bill bodkin interviews the asbury-based rock band as they get ready to perform at pop-break’s shipwrecked at the shore music showcase on thursday july 12 at the wonder bar in asbury park…
Last fall, I sat in the apartment of Last Perfect Thing’s Greg Wilkens, interviewing he and his fellow bandmates about their upcoming annual Thanksgiving Eve show at The Saint in Asbury Park. During the interview Wilkens, the band’s founding father and lead singer, went out of his way to mention that the band From Ghosts, which features former members of LPT, would be opening up for them. He and his fellow bandmates seemed really stoked to have the Asbury Park-born From Ghosts opening for them. Not just because of their previous relationship, but as LPT’s Kevin Conroy simply stated “…They’re great and worth checking out.”
That’s pretty high praise coming from one of the long-standing bands of the Asbury scene. And tonight, July 12, Pop-Break.com is proud to present From Ghosts at The Wonder Bar as a part of our Shipwrecked at the Shore Music Showcase Series. From Ghosts, has a terrific sound, one that reminds us of the rock scene from earlier last decade — bombastic basslines and impassioned vocals crashing into each other with passion and panache. Yet, don’t call them a throwback, don’t call them post-emo or any other label — just call them damn good.
Pop-Break’s EIC and MC Bill Bodkin spoke with the band about their history, the Asbury Scene and what separates From Ghosts from the pack.
Pop-Break: Let’s start with a simple question — can you talk about the origin of the name of the band?
From Ghosts: The band name came from something I was writing around the time of our first show. It was Something I ended up calling ” Born From Ghosts.” It was basically a poem about how, creatively we are just reiterations of all of our influences and how beautifully cyclical music is. We were inspired to play music by people who were inspired to play music and so on.
PB: In an interview we did with the guys from Last Perfect Thing, they mentioned that some of the members of From Ghosts were in LPT. Which members were in that band and can you talk about your time in it?
From Ghosts: Yeah, after High School Joe and I got together with Greg and Danny and started playing. It was seriously all we did. We would stay at the Hot Dog House and play music 12 or 15 hours a day. Some of the best times of our lives. Down the hall, Jason was singing in Strength In Numbers doing the same thing .
PB: Can you talk about how you guys came together?
From Ghosts: We all grew up together in Ramtown (a section of Howell, NJ). We’ve been friends and band mates since grade school. All it took was a phone call.
PB: What are the bands that influenced your sound?
From Ghosts: That’s a tough one. We seriously listen to everything. We grew up punk rock/ hardcore kids from the suburbs. We would go skateboarding and listen to cassettes on the car stereo with the doors open. We would take out “Ride The Lightning” and put in “Fear Of A Black Planet.” Really listening to the full spectrum of music. Learning about Strung Out or Pennywise from surf videos…Helmet, Beastie Boys, Supergrub, Glassjaw, Quicksand, Minor Threat ,Tribe Called Quest, Earth Crisis…… Almost everything on Epitaph or Fat, Faith No More, Pearl Jam, Thrice, Hot Water Music, Bruce, Deftones, Rx Bandits early Metallica. I mean, that’s such a weighted question to ask a band.
PB: If someone reads this interview and wants to go out and download some of your music — what would be the track you would recommend to them and why?
From Ghosts: I think “Dichotomy Internal.” It’s a song written about a person who has just overdosed and the internal discussion they have between the part of them that wants to live and the part that is ready to give in. It’s one of my favorites.
PB: What’s been your favorite From Ghosts live show so far?
From Ghosts: We’ve played The Saint with our friends in LPT the past couple years on Thanksgiving Eve. The show supports a great cause and it’s a great time of year. A lot of old friends are home for the Holidays. It’s always a blast
PB: What’s your opinion of the current Asbury Park music scene?
From Ghosts: Asbury is so much more alive now than it’s been in decades. It was a ghost town for so long, and now there are people pouring out of bars and restaurants onto the street. Music filling the air and street art by Stinky Cheese. It makes me feel good to see this place rebounding like it is. I seriously never thought I would. It’s a cool time to be around, witnessing the resuscitation of a place with so much soul. Bands like: Set It Free, The Get Rights, Taylor Allen, LPT, The Obvious, and Earthman playing all over town, it’s really inspiring.
PB: Speaking of the local scene, what separates From Ghosts from everyone else?
From Ghosts: We’re not trying to separate ourselves from anybody. We’re just having a lot of fun doing what we do. We aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel or anything, we just write honest, thought-provoking rock songs that we like to play.
PB: What are your plans for the rest of 2012?
From Ghosts: We’re just about to release our second EP called Between The Storms and then hopefully get right back in the studio and start recording the next one.
From Ghosts performs tonight at The Wonder along with Pop-Break’s house band, The Clydes (fronted by the site’s co-founder, Brent Johnson) and Modern Chemistry (fronted by Pop-Break senior writer and social media editor, Joe Zorzi).
