GDB

In the summer of 2006, GDB (or Goldfish Don’t Bounce if you’re not into the whole brevity thing) was on the verge of becoming a Las Vegas breakout success. Fresh off the heels of the release of ‘The Space Between’ in 2005 and two financially successful tours, the band was gaining the momentum it needed to become something bigger. Embracing the do-it-yourself ethic, members of the band could be seen flyering outside of your favorite venue, booking their own tours/shows, hustling $5 t-shirts, opening for your favorite band at Jillian’s (see also: the Castle, Doggystyle, the Rock n’ Java, the Bunkhouse, Huntridge, Sanctuary… basically if it had a stage they probably played it), meticulously practicing their legendary live sets at the Alamo Rehearsal Studios until management would drag them out at closing time, or selling 1k+ copies of its self-pressed albums in front of some venue in Tucson… or was it Hollywood… or maybe Missoula… it all happened so quickly. Yet maybe it was the rigors of the road, a friendship gone awry, people moving in different directions, or perhaps just what happens to most bands that struggle to pay rent, but that summer saw the departure of 4 of the 6 members. Under the same name the remaining members carried on with various incarnations before letting the band quietly disappear.



By that point GDB had become something of a Vegas institution. The number of former members has to be in the 30’s or 40’s, and it’s inevitable that if you’ve lived in this city for longer than a month you are somehow connected to it. Ask around and it's almost guaranteed that your cousin’s boyfriend’s roommate was in a band that played with them or maybe you shared a beer at some dive bar with a then-bitter former member lamenting about the pawning of a Super Nintendo by a current member. Founded sometime in the late 90’s in high school by always-member Jordan Rosenthal (drums) and friend Brian Kolek (bass), the band became a Ska-Punk favorite around town. Jordan and Brian endured numerous line up changes and and continued to progress musically until they were led to Kyle Vaden (saxophone), Tony Venniro (vocals and guitar), Lauren Coleman (vocals), and Christopher Piro (guitar). This is the line-up that turned the band into a musical endeavor that embraced experimentation and musical improvisation as much as it did catchiness and harmonization. It morphed into more than the sum of its parts, into something bluesy, rootsy, soulful, heavy, and light. To say it was a contradiction would be an understatement.



Since 2006 members have been anything but idle in the interim. Brian Kolek and Kyle Vaden went on to form the band Huxtable for a brief time. Christopher Piro has been involved on and off with numerous local bands. Tony Venniro started the more rock influenced band Picture Pilot, who are currently making huge waves playing the House of Blues and other high profile shows. Lauren Coleman relocated to the cooler shores of Orange County, CA, and formed her own project known as Pebaluna, who toured briefly with Rx Bandits through California, as well as a guest appearance on the 2008 The Sound of Animals Fighting release ‘The Ocean and the Sun’ (Epitaph Records). Jordan Rosenthal toured extensively across the country with local favorites One Pin Short, most notably opening for Streetlight Manifesto and Reel Big Fish, as well as writing numerous songs on their recent S/T release. In August on '09, He decided to leave the group and join 'HaleAmanO' a great Island/Reggae band breaking out in the Vegas Scene. It’s obvious that all members have kept music at the forefront of their lives.