The
Ghost is Dancing by Matt
Dixon, July'08 Photo
(Above) by Doug Estey. Photo (Below) by Jerry Yo.
Shuttles & Planes from The Darkest Spark
1.Please introduce
The Ghost Is Dancing and give a brief history of the band: Jamie: The Ghost is Dancing is an indie-pop band from Toronto.
A bunch of us moved to Toronto for university and fell in love
with the music going on there and started a band despite the existence
of any instruments or musical training. The first song we wrote
we wrote literally with kneeslaps and deep chanting. The idea
of actually being able to produce music was a magical and distant
thing for us, and the inspiration for the band was actually just
to see if we could do it.
2.
What does The Ghost Is Dancing mean to you? Jamie: To me, very personally, The Ghost is Dancing means
keeping a certain part of me, not quite the child in me, but the
force behind the willingness to dream and dance and have fun,
keeping that alive in me.
3.
What are some of the things you try to communicate through your
music? Jamie: Sometimes I'll talk to someone and we'll talk about
something that happened "a lifetime ago". And we'll
both think back to how the world seemed to us then, what drove
us to do what we did, and that feeling becomes almost physical,
like I can hold it in my hands. Songs are like that to me. Each
song comes from some weird collision of moment and music . . .
they string together and later you can look at it and see what
you were thinking about. The last record was about leaving home,
the great trek to the unknown. Left me with the feeling that I'll
never know what I'm walking into until after I'm done with it.
Like old men feel like children trying to figure out how to be
old men.
4.
You recently concluded a tour with some dates with Fredericton,
NB's Koak. How did your relationship with them develop into ultimately
teaming up to do a couple of shows together? Jamie: One of the best things about touring is getting to
know another bands set so intimately. We actually had never heard
KoAk before. Ryan Patey hooked us up with them and said they were
good. We thought they were fantastic and we wanted to bring them
home with us.
5.
Is it difficult to take time off and seemingly put life on hold
to go on tour? How are you able to handle it monetarily, emotionally,
etc? Jamie: Touring is insane. You jeopardize your job, your ability
to pay your bills, you have to hope your girlfriend / wife trusts
you completely, and you have to become a trucker. After three
tours we've averaged 8 hours driving a day, with some 28 hour
drives in there through fog, moose and other various "night
dangers". You have to content yourself with Tim Hortons and
Subway for three weeks. When we arrive in a town we've never been
in and have two hours to find food, we wander aimlessly and desperately
for something decent and cheap.
That said we
usually have the time of our lives! We're all friends, and have
been for a long time. So travelling together, under any circumstances,
is so much fun. It's a unique opportunity to be able to go to
cities and immediately communicate with the people there (by playing
a show). We almost always make great friends and get to experience,
for one night, the way they live and what makes them tick. We
swam in a foot deep pool infront of Edmonton's City Hall at three
in the morning, we played an inpromptu set in Banff at an open
mic and made falafels and had four houses to stay in . . . We
literally have the time of our lives. It's worth it.
6.
Any sort of injuries or sickness throughout the tour? Jamie: I hit myself in the head with my guitar in Vancouver
and got a nice Harry Potter lightning scar between my eyes. I
had a fever throughout the whole Maritimes tour, but Sudafed and
beer cured that!
Kevin: I think
we've been really fortunate to have no serious injuries or sicknesses
throughout or tours yet. It's really rough though when one of
the band members has a cold and just looks/sounds/feels horrible,
and you know that being trapped in a car together with them for
8 hours a day isn't a question of "if" you'll get sick,
it's just a question of "when" you'll get sick.
7.
What was the best city / best venue to play? Jamie: We'll all have different ones ... or will we? For
me the crazy slapshod venues win: that bar in Banff, Backalley
Records in Charlottetown was amazing.
Kevin: The Back
Alley Records show in Charlottetown was definetly the best show
by far this tour. There was apparently a mask theme that we didn't
really know about beforehand, so we spent much of the evening
searching for cardboard, string, and markers. And then the rest
of the time attempting to draw faces and make some sort of decent
mask. Yes, it was incredibly hot and sweaty in that little room,
but everyone there was having a fun time, all the people there
were really friendly and it really ended up making the whole trip
wothwhile for us.
8.
What was the weirdest occurrence of the tour? Jamie: Hard to say. Probably the sweaty-naked hand-clap-fest
in Charlottetown.
Kevin: Jellyfish.
Tons and tons of Jellyfish. I've never seen one before in my life
and they were like bees over there. What a crazy little creature.
9.
Sum up life on the road in four words: Jamie: Cruise control, Timmy's, generosity, surprises.
Kevin: He said four Jamie, not five. So, "Cruise Control,
Small Beds."
10.
What do you think sets The Ghost is Dancing apart from
other bands? Jamie: When I used to go see bands play, I remember how many
of them seemed not happy to be there, and I used to think, "if
I ever got on that stage I would have the time of my life".
We're honest about who we are and what were in it for and we have
fun.
11.
You're known for your intense and engaging live show, is it difficult
for you to go out night after night and give so much of yourselves? Jamie: Lesley and me were on the corner of Queen and Spadina
a half-hour before our set at the Horseshoe and we looked at each
other and knew we were both devastated emotionally for different
reasons. Not only did we feel awful but the set was at 2:20 am,
during the time-change, so technically our set-time didn't exist
temporally! Oh, and it was during a snowstorm. We felt empty and
exhausted. We didn't talk about how we dreaded playing the set,
we talked about how the set was going to save us from ourselves
and lift us up. And it did.
12.
When do you think the best time/situation to listen to a Ghost
Is Dancing record is? Jamie: When you're making pizza with your friends.
Kevin: I've always wanted to think that the best place/time to
listen to the Ghost is Dancing is when you're in the bedroom.
If you know what I mean.
13.
Last five records you bought and current top five: Kevin: I get alot of new music, I'm pretty addicted to it.
The last 5 records
I got were:
1. Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns
2. Woodhands - Heart Attack
3. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - s/t
4. PAS/CAL - I was raised on Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura
5. Sigur Ros - me<eth> su<eth> í eyrum vi<eth>
spilum endalaust
My Current Top
5 for this year are:
1. Sigur Ros - me<eth> su<eth> í eyrum vi<eth>
spilum endalaust
2. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - s/t
3. Spiritualized - Songs in A & E
4. Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords
5. The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
14.
What is your favourite dance party song? Jamie: Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Kevin: The Macarena
15.
What's up next for The Ghost is Dancing? Jamie: A US tour in the fall, then we finally get to record
our next record for a Spring release. Can't wait!
16.
How can ppl contact with you? Best way is our email, theghostisdancing@gmail.com. That's
where we're writing this interview from!
17.
Any final words? Jamie: Potatoes.
Kevin: I think Jamie definetly says it best there.
