Goldspot

For the soft drink, see Gold Spot.

Goldspot
Frontman Siddhartha Khosla of Goldspot performs in Bangalore in 2012.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, United States
Genres	Indie rock Alternative rock Indie Pop Retro Filmi
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Mercury Records Union Records
Past members	Ramy Antoun, Seth McLain, Sergio Andrade, Derek Horst
Website	Goldspot.net

Goldspot is a New York-based band first introduced by tastemaker DJ Nic Harcourt on his morning show, KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic". The Sunday Times UK hailed Goldspot as "the best band to come out of America in years". Founded by singer/songwriter/producer and television & film composer Siddhartha Khosla, the group has since received critical acclaim for its debut album "Tally of the Yes Men" (Tally), sophomore release "And The Elephant is Dancing," and its most recent release "Aerogramme." HITS Magazine named Goldspot "Ones to Watch in 2010". The band released their third full-length "Aerogramme" on August 20, 2013. Goldspot's Siddhartha Khosla and guitarist Jake Owen appeared as the musical guest for First Lady Michelle Obama's Diwali celebration at the White House on November 5, 2013. "Aerogramme" was named by Los Angeles Times Music Editor Lorraine Ali as the #1 album of 2013. In 2014, Goldspot earned its second Vh1 India nomination for "Best Global Indian." The band's first nomination was in 2009—for "Best International Act."

Goldspot were the first band ever to play at London's O2 Arena when they supported Bon Jovi on 24 June 2007.

History

After a live performance on Harcourt's show, the band soon began playing shows across Los Angeles in venues like The Troubadour and Hotel Cafe. Harcourt championed the band, hailing them as his "favorite band of 2005", and began playing tracks from Tally of the Yes Men in heavy rotation ("Rewind", "Time Bomb", and "Friday").

The band was founded by singer/songwriter Siddhartha Khosla. From 2005-2007, the band lineup consisted of Ramy Antoun (drums), Sergio Andrade (bass), Seth McLain (guitars, keys and backing vocals) and Derek Horst (guitars and backing vocals). The band signed a record deal in 2005 with a start-up, independent label Union Records, with distribution through ADA. Thanks to KCRW's heavy airplay they were able to sell 10,000 copies of their debut Tally of the Yes Men. Tally was co-produced by Jeff Peters and Goldspot. Respected NPR radio stations KEXP and WTMD, along with other indie radio stations across the country, began to play the record in constant rotation.

Eventually, the band signed a deal with major record label Mercury Records (Universal Music Group) in the United Kingdom. An alternate version of "Tally" was released in the UK in June 2007, featuring A. R. Rahman's Bollywood Orchestra, and received plaudits from UK press like Q magazine, the Sunday Times, and The Guardian. The Sunday Times hailed Goldspot as "the best band to come out of America in years".

"Tally" reached No. 10 in the alternative charts. The debut single "It's Getting Old" was the second most downloaded iTunes Single of the Week ever, behind Justin Timberlake. The follow-up single "Friday" was BBC Radio 2's "Record of the Week" and reached No. 21 in the UK airplay charts. The band also released a Hindi version of the same track which reached No. 4 in the BBC Asian Network Charts. "Friday's" video appeared in regular rotation on MTV, VH1, "The Hits", "The Box", Q, and Sky television networks. Khosla also performed the single in Hindi

"Tally" made several "Top Albums of 2007" lists. Goldspot was named the No. 4 best new act of 2007, and "Tally" was named in the Sunday Times' "Top Albums of 2007".

Goldspot also played the Glastonbury (headlined by The Arcade Fire and Björk), O2 Wireless, and V Festivals throughout the summer of 2007. The band has opened for Travis, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, and even Bon Jovi.

