Paul You’ve been relatively quiet by the band’s standards so far this year with only a few short tours to show for it. What have you been up to? Are you working on new material?
Jag We’re writing away for record number 3 which should hopefully be ready for early next year, it’s taken up a lot of our time. We’ve actually been doing a lot of shows but as they’ve been dotted about it’s given the illusion of laziness ha ha. And a lot of them have been in Europe too.

Paul Can we expect any new releases this year? Do you have any confirmed album/EP/song titles?
Jag We’re putting out a 7” for fun which’ll be our one and only cover we’ll probably ever do, As for new song titles we’ve got ‘ Wrong Side of the tracks’, ‘All mod cons’, ‘ last ditch pitch’ ‘ come home in a box if you’re coming home at all’. no album title yet.

Paul What kind of direction is it taking? Which bands/records are influencing you, both individually and collectively?
Jag It’s got a cool dark vibe to some of it, I think it’s been good for us to take a break from listening to hardcore as we’ve been burned out a bit on it, so a lot of the new stuff has a sleazy, heavy feel to it. Lyrically it’s probably the most political record we’ve made, and there’s a under current of being totally in love with Science and reason.

Paul Just rewinding slightly, you signed to Undergroove in 2007/8 and things seemed to take off pretty quickly. Was it always part of the plan to make the jump from playing toilet venues to the likes of Reading in such a short space of time?
Jag Well we still play toilet venues and I’m sure we always will,ultimately whilst we had a little bit of hype the reality is that we’ve gradually picked up fans rather than jumped into the big time, I still think we’re a small band and do things like a small band, just us in a van still, which suits us just fine. Reading was amazing, very special and totally unexpected. You can’t plan getting big I think, not doing the kind of music we make, we’ve learned that and I think it makes life more fun if you don’t worry about shit like that so much.

Paul How did the deal with Epitaph come about? Were there any other labels interested in you at the time? What made you choose Epitaph?
Jag Epitaph came about with Peter from Burning heart approaching us, as he was working as A&R at the time for them, and we liked the way he spoke about bands and the music he’d worked with over the years. I think it just felt right, we all listened to so many Epitaph bands when we were growing up and you know, Converge, Every Time I Die and Bad Religion as label mates is something I can get on board with. They’ve never told us to write music in anyway I guess is the bottom line, they just let us get on with things.

Paul How was working with Pelle in Stockholm? What did you learn from the experience that you’ve taken on board since then?
Jag He’s a funny guy, I guess he imparted a lot of wisdom but subliminally, he didn’t say anything for the first week almost, just set stuff up and moved mics about. Maybe to not be frightened of being noisy, you know if something sounds evil don’t hide that, bring it out more, let something be what it is…. Does that make any sense at all? He knows what he’s doing but likes you to think he’s winging it just to fuck with you!

Paul You played at SXSW earlier this year – how was that?
Jag Good and bad, great shows and great fun being in Texas, bad as Mem couldn’t make it out due to some visa issues so 2 days before we had to recruit a friend of a friend to learn the set and drive from LA, meet us and then an hour later play the set unrehearsed. Pretty much the most stressful moment of my life thus far, but he pulled it off, playing in the garden of a pizza cafe made my year, so much fun and the Texas people know how to cook, so bonus there.

Paul How did the vinyl release of ‘This Is Where The Fight Begins’ on Holy Roar come about?
Jag I bullied Al from Hr into doing it under pain of death! Actually he TM’d Rolo Tomassi when we toured with them and got on really well, he shares the same stupid sense of misplaced cynicism that I have, so it’s was a no brainer. We’d never had a vinyl release for fight so I needed it to happen, just to give the old girl a proper send off.

Paul How do you prefer people listen to your music – CD, MP3 or vinyl? On a similar note, is packaging important to you? As a band do you take extra care in presentation or do you think the music should do the talking?
Jag Mp3’s strip the soul out of music, but I’m a massive vinyl lover. We really put an effort in with our artwork, I do all of it anyway so it’s super personal, and if you buy the vinyl not only does it sound the best but it looks the best, so for me vinyl wins. Cds seem to have come worthless, you can get them free on magazine and people throw them away after they’ve burned stuff to their ipods, so the combination of buying a 12” or 7” with a download code seems like the ideal choice.

