I got a LP from SBÄM records a late
fridayevening. I listened on it on Saturday and
I was really happy. So good, so
unexpected…here´s an interview with the american
group done in may 2024
Please tell me a little about every member and
the history of the band? Tell me a little
about every member, previous bands and band on
the side of Burntmill Ghosts, work, age and what
do you work with besides of the music?
-I
(Pete) sing lead vocals and play guitar. I’m a
middle school History teacher and I coach
American football and basketball. Ian is our
bass player, who also sings backup vocals. He’s
an ironworker. And Justin plays drums. He does
construction and home improvement. Ian and
Justin also play in an awesome thrash punk band
called Molotov Muchacho.
Ian and I used to be in a band called The
Fullers. We put out a record on SBAM in April
2020, but we never really had the chance to
promote the album with live shows, mainly
because of the pandemic.
Also, our guitarist moved away and our drummer
had already been living 7 hours away, so Ian and
I decided to start a new band and called it
Burntmill Ghosts.
Your music is a style which came foreward many
years ago, old favorites which you like today?
-I
started listening to punk rock in the early/mid
‘90s so a lot of my old favorites come from that
period in time and earlier. Some of my favorites
growing up were Bad Religion, NOFX, Bouncing
Souls, Rancid, Descendents, Operation Ivy,
Pennywise, Strung Out. And I still love those
bands.
The name Burntmill Ghosts where did it came
from? You weren´t afraid that not any other
would be named so before?
-When
Ian and I got together to write songs at my
house, we decided on the new band name because
it’s the street I live on, which is where we
made the decision to start anew. Also, a lot of
our songs are stories about the past, which is
where the Ghosts come from. We googled the name
just to be sure and there didn’t seem to be any
other bands with that name.
So it stuck and we love it.
Is it important to release physical things? Or
can you feel that you have done a record if you
only release it digitally? Is SBÄM records a
good label?
-I
don’t think our album would have the same appeal
if we only released it digitally. We put so much
time and thought into everything involved with
this record. So to get the full effect, a
physical release was crucial. Stefan and SBAM
have been amazing to us from the beginning.
Stefan designed the logo and the cover art for
us, which adds so much more depth to the album.
He did an amazing job. It was exactly what we
were looking for.
You have never been to Sweden and played or been
here as tourists? With this band or any other
band you have been in? If you not have when do
you come? Which countries have had the pleasure
to be hearing the band live?
-We
haven’t played outside of the US yet, but we
hope to sometime soon. We’d love to play some
shows in Europe, including Sweden. Hopefully we
can make that work.
I thought when I saw the pictures on the band
that this would be a really hard hardcorerecord
but here it is more Rancid/Misfits/NOFX-styled
record….How would you describe your music in
three words yourself?
-Ha,
yeah, Ian and Justin are tough looking dudes.
Three words to describe our music: Melodic,
catchy, lyric-driven
Who does the lyrics? Please tell me a little
about the following songs?
-I
write the lyrics, though Ian and I both wrote
the lyrics for the first track, Another Round.
As the Crow Flies
takes place during the California Gold
Rush of 1849. In the first verse, the narrator
of the song is leaving his family behind
temporarily to strike it rich in California. But
then, as we get to the chorus, we find out that
he’s having trouble finding gold. So he decides
to get a job as a carpenter, building the
gallows, used for hanging supposed criminals,
because it’s very lucrative and there’s always
work.
Broken Promises
tells the story of Chief Joseph, a Native
American in the Northwest US. It’s written from
his perspective and some of the lyrics are taken
from his surrender speech.
Maple Place
is one of the only personal songs on this
record. When I was younger we used to play
American football, ride our bikes, and play in
the woods at Maple Place. So the song is
basically about what life was like to be a kid,
when times were so much simpler.
Is there any subject you never will sing about?
-I’ve
never really thought about that, but I tend to
stay away from anything overtly crass or crude.
How is it to live in USA nowadays, racists,
politics etc? Is it better to live in USA if you
compare for say about 25 years ago??
-As
you probably know from the news, the US is a
very interesting, crazy place to live right now.
But America is huge, and vastly different from
state to state. We live in New Jersey and we
love it here. It is such a diverse place and
there’s just so much to do. We live near the
beach and we’re just a train ride away from New
York City. The music and cultural scene is
thriving in our area, near Asbury Park. It’s
definitely better now, compared to 25 years ago,
despite all the drama that’s shown on social
media and the news.
