INTERVIEW // GHOST OF A THOUSAND

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665647244986970475.post-22703358088806937662009-06-20T11:58:00.001+01:002009-06-20T12:00:47.606+01:00INTERVIEW // GHOST OF A THOUSAND<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l_8Myg7NlCs/SjzBVsfb8QI/AAAAAAAAMBw/ol1iORgdew0/s1600-h/theghostofathousand1300.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 0px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l_8Myg7NlCs/SjzBVsfb8QI/AAAAAAAAMBw/ol1iORgdew0/s200/theghostofathousand1300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349363035873734914" /></a>Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds brings together 14year old emos, and 22 year old pop punk lovers from across the north, and with the line up only improving every year, it’s not surprising. Don’t get me wrong, I think everyone has had just enough You Me at Six for an entire lifetime, but with other acts including Kids In Glasshouses, the Blackout, Cobra Starship, the Audition and Brighton’s very own Ghost of a Thousand, I jumped at the chance to go and have a chat with guitarist Andy Blythe, about the band, the album, that Gallows tour and life in general. NOIZE: So Andy, first off, the boring but important questions. For those people that haven’t heard of you, describe your sound. Andy: For us, it’s a mixture of rock & roll music, hardcore music and skate punk. We’re all into different things, like out drummer and other guitar player (Memby and Jag) grew up listening to Bad Religion and the Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph bands, whereas I liked the more hardcore Bridge 9 end of the spectrum,. I suppose our sound it where our tastes meet, like rock and roll is what we all like, garage rock bands like the Hives and the Stooges. N: So has the line up always been as it is now? Were you one of those met in college, garage rock bands? A: Me and Mem (drummer) met at college, and him and Jag (guitarist) were already writing demos and looking for other members of the band. They played me what they had and I loved it, we started rehearsing as a three, and then Mem, who was working in a bar with Tom (singer) offered to help us as we were auditioning for singers but nothing was really working. It was great with him and then we found a guy to play bass, though he only lasted a few months. Gaz, who plays bass now, played for a while, on the first album but he left, for another bassist, and mow Gaz is back in the band. N: So is it a cursed position, playing bass in TGOAT? A: No, not at all, there was all sorts of shit going down, but we never parted with them on bad terms, Gez’s commitment and friendship was always honoured, but he wasn’t the right man for the job, and well, now Gaz is back and he works much better with the rest of us and it’s great again! N: And what about the band name? A: I hate answering this as it’s a really boring story actually, basically we were all sat around taking a break from practice really early on, and Mem was like I really like the word ghost, which at the time was quite original as there weren’t really any bands with ghost in their name, so Tom just suggested The Ghost of a Thousand, and we liked it! No more complicated than that, nothing profound or obscure, and I really should learn a more elaborate story to tell! N: You’ve just come off the Gallows tour, how was that? A: Well we only did three days, but it was really good. We’ve known those guys from about 2007 and they’ve opened up some pretty big doors for us. We’re big fans of what they do, and they’re big fans of what we do, and we formed around the same sort of time, so have similar influences. A lot of people think we’re influenced by Gallows, but that’s not the case. The similarity in the sound is probably cos we’re all from the same generation, but our new album and their new album are very different, subject matter is very different. N: The new album – it has a completely different sound to the old one – was that a purposeful advance or just a gradual move? A: it wasn’t a conscious thing, we didn’t sit down and set an agenda for the second album, once Gaz came back, we’d all had a pretty shit year to be honest, like personal relationships ending and Tom’s going through some tough family times, it affected the mood of the band, it was a lot more sombre. It got to the end of writing the album when I realised I hadn’t been out socialising with my friends for so long, I didn’t know how to do it any more! It’s hard, but the mood of the album reflects that, it’s a document of the time. We’ve always been a band to take risks, we’re not really happy writing the same music for the rest of our careers, and we do want careers out of it at the end of the day. We don’t want to be just a hyped fashionable band. N: So you’ve mentioned quite a few bands that have influenced you, are there any that you feel have influenced you the whole way through? A: People who influence our sound is not so big a part of the process now as it was back then, I think now we’re more comfortable with how we play as players rather than trying to emulate someone else. Now it’s got a lot more personality, and lots more ours. It’s our piece of art. Certain bands try and emulate their favourite bands without trying to grow as players, so we’ve had various influences but nothing that we want to be, that’s not what we’re aiming for. N: So you’ve had quite an impressive year so far, new album, new single, Gallows dates, what are your next steps for domination?! A: we love European music fans, we played a festival in Belguim, we had a really great slot, surrounded by loads of punk, hardcore and metal bands, it was great. We’re booked in to do a few more European festivals this year, trying to get into Europe a lot more, and whether it’s festivals or tiny club shows we’re content whatever. We play because we love playing live, whether there are 5 people or 5000 people there. N: Where do you see yourself if 5 years? What are the future plans? A: There’s a lot more that hasn’t been said or written, and we’re capable of so much more. It feels like we’re ready to go again, tour loads, write at least one more album and fill a headline tour playing to 500-1000 people a night. It’s ambitious but it’s not unrealistic. It’s not like we want world domination, it would be nice if it did happen but if it didn’t we wouldn’t be upset. N: Have you got anything else planned for this year? A: We’ve got Reading and Leeds festival over here, Download, things like that, but not in terms of recording. N: So is there anyone particularly that you’re keen to see at the festivals, or at Slam Dunk here today? A: Our stage is pretty much full of our friends, I mean we’ve played loads with everyone one the bill, even You Me at Six, Kids in Glass Houses, and the line up is so solid, it should be a great day! I’d love to tour one day with Converge, who are on our new label, Epitaph, and Bad Religion. It’s great just to hang out, particularly with nice people! N: So, sell me your new single… A: Bright Lights, it’s got everything, catchy riffs, a big chorus, a dynamic breakdown and a climatic ending! By Jessica Kempner <script src="http://api.gigsta.co.uk/7digital/7digital_widget.php?artist_name=GHOST+OF+A+THOUSAND&width=585&partner_id=0&affiliateID=105050" type="text/javascript"></script><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5665647244986970475-2270335808880693766?l=www.noizemakesenemies.co.uk'/></div>noizenoreply@blogger.com0