Ghostwood were an Australian
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
-
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
band formed in 2006. The original line-up, known as the Ghosts, was Tom Crandles on bass guitar, Patrick Harrowsmith on lead guitar, James West on drums and Gabriel Winterield on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. They changed their name and were signed to
Modular Recordings
Modular Recordings (known simply as Modular) is an Australian record label founded in 1998 by Steve Pavlovic that is currently owned by Universal Music Australia. It has released music from local artists such as Eskimo Joe, Ben Lee, The Avalan ...
, which issued their self-titled
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. in August 2007. The group toured Australia in that year and then travelled to the United Kingdom during 2008 and 2009. They split up in 2011 with Winterfield joining
Jagwar Ma
Jagwar Ma is an Australian psychedelic dance band formed in Sydney in 2011. It consists of Gabriel Winterfield (lead vocalist, guitarist), Jono Ma (guitar, beats, synths, production), and bass guitarist Jack Freeman, who joined 2012. The band ...
. In mid-2019 they released their debut studio album, ''The Lost Album'', which had been recorded ten years earlier.
History
Ghostwood were formed in 2006 as the Ghosts in Sydney, but changed their name, "because 7 million other bands already have the name 'Ghosts'." They played their last show under the former name with
Lost Valentinos
Lost Valentinos are a band from Sydney, Australia. They released two EPs under the band name The Valentinos but changed their name in mid-2007 to Lost Valentinos due to the threat of legal action by soul artists from the 1950s, Bobby Womack ...
at the Sydney Club The Annandale on 18 May 2007. Their line-up was Tom Crandles on bass guitar, Patrick Harrowsmith on lead guitar, James West on drums and Gabriel Winterield ( Gabriel Navidzadeh)
on lead vocals and rhythm guitar.
Ghostwood released a five track eponymous extended on 27 August 2007, which reached the
ARIA Top 100 Physical Singles chart and also peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Hitseekers Singles chart.
Its lead single, "Red Version" was
iTunes single of the week in late August 2007. Some tracks on the EP are about
Pokémon, all of which except "Pencils" reference the video game series. Winterfield stated in an interview that "Red Version" is about the ''
Pokémon Trading Card Game
The , abbreviated as ''PTCG'' or ''Pokémon TCG'', is a collectible card game developed by Creatures Inc. based on the ''Pokémon'' franchise. It was first published in October 1996 by Media Factory in Japan. In the US, it was first published ...
'', but "Blue Version" is not.
The group toured Australia during 2007 and into the following year.
In 2008 they relocated to the United Kingdom to perform, and they recorded material there in the next year.
Ghostwood released another EP, ''I Am Overcast'' (June 2011), two of its tracks, "Sunset Mirage" (2010) and "Cutlass" had high rotation on Australian youth radio
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...
.
Richard Kingsmill
Richard Kingsmill (born 29 January 1954) is an Australian radio announcer, music journalist and currently Group Music Director of triple j, triple j Unearthed, Double J and ABC Local Radio.
Career
His career at triple j started in 1988 as a p ...
of Triple J rated "Sunset Mirage" as five-out-of-five stars and explained, "Saw these guys a few years ago and they were all drone, no tunes. They took a break and wrote some new stuff. This is hopefully as good as the rest of what they've come up with."
In March they co-headlined the bill at the Annandale Hotel with
Laura Imbruglia and were supported by Young Revelry, the Betty Airs, Creepers, and Bonney Read.
Winterfield, their main songwriter, formed a dance and neo-psychedelic duo,
Jagwar Ma
Jagwar Ma is an Australian psychedelic dance band formed in Sydney in 2011. It consists of Gabriel Winterfield (lead vocalist, guitarist), Jono Ma (guitar, beats, synths, production), and bass guitarist Jack Freeman, who joined 2012. The band ...
with Jono Ma (ex-the Valentinos) in 2011 and Ghostwood disbanded.
In mid-2019 Ghostwood released their debut studio album, ''The Lost Album'', which had been recorded ten years earlier.
Brad Abrahams of ''Sound the Sirens'' described how, "Hearing such a stellar album ten years after it was recorded, inevitably leads to questions of what could have been... hopefully through the power of the internet it will find its way into hearts of people who will appreciate its craftsmanship."
Members
*Tom Crandles –
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
2006–2011
*Paddy Harrowsmith –
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
*James West –
drums
*Gabriel Winterfield –
lead vocals,
rhythm guitar
*Rupert Parry – bass guitar
Tours
*Toured the UK in 2008–09
*Toured Australia with The Jesus & Mary Chain in April 2008
*Toured Australia with
Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band consists of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), and Tom English (drums). The band have released seven studio albums: '' A Certain Trigge ...
in August 2007
*Co-headline tour of Australia with
Mercy Arms in August/September 2007
*Toured Australia with
Ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
in July 2007
*Toured with
Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 2000. The band is composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester.
The band released their debut EP, '' Pikul'', in July ...
in Australia in September 2007
*Played at the first Australian
V Festival in early 2007
*Toured with
Red Riders
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
in mid-2006
Discography
Albums
* ''The Lost Album'' (July 2019)
Extended plays
* ''Ghostwood'' (27 August 2007) –
Modular Recordings
Modular Recordings (known simply as Modular) is an Australian record label founded in 1998 by Steve Pavlovic that is currently owned by Universal Music Australia. It has released music from local artists such as Eskimo Joe, Ben Lee, The Avalan ...
/
Universal Music Australia
;Track listing
# "Red Version" - 3:45
# "Blue Version" - 2:45
# "Ghost" - 3:54
# "Run" - 2:49
# "Pencils" - 4:10
* ''I Am Overcast'' (June 2011)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghostwood (Band)
Australian indie rock groups