Paul A lot of music venues have closed down in Brighton, the band’s home town, recently. Do you feel this will have a knock on effect in terms of the local talent coming through? After all, there have been a lot of exciting new bands come out of the city in the last few years…
Jag It’s heartbreaking there’s no where to play apart from practice spaces. Of course it will have an a negative effect on the local scene and will hinder the progress of new music. For example, The Freebutt is an institution and a great place to start when you’re a young band. It really annoys me that Brighton council aren’t helping the situation even though Brighton promotes itself as a vibrant musical city. I mean what’s point of hosting the great escape every year when there’s hardly any venues to play?

Paul What’s next for The Ghost of a Thousand?
Jag Finish writing album 3, festival season til the end of sept, tour in october and november record in december, album out in march!

Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes 01/06/2009

Outcry Collective. Bloody good them – I mean, really good. The venue may well be a bowling alley, the show itself may well be free, and the vocalists mother may well be in the audience, but what a show. A six man mosh pit dominates the floor and Steve Sitkowski (vocals) is the first person to get involved. There’s kicking, screaming and an all right rawness to the performance. Take Gallows and cross them with Taking Back Sunday and you are getting there. They may be supporting Ghost of A Thousand at their album launch but Outcry are not messing around. No half arsed performance and no prisoners. Its infectious, its lairy and its down right brilliant.

Climbing on stage to the proverbial (albeit subtle) war cry if “Its our fuckin’ party so you’re playin’ on our turf” – it doesn’t take long for The Ghost of A Thousand to establish the ground rules? punk rock 101. It?s hard, it?s fast, it?s loud. With a blood curdling scream vocalist Tom Lacey launches the band into a set which despite the intimate setting includes crowd surfing, stage diving, ceiling climbing and amateur screamers on the mic. Forty minutes of punch your gran in the face punk rock which has a rather more wholesome feel to it than a certain other band on the scene. Outcry may have lit tonight’s touch paper but the sheer power and confidence exuded by TGOAT demonstrates why they are here, why they are now signed to Epitaph and why they could – and rightly should be about to blow up properly. New Hopes, New Demonstrations – and a new challenger for best British Band 2009.

Gary

“We’ve had about a week off here and there, but other than we’ve been consistently on the road for 6 months now.”

Despite the miles under their belt, the two look barely phased by the fact that they’ve been living the best part of a year in a five-seater van. The work definitely seems to be paying off, with a Kerrang! Best British Newcomer nomination owing to the fact they’ve been winning themselves an army of fans.
“It’s been awesome, it’s getting to the point know where there at least thousands who know who we are now, so it’s not so much of an introduction anymore. It’s always cool to still win people over, I mean it’s been great to play for Flood of Red fans that are unlikely to have heard us before.”

And this is none more evident, than the fact that they will be opening the Lock Up Stage at the Carling Reading & Leeds Festivals next weekend. With a potential tent capacity of ten thousand, it’s got to be one of the highlights of their career so far. One wonders how a band reacts to finding out they’ve scored such a slot.

“We were bummed”. Chirps Lacey sarcastically.

“Why couldn’t we have been on mainstage?!” laughs Memby. Though they joke about it, a mainstage slot next year doesn’t seem to be too far off the cards.

Before they can continue, an eager fan taps on the window of the bus to get Lacey’s attention and get a shake of the man’s hand. It’s fascinating to watch, as these guys genuinely don’t seem to realise just an impact that they have made with their live show and debut LP ‘This is where the Fight Begins’.

Jago continues, “Seriously, We were desperate to get on [The Carling Weekend], and after getting on Download that was the next step. I‘ve been going there for ages, so it’s quite humbling.”

“It’s gonna be weird, because we’re playing before midday, so it’ll be a pyjama under the jeans job!” Adds Tom.

One thing the Ghost boys have found hard to stray away from, is this label that along with their friends in Gallows they have received, as being founders of a revivalist punk movement. When the issue is put to them, the looks on their faces tell me it’s clearly something they’ve been asked about a thousand times before, and find quite a laughable concept. Lacey is quick to explain,
“I think Gallows would agree, we both see it quite funny that people have lumped us into this revival scene. I don’t have a problem being compared to a great band. We had a few chats about it on tour and we both found it funny. We’re just two rock and roll bands.”

Due to technical delays soundchecks and subsequent press, out time is cut short together, but you always get the feeling when speaking to GOAT, is that they’ll happily catch you at the bar later. As far removed as they could be from the sonic destruction they create, Lacey and Jago come across sweet and approachable, and with their future laid out in front of them, it’s an attitude that will benefit them with critics and fans alike.