Follow-up album "And the Elephant is Dancing", produced by Beach Boys engineer Jeff Peters and Siddhartha, was released digitally on 2 November 2009. Music supervisor and influential DJ Nic Harcourt (KCRW) hailed Goldspot as "one of my favorite bands of the moment", and called the band's new album "a classic and timeless gem...it's as if George Harrison never left India". The band appeared on NPR's "Tell Me More with Michel Martin" in April 2010 as well as influential radio shows KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" with Jason Bentley and WTMD (Baltimore) in 2010, where they performed songs off the new album. Songs from "Elephants" have appeared in dozens of major network television shows and films.

The band's newest release "Aerogramme" on Khosla and co.'s own Mt. Hoboken Records/Nice Music Group recounts the travels of Khosla's family from India to the US in the late 1970s. Lead single "The Border Line" received consistent airplay on US radio (include Sirius XM's "The Spectrum" and several other Triple A - format stations around the country). The album was released to very positive reviews, including the Los Angeles Times' pop music editor naming it the #1 album of 2013. "Aerogramme" is released under Sony India for several South Asian countries. On May 1, 2014 Goldspot was nominated for a Vh1 India Music Award: "Best Global Indian."

Television/film/placements

Khosla is currently the composer for Lionsgate's hit drama, E!'s "The Royals," starring Elizabeth Hurley, FOX comedy "Grandfathered," starring John Stamos, and feature film "Liv," starring Teddy Sears (Masters of Sex) and Catherine Eaton. His recent credits include original songs for musical film "Basmati Blues" (Brie Larson, Donald Sutherland), and scoring the ABC series "The Neighbors," executive produced by Dan Fogelman. He also wrote original songs for the series, including a Bollywood musical episode that aired on March 17, 2014.

Khosla's songs have been featured in three online advertisements for Apple's iPad (2010), "If The Hudson Overflows" and "Rewind" appeared on the Emmy-nominated US hit television show "How I Met Your Mother," and songs from "Elephants" and original songs appear in feature film "Today's Special" (2010) (starring Aasif Mandvi of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"). Goldspot's "What's Under The House" appeared on NBC sitcom "Perfect Couples" (2011), and in the trailer for "How Do You Know (2010)", starring Jack Nicholson, Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Owen Wilson. "Clap Clap" also appeared briefly in the trailer for "The Dilemma (2011)," starring Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin James, Winona Ryder and Queen Latifah. The song also appeared in the trailer for "Something Borrowed (2011)" with Kate Hudson and John Krasinski. Several songs from "Elephants" also appeared on the MTV hit "16 and Pregnant (2010)." "Paper Boats" appeared in an eBay ad (2009). The band appears on the soundtrack for motion picture The President Is Coming, a 2009 Indian satirical Bollywood film "The President is Coming" featured songs "Paper Boats" and "Under the House" (both English and Hindi versions). Their cover of Spencer Davis's motown classic "Keep on Running" was featured in the film and soundtrack for Simon Pegg hit "Run Fatboy Run" (2008).

Their cover of the Modest Mouse song "Float On" was used in the Fox TV series The O.C. during episode 5 of season 4, "The Sleeping Beauty", and also appears as the first track on the OC Soundtrack Vol. 6. The song was also used in a Chevy commercial in 2008. "Time Bomb" also appeared on the OC in season 3. "Rewind" appeared in the NBC show "Inconceivable".

Khosla has also co-written for other artists as well such as Natalie Imbruglia. He co-wrote "Flirting" with Imbruglia on her 2009 album "Come to Life."

