We the Ghost
Power pop, hip-hop, rock, and even metal are listed as influences by the members of the We the Ghost. A band that follows the song formulas of pop with the instrumentation of a folky rock band, WTG is an addicting mix of sound perfect for the radio.
“We have a violinist who’s classically trained, so she loves classical and jazz,” explains lead vocalist Beau Tyler, “a guitarist who’s really rooted in blues and jazz, and he plays anything from ragtime to rock, but his favorite guitarist is Eddie Van Halen. We have a drummer who’s favorite drummer is Dave Grohl from Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, he hits hard and heavy. [Our] bass player is from the Berklee School of Music, so he loves jazz and rock and pop.”
Tyler continues, saying that he and keyboard and vocalist Kristen Goss are huge fans of hip-hop and pop.
“We have a lot of really diverse influences, but being that I write [a] very modern, pop formula,” says Tyler. “It really just works to something very current but different.”
Tyler laughs that fans will often think, “‘this is kind of like something Rihanna would write, but it’s a band.’”
This crossover in their music will be a huge benefit for We the Ghost, who I suspect will be scoring a number one single in the future. They definitely have that potential.
The reason Tyler approaches his music this way is because of his frustration with the rock scene. “Rock formats stopped being progressive,” explains Tyler. “At least with pop I can still be creative.”
Tyler loves that We the Ghost has all these incredible musicians, and doesn’t want the confines of any one genre to hold them in place. “Let them go,” he says.
Even with all of this pop-rock fusion and song formulas, there was never a set plan for We the Ghost. It all happened on its own.
“If the band tells you there was a vision, a mastermind for all this, it’s a lie,” Tyler and Goss laugh.
Listen to their song “Let Me Know,” a very indie rock sounding song. It may not strike you as something that would fit in with Rocklahoma, but let me tell you, We the Ghost is so much more heavy in concert than they are in album.
“We have a violinist who’s classically trained, so she loves classical and jazz,” explains lead vocalist Beau Tyler, “a guitarist who’s really rooted in blues and jazz, and he plays anything from ragtime to rock, but his favorite guitarist is Eddie Van Halen. We have a drummer who’s favorite drummer is Dave Grohl from Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, he hits hard and heavy. [Our] bass player is from the Berklee School of Music, so he loves jazz and rock and pop.”
Tyler continues, saying that he and keyboard and vocalist Kristen Goss are huge fans of hip-hop and pop.
“We have a lot of really diverse influences, but being that I write [a] very modern, pop formula,” says Tyler. “It really just works to something very current but different.”
Tyler laughs that fans will often think, “‘this is kind of like something Rihanna would write, but it’s a band.’”
This crossover in their music will be a huge benefit for We the Ghost, who I suspect will be scoring a number one single in the future. They definitely have that potential.
The reason Tyler approaches his music this way is because of his frustration with the rock scene. “Rock formats stopped being progressive,” explains Tyler. “At least with pop I can still be creative.”
Tyler loves that We the Ghost has all these incredible musicians, and doesn’t want the confines of any one genre to hold them in place. “Let them go,” he says.
Even with all of this pop-rock fusion and song formulas, there was never a set plan for We the Ghost. It all happened on its own.
“If the band tells you there was a vision, a mastermind for all this, it’s a lie,” Tyler and Goss laugh.
Listen to their song “Let Me Know,” a very indie rock sounding song. It may not strike you as something that would fit in with Rocklahoma, but let me tell you, We the Ghost is so much more heavy in concert than they are in album.
Many of We the Ghost’s members have been touched in some way by cancer. In the song “Letters to God,” Tyler expresses the anguish he felt while his father was passing away from cancer.
“It’s about the real, honest approach that whenever you lose someone like that, anybody is going to say, ‘What kind of God would take my father? My father was the greatest man on the planet. Why would that happen?’” explains Tyler. “That song is about questioning God. It’s saying, ‘I’ve been writing letters to God, but all I got was return to sender.’”
In addition to Tyler’s father, Goss’ mother has been fighting cancer, guitarist Matt McHan’s father died a few months after Tyler’s did, and two of the members of We the Ghost are themselves cancer survivors.
To fight cancer, We the Ghost has made amazing efforts through their music, raising the funds for three years of cancer research at Ohio State University.
“If there are families that don’t have to do what I did and hold your father as he takes his last breaths and just gets weaker and weaker,” says Tyler, that’s more important than any song he’ll ever right.
Tyler explains, “A death in cancer isn’t five minutes, it’s three hours, it’s eight hours… That last process, you go through three hours of wondering, ‘Are they breathing or not?’ You’re breaking down inside.”
“It’s about the real, honest approach that whenever you lose someone like that, anybody is going to say, ‘What kind of God would take my father? My father was the greatest man on the planet. Why would that happen?’” explains Tyler. “That song is about questioning God. It’s saying, ‘I’ve been writing letters to God, but all I got was return to sender.’”
In addition to Tyler’s father, Goss’ mother has been fighting cancer, guitarist Matt McHan’s father died a few months after Tyler’s did, and two of the members of We the Ghost are themselves cancer survivors.
To fight cancer, We the Ghost has made amazing efforts through their music, raising the funds for three years of cancer research at Ohio State University.
“If there are families that don’t have to do what I did and hold your father as he takes his last breaths and just gets weaker and weaker,” says Tyler, that’s more important than any song he’ll ever right.
Tyler explains, “A death in cancer isn’t five minutes, it’s three hours, it’s eight hours… That last process, you go through three hours of wondering, ‘Are they breathing or not?’ You’re breaking down inside.”
To end everything on a lighter note, We the Ghost is sponsored by Dr Pepper (my favorite soda!), and the members claim that they will NEVER be sick of it.
“I work out three or four times a week,” Tyler boasts. “Every time I run, my reward is Dr Pepper.”
Goss agrees enthusiastically, saying, “We love Dr Pepper, and we’re not even lying!”
So in honor of this peppy rock band, have a Dr Pepper and go listen to some of their awesome music.
“I work out three or four times a week,” Tyler boasts. “Every time I run, my reward is Dr Pepper.”
Goss agrees enthusiastically, saying, “We love Dr Pepper, and we’re not even lying!”
So in honor of this peppy rock band, have a Dr Pepper and go listen to some of their awesome music.
Zoe Adler is a music journalist from Long Beach, California. Besides her website, which is her pride and joy, she works with the GRAMMY Foundation and the Long Beach Independent. Additionally, Ms. Adler is a musician, spending half of her time playing the flute, piccolo, trombone, and marching baritone. She has been with TeenView Music since the very start and hopes to make something of it in the future. |