Andy R

“We’ve had about a week off here and there, but other than we’ve been consistently on the road for 6 months now.”

Despite the miles under their belt, the two look barely phased by the fact that they’ve been living the best part of a year in a five-seater van. The work definitely seems to be paying off, with a Kerrang! Best British Newcomer nomination owing to the fact they’ve been winning themselves an army of fans.
“It’s been awesome, it’s getting to the point know where there at least thousands who know who we are now, so it’s not so much of an introduction anymore. It’s always cool to still win people over, I mean it’s been great to play for Flood of Red fans that are unlikely to have heard us before.”

And this is none more evident, than the fact that they will be opening the Lock Up Stage at the Carling Reading & Leeds Festivals next weekend. With a potential tent capacity of ten thousand, it’s got to be one of the highlights of their career so far. One wonders how a band reacts to finding out they’ve scored such a slot.

“We were bummed”. Chirps Lacey sarcastically.

“Why couldn’t we have been on mainstage?!” laughs Memby. Though they joke about it, a mainstage slot next year doesn’t seem to be too far off the cards.

Before they can continue, an eager fan taps on the window of the bus to get Lacey’s attention and get a shake of the man’s hand. It’s fascinating to watch, as these guys genuinely don’t seem to realise just an impact that they have made with their live show and debut LP ‘This is where the Fight Begins’.

Jago continues, “Seriously, We were desperate to get on [The Carling Weekend], and after getting on Download that was the next step. I‘ve been going there for ages, so it’s quite humbling.”

“It’s gonna be weird, because we’re playing before midday, so it’ll be a pyjama under the jeans job!” Adds Tom.

One thing the Ghost boys have found hard to stray away from, is this label that along with their friends in Gallows they have received, as being founders of a revivalist punk movement. When the issue is put to them, the looks on their faces tell me it’s clearly something they’ve been asked about a thousand times before, and find quite a laughable concept. Lacey is quick to explain,
“I think Gallows would agree, we both see it quite funny that people have lumped us into this revival scene. I don’t have a problem being compared to a great band. We had a few chats about it on tour and we both found it funny. We’re just two rock and roll bands.”

Due to technical delays soundchecks and subsequent press, out time is cut short together, but you always get the feeling when speaking to GOAT, is that they’ll happily catch you at the bar later. As far removed as they could be from the sonic destruction they create, Lacey and Jago come across sweet and approachable, and with their future laid out in front of them, it’s an attitude that will benefit them with critics and fans alike.

Andy R

Following on from Kerrang!’s most hyped band of 2007 are London’s very own Cry for Silence. With a soon to be released debut album, much of tonight’s set is dedicated to airing tracks off the record. Unfortunately, as is often the case for support acts at metal shows, it’s a struggle to actually hear the band properly as the PA rig just doesn’t seem to accommodate for their sound. Ultimately, they end up sounding messy and confused, through no fault of their own.

Poison The Well seem ecstatic to be back onstage in London after quite some time away. With their fourth LP ‘Versions’ set the be released in under a month’s time, it’s quite an occasion too, with a fair amount of fresh material being aired amongst old favourites such as ‘Slice Paper Wrists’ and ‘Nerdy’. If a band of this calibre could be described as ‘polished’, then Poison the Well would be it.

What’s truly wonderful about this band though, is that no matter how aggressive their sound and stage show may be, they still come across as a very humble bunch of lads. When vocalist Jeffrey Morelra takes the time in between songs to thank the crowd, the support and everyone else involved for making this tour a reality, any sense of arrogance, self-righteousness and anger melts away. It’s quite a sight to see such intense aggression and honest gratitude in the same set, but PTW have it down to a tee, and it’s a sight not to be missed.

Andy R

Tom Lacey nurses his Jack Daniel’s and coke. He sits at his table with a confident grin on his face, looking forward to the show him and his fellow bandmates are about to put on tonight. You could mistake their confidence for something more sinister, yet their earlier sound-check proves these guys are on top of their game when it comes to performance, and they are well within their rights to be in good steed about their first hometown show this year.
“We’ve played some massive venues before – The Birmingham Academy was probably our biggest – something like 1,500 people. We’re always in the same frame of mind though, whether it’s that big, or something as intimate as the Engine Rooms”.