Discography

Studio albums

• Aerogramme - Mt. Hoboken Records/Nice Music Group, (August 20, 2013) SONY Music (India) (October 15, 2013)
• And the Elephant is Dancing (2010)
• Tally of the Yes Men - Mercury Records/Universal Music Group (2007), SONY BMG (India) (2008) (UK Alternative Charts No. 10)

Singles

• "The Border Line" - (2013)
• "Friday" - (2007) (UK Alternative No. 21, BBC Asian Network No. 4)
• "It's Getting Old" - (2007) (UK Alternative No. 10)
• "Ina Mina Dika" - (2011)

Television

• Grandfathered FOX Original Score (2015)
• The Royals E! (Lionsgate) Original Music and Score (2015)
• The Neighbors ABC Original songs "Balle Balle or Go Home" & "Satan's Siren" (2014)
• The Neighbors ABC Original Music & Score 2013–present
• The Neighbors ABC (2013), "Resident Alien"
• The Neighbors ABC (2013), "Miss Johnson"
• How I Met Your Mother Season 8 (air date 12/17/12) CBS (2012), "If The Hudson Overflows"
• Perfect Couples NBC (2011), "Under The House"
• Scrappers Spike (2010), "One Year Anniversary"
• The T.O. Show VH1 (2010), "The Moon is Too Far"
• 16 and Pregnant MTV (2010), "Clap Clap", "Call Center Girl", "Tale of a Fish", "Grocery Store", "One Year Anniversary", "The Moon is Too Far", "Emily", "Under The House"
• How I Met Your Mother Season 5 CBS, (2009), "Rewind"
• Inconceivable Season 1 NBC, (2005), "Rewind"
• The "OC" Season 6 Fox, (2005), "Float On"
• The "OC" Season 5 Fox, (2005), "Time Bomb"

Film/Soundtracks/Compilations

• ""LIV" (2016) (Teddy Sears) Original Score
• ""Basmati Blues" (2016) (Donald Sutherland, Brie Larson, Scott Bakula)
• The "OC" Mix Volume 6 Warner Bros. Records, (2007)
• Run Fatboy Run (Motion Picture Soundtrack) Universal Music Group (2008)
• KCRW Sounds Eclectic: "The Next One" KCRW (2008)
• The President is Coming (Ramesh Sippy Entertainment) (2009)
• Today's Special (Inimitable Pictures) (2010) Original songs: 'Ina Mina Dika,' 'Foundations,' 'What's Under The House,' 'Grocery Store'

Advertisements/Commercials

• Google "Feed Your Curiosity" (2015)
• Target "Anthem" Holiday Commercial (2013) #mykindofholiday
• Vans ""If The Hudson Overflows" (2013)
• Chevrolet "Float On" off "The OC Soundtrack: Volume 6" (2008)
• eBay "Paper Boats" off "And The Elephant is Dancing" (2009)
• Apple iPad video "Clap Clap" off "And The Elephant is Dancing" (2010)
• Apple iPad guided tour video "Clap Clap" off "And The Elephant is Dancing" (2010)
• Apple technology overview video "Grocery Store" off "And The Elephant is Dancing" (2010)
• Today's Special (Inimitable Pictures) trailer starring Aasif Mandvi, Naseerudeen Shah, Madhur Jaafrey featuring "Ina Mina Dika" and "What's Under The House" (2010)
• How Do You Know (Universal Pictures) trailer starring Reese Witherspoon, Jack Nicholson, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson featuring "What's Under The House" (2010)
• The Dilemma (Universal Pictures) trailer starring Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly featuring "Clap Clap" (2011)
• Something Borrowed (Warner Bros.) trailer starring Kate Hudson & John Krasinski featuring "Clap Clap" (2011)

Songwriting Collaborations

• Flirting performed by Natalie Imbruglia on "Come To Life" (2009)

Music Videos

• ""The Border Line (2013)
• "Time Bomb" (2006)
• "Friday" (2007)
• "Rewind" (2007)
• "Ina Mina Dika" (2011)

External links

• Official site
• NPR Feature
• Sunday Times Feature
• Allmusic profile
• Sunday Times Breaking Act
• Gold Rush: Goldspot Frontman Siddhartha Khosla Shines, Nirali Magazine, March 2007
• Tally Of The Yes Man
• Goldspot Interview about Indian Heritage
• Goldspot - Siddhartha adds Fizz To Indie music - t2