Last year, Denton electro-dance group Ghosthustler got mentions in Spin, on Pitchfork and on countless national blogs mere months after forming, mainly because of "Parking Lot Nights."
JASON JANIK/Special Contributor
The Pete Ohs-directed video for the song achieved viral status with its footage of a Nintendo Power Glove rhythmically punching random hipsters in the face. Clearly, Ghosthustler got off to a good start.
And while members Alan Palomo, Gray Gideon and Noah Jackson still have no immediate plans for a full-length album, they've kept fans and bloggers interested with live shows and single releases.
The trio's newest songs, "Someone Else's Ride" and "Only Me to Trust," are on Ghosthustler's first physical release, a limited 10-inch record released at last month's South by Southwest.
The guys told us in a recent chat that they plan to put out more new tracks and remixes soon, and also will start thinking about tours in the U.S. and Europe. Here's more.
Hunter Hauk
Q: There's been a lot written about your music in the last year, online and in print. Is there anything that you feel hasn't come across?
Alan Palomo: I think at this point in time, since we're still such a young band, people just ask questions out of sheer curiosity, just wondering who we are and why do the music we do, considering where we live. I don't know. Gray Gideon: Yeah, I would actually prefer what we do to speak for itself, rather than us give them ideas.
Palomo: I think we're still exploring the realm of what we want to do.
Q: That's similar to what you said when we talked last year. Have you made much progress in the exploration?
Palomo: We've solidified what we enjoy and the aesthetic that we're going for, and we've definitely set a foundation as far as influence and the community we want to tap into. A lot of what we like is in Europe, but at the same time there are a lot of really talented artists here that we've learned from.
Noah Jackson: I want to stray away from the '80s retro box, but that's to be done in the music, not necessarily for people to hear me talk about.
Palomo: The music we're listening to now that we're getting really excited about – a lot of that stuff is going on in France. Like the Valerie Collective, which we're all sort of religiously listening to now. I think they're embracing that same mentality, where it's not really retro. It's a continuation of a sound, continuing to be explored. They're in the context of pop songs, but they are exploring these sounds that were kind of forgotten for a while.
Q: On the most recent two songs, the vocals are clearer, and you can make out the lyrics a little better. Why the change from the filtered feel of before?
Palomo: With the style of the new songs, it just made more sense. The first tracks were more playful and experimental, and we had a lack of resources. As we started honing in on a particular type of sound, I became more confident in writing the vocal parts.
Q: What inspires your lyrics?
Palomo: Just personal experiences. I tell them in pretty ambiguous ways, but that coincides well with the idea of dance music. It's a primal thing.
Jackson: Primal, that's the word. With dance music, the reason why I like to do it is because it really doesn't have any message, necessarily. It's not like we're trying to push some agenda. I don't want to tap into someone's logic and reason. I really just want to tap into their instinct.
Gideon: If we can let other people draw their own conclusions and personalize the lyrics, it allows them to get into it however they want.
Q: Do you guys have a vision now for how a Ghosthustler full-length release would look and feel?
Gideon: We're focusing more on doing remixes right now. As far as a full-length album ...
Jackson: I don't think there's any reason to rush that right now. Just singles and remixes are fine. You free yourself up a bit more doing that. A full-length is kind of ...
Palomo: It would almost remove the kind of playful nature of what we're doing. It would almost be crushing to be bogged down by one particular concept. But when we finally get that big idea, I'm sure it will just pour out of us, you know?
Q: I heard you met up with ["Parking Lot Nights" director] Pete Ohs at South by Southwest. You guys gonna make any more videos?
Palomo: We definitely spoke about it.
Jackson: See, these guys [pointing to Palomo and Gideon] are in the video. Nobody even knows I exist!
Q: Yeah, I was wondering about that ...
Jackson: Well, they aren't! Nobody's wondering about me. I want people to wonder about me! [Band laughs.]
Palomo: The next one we do might have more of a narrative to it. It might not even include us. Or it might only include Noah. [Laughs.]
Gideon: You have to include Noah.
