Ghoti Hook

Ghoti Hook (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is an American punk band from Fairfax, Virginia. The band formed in 1991, signed to Tooth & Nail Records in 1996, and disbanded in 2002.

History

Joel Bell, Adam Neubauer, and Justin Levy formed the group in 1991. Conrad Tolosa and Christian Ergueta, who also went to the same youth group, joined the band shortly after. Levy left the band after one year to pursue other interests. Conrad's cousin, Jamie Tolosa, was asked to join the band soon after. In 1994, they started to develop their pop-punk sound. The group released two independent EPs in 1994 and 1995, both produced by Kevin 131 at Assembly Line Studios. They built a following primarily in central Pennsylvania (PA). Ghoti Hook signed to Tooth & Nail Records in 1996, then released four albums: Sumo Surprise, Banana Man, Songs We Didn't Write, and Two Years To Never.

Conrad, the guitarist and a primary songwriter of the band, decided to leave Ghoti Hook after the release of "Banana Man" and the subsequent tour promoting its release. He left the band when the band began to tour full-time so he could finish seminary and continue with his accounting career. His last show was in the fall of 1997 at a show promoted by Javacasa in Lebanon, PA. Mark Lacasse joined on lead guitar in 1998 and helped to write and record "Two Years to Never". Ergueta left the band sometime after the recording of "Two Years to Never" with Lacasse leaving a few months later.

As a three-piece band, and as their last ever studio recordings, Ghoti Hook released a six-song EP titled EP on Velvet Blue Music. The group disbanded in 2002. The band's last concert was at Cornerstone Music Festival on July 6, 2002, with guest performances by Conrad and Lacasse. The concert was recorded and released as a live album entitled Rest In Peace.

The band played a reunion show on June 13, 2009, at Circle of Hope in Philadelphia, PA with the (also reunited) Huntingtons, Speedy Delivery, 274, and Main Line Riders. The performance was part of a benefit concert to support Jeannie Pierce, wife of Huntingtons' drummer Mikey Pierce, who was suffering from brain cancer. The band performed as the final three-piece lineup along with an appearance from Conrad Tolosa on guitar for five songs.

In November 2022, the band posted pictures of themselves on their Facebook page rehearsing songs, leading to speculation that they had regrouped. This was later confirmed with an announcement that the group would be participating at Furnace Fest in September 2023.

The band played a small-club reunion show on September 9, 2023, at Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA, with The Throes as an opening act.

Name

The word "ghoti" is a phonetic spelling of "fish", invented in the 19th century as an example of the irregularities of English spelling. Pronunciation: the "GH" as in the word "rouGH", "O" as in "wOmen" and "TI" as in naTIon. However, the band pronounces its name more intuitively.Template:Clarify

Members

Current lineup

• Joel Bell – vocals, guitar (1990–2002, 2009, 2022–present)
• Adam Neubauer (also known as Chachi Manchu) – drums (1990–2002, 2009, 2022–present)
• Jamie Tolosa – guitar, backing vocals (1991–2002, 2009, 2022–present), bass (2000–2002, 2009, 2022–present)

Former members

• Justin Levy – guitar (1990–1991)
• Conrad Tolosa – guitar (1991–1997)
• Christian Ergueta – bass, backing vocals (1991–2000)
• Mark Lacasse – guitar (1998–2000)

Timeline

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Colors =

 id:Vocals  value:red        legend:Lead_vocals
 id:Guitar  value:green      legend:Guitar
 id:Bass    value:blue       legend:Bass
 id:Drums   value:orange     legend:Drums
 id:BV      value:pink       legend:Backing_vocals
 id:album   value:black      legend:Studio_album
 id:EP      value:gray(0.55) legend:EP
 id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 BackgroundColors=bars:bars ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1991 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1991

LineData =

layer:back
 color:album
  at:08/30/1996 
  at:11/04/1997
  at:10/06/1998
  at:07/18/2000
 color:EP
  at:01/01/1994
  at:01/01/1995
  at:01/01/2002
 

BarData =

 bar:JB  text:"Joel Bell"
 bar:JL  text:"Justin Levy"
 bar:JT  text:"Jamie Tolosa"
 bar:CT  text:"Conrad Tolosa"
 bar:ML  text:"Mark Lacasse"
 bar:CE  text:"Christian Ergueta"
 bar:AN  text:"Adam Neubauer"

PlotData=

width:11
 bar:JB  from:01/01/1991 till:07/06/2002 color:Vocals
 bar:JB  from:07/13/2009 till:07/13/2009 color:Vocals
 bar:JB  from:11/30/2022 till:end 	      color:Vocals
 bar:JL  from:01/01/1991 till:12/31/1991 color:Guitar
 bar:CT  from:06/01/1991 till:12/31/1997 color:Guitar
 bar:ML  from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/2000 color:Guitar
 bar:CE  from:06/01/1991 till:12/31/2000 color:Bass
 bar:JT  from:01/01/1992 till:12/31/2000 color:Guitar
 bar:JT  from:01/01/2001 till:07/06/2002 color:Bass
 bar:JT  from:07/13/2009 till:07/13/2009 color:Bass
 bar:JT  from:11/30/2022 till:end        color:Bass
 bar:AN  from:01/01/1991 till:07/06/2002 color:Drums
 bar:AN  from:07/13/2009 till:07/13/2009 color:Drums
 bar:AN  from:11/30/2022 till:end 	      color:Drums
width:3
 bar:JB  from:01/01/2001 till:07/06/2002 color:Guitar
 bar:JB  from:07/13/2009 till:07/13/2009 color:Guitar
 bar:JB  from:11/30/2022 till:end        color:Guitar
 bar:JT  from:01/01/1992 till:07/06/2002 color:BV
 bar:JT  from:07/13/2009 till:07/13/2009 color:BV
 bar:JT  from:11/30/2022 till:end        color:BV
 bar:CE  from:06/01/1991 till:12/31/2000 color:BV
 bar:ML  from:01/01/1998 till:12/31/2000 color:BV

</timeline>

Discography

• No Date (EP) (self-released, 1994)
• Boca Grande (EP) (self-released, 1995)
• Sumo Surprise (Tooth & Nail Records, 1996)
• Banana Man (Tooth & Nail Records, 1997)
• Songs We Didn't Write (cover album) (Tooth & Nail Records, 1998)
• Two Years to Never (Tooth & Nail Records, 2000)
• Six Songs Ep (Velvet Blue Music, 2002)
• Retrospective (compilation album) (Tooth & Nail Records, 2002)
• Rest in Peace (live album) (Tooth & Nail Records, 2003)

External links

• Interview at The Phantom Tollbooth
• Interview at Acid Underground
• Interview at Exit
• Interview on Never Was Podcast