonia has the best music scene I’ve honestly ever seen,” added Grief. “I don’t know of any other schools that have this intimate of an underground music scene. So I think that’s really special and that the school thrives on it somewhat and it’s an honor to have been so well embraced by here.”
Winning the Battle of the bands in 2006 and opening for the headliner during Fred Fest, SUNY Fredonia’s annual end of the year blowout, helped to secure the band’s reputation in Fredonia’s small but vibrant music scene and has helped the band maintain momentum.
“I know I’m pretty happy and it gives me confidence that when we play at BJ’s we pack the place every time,” explains Grief. “So, you know, with that kind of consistency…it’s not bad at all. It’s amazing how effective word of mouth has been for us. People see us or read a review online or get introduced by a friend and it pretty much became real huge real fast.”
He also explained why they were only played Fred fest once and why they felt it was enough.
“Once you win it, you’re not eligible to compete the next year. So, the time we won it, we were sophomores, and now as seniors we were eligible again and we figured ‘hell, why not’ and that it’d be a good way to head out but…unfortunately we came in second place. Its fine, I mean we played it once and it was cool, so were pretty happy.”
The band was recently strained with Kodweis’ decision to drop out of school and go to work selling music equipment at Guitar Center back in Rochester.
“I felt like I was pretty much done with college and I like what I’m doing now, but I drive up and practice every week, so we haven’t fallen off yet,” he jokes.
Kodweis and the rest of the band admittedly have no plans other than the band after they leave Fredonia. Stoll, however, will be graduating this semester with a math degree. He’s also a math tutor on campus and has the kind of GPA that could guarantee him a spot in the grad school of his choice. He is adamant, however, that he is all about taking the band as far as it will go.
“Make no mistake, I fully plan on rocking my whole life,” Stoll says reassuringly. “The math teaching is only going to happen if everything else goes awry. I’ve pretty much put all my eggs in one basket on this one.”
While some people might think that banking your future on the whole college rock band thing might be an irresponsible gamble, every group member is equally confident that this is the real thing.
“We’ve got some pretty nice things that are happening for us and some amazing opportunities, which I don’t think many bands get to experience,” Stoll said. “Like, we just got signed to an up and coming label, a label that just kind of allows you to play your own music without pressuring you to change. Fierce Little Records is in the process of merging with some bigger people who will hopefully move us in the direction where we can do this full time and not need to work real jobs.”
“That’s the goal, it’s not about being rich or famous or any of that crap, it’s just being able to make a career out of what we love to do,” said Grief.
“This year we’re going to do BJ’s fest instead, which should be real real cool,” assured Stole.
BJ’s fest, which will take place this Friday will be the last show Gonculator will play in Fredonia as students. All of the band members believe that they will be playing an extremely long set that may not be over until way after the bar closes.
As the guys close the door on their predetermined time in Fredonia, they look forward to bringing their music to more of the world.
Winning the Fredonia battle of the bands in 2006 and then opening for Fred Fest headliner Rufus Wainwright surely couldn’t have hurt their progress.
“That was pretty much the way we got signed to our first label,” said Gonculator bassist Derek Stoll.
Gonculator came on the scene in Fredonia out of Rochester in 2004 and will be leaving this year. In their time at Fredonia, its members managed to establish a fan base as well as create a moderately successful first album.
“So I mean, Jim Goldsworthy came up to us after that show, was pretty much like ‘I’d like to talk to you guys about a possible record deal,’” said Stoll. “So that was one of the more substantial things, obviously, that came out of playing that show.”
Jim Goldsworthy is the former manager of Subcat Records. The company, based in Syracuse, recently evolved into its present form as Fierce Little Records.
“I think also that playing that show just made us feel really good,” said Stoll. “We were out there playing and I think I heard that there were around 2,000 people out there. You know, and some people were telling us they had come out just to see us...so, that was just amazing and I think that’s when we first felt like ‘hey, maybe we can do this the rest of our lives.’”
Gonculator formed in 2003, the brain child of l Jake Kodweis, Stoll and Sean Grief, all childhood friends who shared an interest in music and a sense of humor. All of them attended Hilton High School near Rochester. It wasn’t long before Cameron Griffith, an accomplished marching band drummer during his time in Hilton High, joined up and completed the foursome.
It’s the shared sense of humor that has produced tongue and cheek song titles such as “Dana Novocaina” and “The Day She Took a Dump on My heart.” Their first studio album, “Gonculators Family Restaurant” has sold over two thousand copies so far. They routinely draw big crowds in cities like Ithaca and Syracuse as well as their native Rochester.
“People in Ithaca go nuts!” says Kodweis. “They’re all about having a good time, that’s why we make it a point to play their whenever we can.”
