Forget everything you thought you knew about young indie bands. Ghostwood, a four-piece straight outta the Northern beaches, are set to redefine the entire framework for how a teenage band gets famous, stays famous and becomes one of the most popular new acts in the country. For the uninitiated, Ghostwood are Gabby, Paddy, Crandles and Westy, and are also a completely new spawn of the artists formerly known as The Ghosts. “We heard there was a band in America called the Ghosts” explains drummer James West, “So we just changed the name before all the legal fire came raining down on us…”
West is an anomaly in the band simply because he is the only member who has completed his HSC. He’s also the newest addition to the group, having been “pulled into a recording session with Nick Littlemore from Pnau,” who was interested in The Ghosts from their very early stages. “It’s very surreal!” he laughs “I was playing in other bands and suddenly I come into this band of teenagers and they can really fucking play! I just got the music straight away and soon after I joined Ghostwood permanently.” The band then just so happened to get signed to THE label that everybody dreams of – Modular Records. Responsible for the likes of The Presets, NYPC, The Klaxons and, of course, Grammy winners Wolfmother, Modular is a tastemaker label that must have a ‘cool’ radar designed by the Pentagon. Seeing potential, they picked up Ghostwood almost two years ago, and have just released their first self-titled EP.
“There’s probably a big Pokemon undercurrent…” says West in regards to the first two tracks on the EP, appropriately titled Red Version and Blue Version. I tell him that I thought they were different version of the same song. “Not a chance!” he giggles. “Gabby likes Pokemon, I think, so maybe the album will have ‘Sapphire Version’ and ‘Diamond Version’.” And just like that little yellow dynamo, Pikachu, Ghostwood send bolts of lightning through almost every track on the EP. “There’s a lot of time that goes into the guitar work and the effects. I have just always beat my drums, really REALLY hard!” Their recent spate of live shows has seen them literally converting people on the spot, as punters’ eyes glaze over and they become instant Ghostwood devotees. “The response to our gigs and the EP has been completely unexpected – but great!” West corrects himself. “And it’s always great to have our friends there going crazy at the front.”
Speaking of friends, Ghostwood have a couple of notable compatriots who have helped them rise through the mess of crappy Aussie bands. Most interesting are the boys from Mercy Arms, who are currently taking the Ghostwood kids under their wing on their national tour. “Well, the thing about Mercy Arms is that we grew up in the same area…” says West. “Kirin used to work at the guitar shop we all used to go to. I also used to compete against him in soccer-” I cut James off mid-sentence. Kirin, the flamboyant Svengali guitarist, who wears make-up during the day, playing soccer? “Yeh!” chuckles West “He was a goal keeper and a great one at that! I think he went on to play representative level.” Unbelievable.
Ghostwood, meanwhile, are all into the touring and recording. “It’s been a wild ride but I love it!” says James, signing off. Hopefully in the next Ghostwood or Mercy Arms video we’ll see him doing a penalty shoot-out with Kirin, in full stage garb. Can’t wait!