He’s not wrong about the intimacy of tonight either. In just a few hours time, Lacey will be leading his troops in a mind-shattering forty minute set in front of a crowd that barely stretches to two hundred people. It’s a real old-fashioned basement show that brings the crowd and performers together as one entity, thanks in most parts to Lacey’s inability to stay on stage during the performance. He prefers to roll around the crowd, oblivious to his surroundings, all the while completely inside his own head.

Guitarist Jag is quite a different character altogether. Where Tom is both a brilliant performer as well as a competent spokesman, Jag saves all his energy for the stage, and when thrown into the setting of a downbeat drinking establishment, prefers to keep quite, substituting his words for many, many cigarettes. When asked about their upcoming debut full-length ‘This is where the fight Begins’, both Jag and Tom’s faces light up with grins that spread from ear to ear.

“We managed to get Kurt Ballou from Converge to mix the whole thing. That was huge for us”, pipes Jag. “It was just like a huge thumbs up from someone that matters. We’re all big fans of Converge, and to get him involved on our record has been great. He must get a million metal bands sending him demos, so it was really just on the off-chance that he accepted to do ours. I think he found it different from what he’s used to. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say he’s never worked on a hardcore record with hand-claps in it before!”

Evidently proud of the final product, Lacey isn’t afraid to talk at length about their debut, and how pumped the guys are to be finally releasing it. It’s been a long road after all – the initial recordings took place over thirteen days last August, and after several delays is due to be released on February 19th this year. “It’s thirty minutes of just straight up rock ‘n roll attitude. We’re all really happy with the final product, even though we did have quite the short recording window to begin with. On the next record we’d love to be able to spend a month in the studio and experiment with different sounds and see what we can come up with. On ‘This is where the fight begins’, you’ve got the same guitar tone throughout, and it’d be great to experiment more with things like that. We’re all artists that have got room to grow”.

Despite his downplaying of the record, if the band’s performance on this Tuesday night is anything to go by, they needn’t need to worry about ‘growing’ just yet. They offered us the chance to hear many tracks that haven’t made it onto their myspace, with the most exceptional being ‘New Toy‘. As an outfit, they perform as a single entity, never missing to hit the right note on stage. The greatest thing about Ghost of a Thousand though, is that when you see them live, you’re not just watching the band, you’re experiencing them. It’s easy for bands to occasionally throw the odd headband from the guitarist or mic swing from the singer into the set, but to make it seem so natural and create a visual spectacle as energetic as their music is something you’ll struggle to find elsewhere.

To start off 2007, the guys had a live session played on Radio 1’s Rock Show, recorded at the now legendary Maida Vale studios. Daniel P. Carter has confessed to being a big fan of the band manyatime on air.

“We owe Daniel a hell of a lot,” says Jag. “It was just a fluke getting that gig really. When we played with Lucky 9, we talked to him about it and he was really up for it, but after that we just forgot about the whole thing. Then we get a call asking us to do a Maida Vale session for his show, and we were all just really excited! We love what he does on that show – he’s playing so much UK underground hardcore, and it’s great to see someone doing that, not just spinning what’s hot in the states.” While he rolls another cigarette, I comment on how the place has become a modern equivalent of Abbey Road. He’s quick to point out that it’s better than Abbey Road “because it has better gear”.

Of course, Ghost of a Thousand are no strangers to having friends in high places. Having recently toured with a string of big names, including Boys Night Out, This is Menace and Aiden, the last year has made them many celebrity friends. “Aiden were the coolest guys”, comments Tom. “Before we played in Birmingham with them, they were shitting themselves more than we were, but when it came down to it they pulled it off. WiL’s a great guy too – really sweet“.

Time becomes short, and after just a mere two pints we draw things to a close. Exchanging pleasantries, Tom heads off to find his mum, dad and fiancée, all of whom are very proud to be in the crowd tonight, while Jag heads off to prepare, and no doubt smoke a few more ciggies. While onstage their brand of music may be a bit too intense for some people’s liking, they certainly come across as hardworking, down-to-earth and thoroughly decent guys when the instruments are unplugged. The Ghost of a Thousand are set to have a great year in 2007, and I highly doubt they’ll take any of it for granted.

Andy R

Tom Lacey nurses his Jack Daniel’s and coke. He sits at his table with a confident grin on his face, looking forward to the show him and his fellow bandmates are about to put on tonight. You could mistake their confidence for something more sinister, yet their earlier sound-check proves these guys are on top of their game when it comes to performance, and they are well within their rights to be in good steed about their first hometown show this year.
“We’ve played some massive venues before – The Birmingham Academy was probably our biggest – something like 1,500 people. We’re always in the same frame of mind though, whether it’s that big, or something as intimate as the Engine Rooms”.