Kodweis, the band’s front man and main song writer, easily deserves most of the credit (or blame) for Gonculators’ reputation for bizarre onstage behavior.
“The kid’s facial expressions are outrageous,” laughs Kara Patrick, a long-time friend and fan. “He’s just so funny to watch onstage.”
Kodweis has sometimes been known to sport a pair of fairy wings on stage.
“I saw them at the thrift store, and I figured ‘hey this might be entertaining’…and sure enough it was,” he said. “They started to smell after a year and a half however, so I pretty much had to toss them out.”
A gonculator is a word that describes a type of paddle used to stir chemicals in a laboratory. That analogy is quite fitting for a band that delves into so many styles whilst managing to emerge with a sound that is still completely their own.
Tracks off “Family Restaurant” like “Motorcycle Love” and “Corruption in America” are straight up rockers in the tradition of Van Halen and Queen, filled with chunky riffs and Grief’s hyper noodling guitar solos. “25 years,” with its slow build up, could be taken as indie, whilst “Sexual Harassment,” a fan favorite, starts as a head-nodding funk song before collapsing into a head banging thrasher.
During their senior year in high school, the boys collectively decided they would attend the same college so that the band could stay together. It also turned out that the Fredonia music scene was just the right fit for them at just the right time.
“Our strongest base is definitely in Fredonia,” said Stoll. “We’re all from Rochester and we play in Rochester and people go, but we definitely have our base established here. And it’s nice because it’s a college town and people go home and spread the word around and we feel that our base expands that way.”
“Fredonia has the best music scene I’ve honestly ever seen,” added Grief. “I don’t know of any other schools that have this intimate of an underground music scene. So I think that’s really special and that the school thrives on it somewhat and it’s an honor to have been so well embraced by here.”
Winning the Battle of the bands in 2006 and opening for the headliner during Fred Fest, SUNY Fredonia’s annual end of the year blowout, helped to secure the band’s reputation in Fredonia’s small but vibrant music scene and has helped the band maintain momentum.
“I know I’m pretty happy and it gives me confidence that when we play at BJ’s we pack the place every time,” explains Grief. “So, you know, with that kind of consistency…it’s not bad at all. It’s amazing how effective word of mouth has been for us. People see us or read a review online or get introduced by a friend and it pretty much became real huge real fast.”
He also explained why they were only played Fred fest once and why they felt it was enough.
“Once you win it, you’re not eligible to compete the next year. So, the time we won it, we were sophomores, and now as seniors we were eligible again and we figured ‘hell, why not’ and that it’d be a good way to head out but…unfortunately we came in second place. Its fine, I mean we played it once and it was cool, so were pretty happy.”
The band was recently strained with Kodweis’ decision to drop out of school and go to work selling music equipment at Guitar Center back in Rochester.
“I felt like I was pretty much done with college and I like what I’m doing now, but I drive up and practice every week, so we haven’t fallen off yet,” he jokes.
Kodweis and the rest of the band admittedly have no plans other than the band after they leave Fredonia. Stoll, however, will be graduating this semester with a math degree. He’s also a math tutor on campus and has the kind of GPA that could guarantee him a spot in the grad school of his choice. He is adamant, however, that he is all about taking the band as far as it will go.
“Make no mistake, I fully plan on rocking my whole life,” Stoll says reassuringly. “The math teaching is only going to happen if everything else goes awry. I’ve pretty much put all my eggs in one basket on this one.”
While some people might think that banking your future on the whole college rock band thing might be an irresponsible gamble, every group member is equally confident that this is the real thing.
“We’ve got some pretty nice things that are happening for us and some amazing opportunities, which I don’t think many bands get to experience,” Stoll said. “Like, we just got signed to an up and coming label, a label that just kind of allows you to play your own music without pressuring you to change. Fierce Little Records is in the process of merging with some bigger people who will hopefully move us in the direction where we can do this full time and not need to work real jobs.”
“That’s the goal, it’s not about being rich or famous or any of that crap, it’s just being able to make a career out of what we love to do,” said Grief.
“This year we’re going to do BJ’s fest instead, which should be real real cool,” assured Stole.
BJ’s fest, which will take place this Friday will be the last show Gonculator will play in Fredonia as students. All of the band members believe that they will be playing an extremely long set that may not be over until way after the bar closes.
As the guys close the door on their predetermined time in Fredonia, they look forward to bringing their music to more of the world.
“We hope to have a pretty heavy touring schedule,” said Grief. “Always be in the studio. It’s just what we’re used to doing: being together as a group, practicing, recording, playing shows. Yeah we’re definitely going to keep doing it.”
If you want to hear what the band sounds like, check here
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