Introduce yourself & tell us about the kind of music you make!
My name is Spirit Ghost/Alex and I make some kind of surf-garage-rock hybrid thing and sometimes I make stuff that sounds slightly different than that.
Out of the music you have out now, what would you say embodies you the most?
I think the music that has been most recently released embodies me the most and I think that's the way it'll be for every new release. It's hard to listen back to older songs and still feel the same amount of excitement. I'm proud of older releases but I'm always excited for new stuff to come out.
Your most recent song, "Good Advice", was a collaboration with Boyfriend Machine. What was your favorite part of creating that song/collaborating with other artists in general?
I liked making that song because I only provided the lyrics and the melody for my part. The rest of the song had already been laid out and structured. It's fun to have those kinds of narrowly focused writing exercises. I think it makes you stronger as a writer and more adaptable. I also usually write a bulk of my songs alone so it's nice to get out of my bubble of creativity every once in a while and see what someone elses has to offer.
You released an album in 2018 titled "Skeleton Surf Rider". How do you think your music making process has progressed since you've released that album?
I don't think I ever consciously know how my writing will have progressed. I kind of always hope that it gets better with each release and I try to practice and critique my previous release, but it's hard to put a finger on what I'm actually doing to improve upon each release. It just seems like releasing music is cathartic and experience enough. I think right when Skeleton Surf Rider was released I learned a lot in that process and wish I had been able to add so many more things to that album which instead just got added to the next release. The stuff I am releasing now also has the added benefit of me not playing every instrument. I've been lucky enough to be joined by some super talented musicians Billy Hickey (drums) John Bergin (bass) and Tim Zoidis (guitar). I hear some of the parts that they come up with and realize the songs are better just because their part is more fully realized than any guitar, drum or bass part I'd come up with or play, while still functioning to help the song. All three of them are super talented and make these new releases automatically better, musically, than SSR.
Any advice for aspiring musicians/songwriters?
Don't overthink it. Especially in the beginning. You don't need any fancy equipment or some new guitar or anything like that. I used to make songs with a cowbell, a floor tom, and a snare as my drum kit, and those songs suck, but they taught me a lot. I think the worst thing people do is second guess themselves just write and release stuff, there is literally nothing to lose and you won't get better if you don't try. Also, be humble, all the time, nobody owes you a show, nobody owes you a big break, nobody owes you a write up, nobody owes you anything. Be nice and try really really hard and practice way more than you think you should. It's super cool to try and practice; it's very lame to act like you're too cool to practice or be nice. Artists are extremely lucky if people listen to them and anybody listening to you is good enough. Make your music for you and people will gradually be drawn to it. But don't release your first thing and be shocked Pitchfork didn't pick it up, even if you think it's really really really really good. There's probably a bunch of other stuff but that seems like a good start.
This year, you also released "Love Me". What was the creative process behind that song like?
I wrote "Love Me" in the course of two hours. It's very lucky when it happens like that, but sometimes it does and it's amazing. I also wrote it about 2 years before it was released and played it out live a bunch and workshopped it with my live band. I'm proud of the way it came out and I'm excited that people seem to like it.
What is one thing you want your listeners/fans to take away from listening to your music?
I just hope that people like my music and continue to like it and sometimes maybe not feel like they're alone in whatever they're dealing with and I hope it makes them feel good in some way even if they don't know what I'm saying or talking about, because mostly I just want my music to be entertaining.
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