He’s not wrong about the intimacy of tonight either. In just a few hours time, Lacey will be leading his troops in a mind-shattering forty minute set in front of a crowd that barely stretches to two hundred people. It’s a real old-fashioned basement show that brings the crowd and performers together as one entity, thanks in most parts to Lacey’s inability to stay on stage during the performance. He prefers to roll around the crowd, oblivious to his surroundings, all the while completely inside his own head.

Guitarist Jag is quite a different character altogether. Where Tom is both a brilliant performer as well as a competent spokesman, Jag saves all his energy for the stage, and when thrown into the setting of a downbeat drinking establishment, prefers to keep quite, substituting his words for many, many cigarettes. When asked about their upcoming debut full-length ‘This is where the fight Begins’, both Jag and Tom’s faces light up with grins that spread from ear to ear.

“We managed to get Kurt Ballou from Converge to mix the whole thing. That was huge for us”, pipes Jag. “It was just like a huge thumbs up from someone that matters. We’re all big fans of Converge, and to get him involved on our record has been great. He must get a million metal bands sending him demos, so it was really just on the off-chance that he accepted to do ours. I think he found it different from what he’s used to. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say he’s never worked on a hardcore record with hand-claps in it before!”

Evidently proud of the final product, Lacey isn’t afraid to talk at length about their debut, and how pumped the guys are to be finally releasing it. It’s been a long road after all – the initial recordings took place over thirteen days last August, and after several delays is due to be released on February 19th this year. “It’s thirty minutes of just straight up rock ‘n roll attitude. We’re all really happy with the final product, even though we did have quite the short recording window to begin with. On the next record we’d love to be able to spend a month in the studio and experiment with different sounds and see what we can come up with. On ‘This is where the fight begins’, you’ve got the same guitar tone throughout, and it’d be great to experiment more with things like that. We’re all artists that have got room to grow”.

Despite his downplaying of the record, if the band’s performance on this Tuesday night is anything to go by, they needn’t need to worry about ‘growing’ just yet. They offered us the chance to hear many tracks that haven’t made it onto their myspace, with the most exceptional being ‘New Toy‘. As an outfit, they perform as a single entity, never missing to hit the right note on stage. The greatest thing about Ghost of a Thousand though, is that when you see them live, you’re not just watching the band, you’re experiencing them. It’s easy for bands to occasionally throw the odd headband from the guitarist or mic swing from the singer into the set, but to make it seem so natural and create a visual spectacle as energetic as their music is something you’ll struggle to find elsewhere.

To start off 2007, the guys had a live session played on Radio 1’s Rock Show, recorded at the now legendary Maida Vale studios. Daniel P. Carter has confessed to being a big fan of the band manyatime on air.

“We owe Daniel a hell of a lot,” says Jag. “It was just a fluke getting that gig really. When we played with Lucky 9, we talked to him about it and he was really up for it, but after that we just forgot about the whole thing. Then we get a call asking us to do a Maida Vale session for his show, and we were all just really excited! We love what he does on that show – he’s playing so much UK underground hardcore, and it’s great to see someone doing that, not just spinning what’s hot in the states.” While he rolls another cigarette, I comment on how the place has become a modern equivalent of Abbey Road. He’s quick to point out that it’s better than Abbey Road “because it has better gear”.

Of course, Ghost of a Thousand are no strangers to having friends in high places. Having recently toured with a string of big names, including Boys Night Out, This is Menace and Aiden, the last year has made them many celebrity friends. “Aiden were the coolest guys”, comments Tom. “Before we played in Birmingham with them, they were shitting themselves more than we were, but when it came down to it they pulled it off. WiL’s a great guy too – really sweet“.

Time becomes short, and after just a mere two pints we draw things to a close. Exchanging pleasantries, Tom heads off to find his mum, dad and fiancée, all of whom are very proud to be in the crowd tonight, while Jag heads off to prepare, and no doubt smoke a few more ciggies. While onstage their brand of music may be a bit too intense for some people’s liking, they certainly come across as hardworking, down-to-earth and thoroughly decent guys when the instruments are unplugged. The Ghost of a Thousand are set to have a great year in 2007, and I highly doubt they’ll take any of it for granted.

Andy R