In 1999, Long Island ska band Edna’s Goldfish got a few plays on MTV with the video for their ultra-catchy song “Veronica Sawyer.” Behind the scenes, the group was being courted by major labels wanting to “take them to the next level.” But the band’s indifference to label support and the changing tides away from ska in the mainstream ultimately flat-lined any of these plans. They broke up in 2000 with no record deal to hold on to. 

Our guest today is Edna’s Goldfish’s lead singer Brian Diaz, who would go on to form a few other bands after Goldfish, but in 2003, would make the transition to guitar/bass tech for prominent bands such as Fall Out Boy, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Primus and Motion City Soundtrack. Basically, Diaz has been on the road for a couple of decades now! Though this past year, with live music canceled, he’s been at home more than he can remember ever doing in this free time. That’s given him the free time to dig up and digitize old Edna’s Goldfish footage, something he’s wanted to do for years.

It also afforded him the time to chat with Adam and me about his ska past. We talk about the time Edna’s Goldfish toured with Link 80 on what was supposed to be a Buck ‘O Nine headlining tour. Buck left the tour after their bassist had a medical emergency, but Edna and Link 80 continued on regardless. We also discuss the story behind Veronica Sawyer, we reveal what ska band Patrick Strump (Fall Out Boy) loves, and what it was like to have Atlantic Records wining and dining Edna’s Goldfish over a plate of shark. 

If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon! 

If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music. 

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023. 

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.

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