Review Fix Exclusive: Dreams of Vertigo’s Doug Ferguson Talks ‘Blakey’s Goldfinger’ And More 

Review fix chats with Dreams of Vertigo’s Doug Ferguson, who discusses the creative process and goals for the band’s new single, “Blakey’s Goldfinger.”

Review Fix: How did the band get together?

Doug Ferguson: The band originally formed as an acoustic project in 2012.  It was literally just me and a guitar with some songs.  Shortly after, finding Devin for some lead guitar.  Eventually we knew we needed a bassist and drummer because we were writing a lot of full band music.  We like to call ourselves the “Craigslist band” because we all met through Craigslist ads online. The only exception being Joe on guitar and backup vocals.

Review Fix: How was “Blakey’s Goldfinger” written?

Ferguson: It was written in a couple different steps really.  It started as a ska-punk riff Doug wrote, the band liked it, and they jammed it from time to time as sound check before practice.  Then Devin (“Blakey”) announced that he had to move to the east coast.  Shortly after, Paul Miner (New Found Glory, Thrice) approached Doug with the interest to record a new single with them.  Blown away by the opportunity, they somehow kept going back to the ska-punk song.  A couple days prior to hitting the studio, Doug sat down to write lyrics.  Originally writing it about something different.  Every time he looked at his paper, it was lines clearly written about one of his best friends, and band mate, Devin.   The name came about as a sort of joke.  Goldfinger, being and obvious influence on the band, and the first band Doug and Devin saw live, then of course… Blakey, being Devin’s nickname.  The title stuck.

Review Fix: What makes you guys unique?

Ferguson: Our live show is what people seem to enjoy.  Every show is a new experience.  We believe our fans aren’t our fans… They are our family.  We have created a tight group of people who love and support us, and we love them because of that.  We make music for ourselves. No rules. We just love to make music.

Review Fix: What acts inspire you the most?

Ferguson: Bands like Green Day, Blink 182, Mest, MXPX, and Unwritten Law have an obvious influence on us.  Bands like Avenged Sevenfold, New Found Glory, and Thrice have an influence on who we are as musicians.  Making music for the love.  To create a big community and to show our fans the support they have given us.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2016?

Ferguson: To finish “Reject University Part Two,” and hit the road to as many cities as possible.

Review Fix: How do you want people to be affected by your tunes?

Ferguson: We don’t want people to be affected a particular way. We want people to feel the way they do about it naturally.  Love it, hate it.  Just listen.  Whether you feel connected to the lyrical content, the drums, or the harmonies speak to you. We just want you to feel the passion, and drive we put into every song we release.

Review Fix: How do you want this LP to be remembered?

Ferguson: The record that changed us.  It’s very different from “Part One” because as a band we went through a lot.  It comes out in our music.  We hope you all enjoy it and can join us on the ride.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Ferguson: Right now, we are currently working on “Reject University Part Two” which we hope to have out by the summer. After that, we hope to get out on the road and play to as many people as will watch us.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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