Do you have any favorite football team(I support
Arsenal and a Swedish team called GAIS myself)?
Or any s is it American football or hockey which
is the thing or any sport favorites at all?
-None
of us are football fans. It’s not as big in the
US as it is in Europe.
I love watching American football. Growing up I
was a New York Giants fan. I loved hockey
growing up as well. I used to go to Devils games
all the time.
Beer is expensive in Sweden. I have a very big
interest in beer and brew myself?
Your favourite beerstyle ? You don´t have an own
Burntmill Ghosts-beer? If you do that or will do
that what is it going to be called? Or maybe you
are straightedge?
-I’m
a big fan of beer, but Justin and Ian mainly
drink vodka. That’s so cool that you brew your
own. I typical gravitate towards lagers, ales,
and stouts. I’ll try just about anything, but
I'll stay away from IPAs or anything super
strong.
I’d love to have our own Burntmill Ghosts styled
beer. Hopefully we can make that happen
someday.
Is there any good bands from USA worth to
mention? And how is the hardcore/metal/punk
scene living on in USA right now? Is there some
of the old and good american bands which still
is around?
-Right
now seems to be an awesome time for punk and
hardcore. A lot of the legacy punk bands are
doing big tours coming through NYC, Philly, and
Jersey, probably because the pandemic sidelined
everyone for so long that a lot of bands were
just itching to get back on tour.
Also, a lot of these bands are playing
anniversary shows.
What is your strength when you play live? What
is the most difference between playing nowadays
and if you compare when you started to play?
-We
just want to make sure we have fun on stage
because that’s the whole point. And hopefully
the crowd has fun too and sings along with us.
Which type of people comes to your concerts?
Which type of people do you miss?
-Most
of the people in the crowd are around my age.
I’m 43. But more and more, we’re starting to see
younger kids at the shows. So hopefully that
continues to happen. I love seeing young kids
getting into punk rock.
Do you buy much records, or is it only Spotify
and those type of things to listen to music? Any
good record store in your town?
-I
love buying records. I’ve been going to Jack’s
Records in Red Bank, NJ since I was 14. I also
love to go to Princeton Records in NJ. I
think it’s important to have a physical copy of
an album because that’s part of the whole
process. You can learn so much more about a band
looking at the lyrics and all the artwork while
listening to it. I think Spotify is good to
listen casually or to find a new band that I may
not have heard of, but it definitely waters down
the listening process. To me, digital will never
be better than physical.
Are you selling any merch on your gigs, do
people buy it? What sells best?
-We
have t-shirts and sweatshirts for sale, as well
as hot sauce, which sells well.
And we obviously sell our records at the shows.
I also have a little distro of some records from
SBAM and Double Helix Records, which is our US
label. People seem to like flipping through my
little crate of records and are happy to buy a
record that they didn’t expect to find at one of
our shows.
Which is your own favorite song among your own
songs? And which song is the people choice?
-Man,
that’s a tough one. I can honestly say that I
love every single song on our record. And I’ve
never been able to say that about any record
I’ve made in the past. And to be honest, our
fans seem to have all different favorites, but
The Body seems to be the most popular.
Do you do any cover songs when you play live? If
you do which have you played?
-Yeah,
we play Nothing Compares 2U. We combined the
Prince and Sinead O’Connor version and stuck it
right in the middle of our live set.
Do you care about reviews? Which is the most
peculiar you ever had, with this band or any
other band you have been to?
-I
like to read about people’s interpretation of
the songs and what they think the songs are
about because a lot of the tracks can have a
double meaning. I don’t remember reading any
peculiar or bad reviews, but there’s still time
for that, ha.
If you could choose five bands from the past and
the history and nowadays and both dead and
living bands to have a concert together with
your band. Which five have you been chosen? Or
have already shared stage with all these bands?
-This
is a great question. I would have loved to play
with:
Is music a good way to get out frustration and
become a nicer person outside the music?
-Music
is a great way to allow yourself to navigate
through such a crazy world and punk rock has
always taught me to look out for the little
person, to care about others. People tend to
gravitate towards punk rock because they’re
looking for an outlet or looking for people with
common interests. I love the fact that punk
rockers can be individuals, but can also be a
part of a community that is so accepting.
Politics and music, does it belong together??
Which is your most political song or do you not
want to put politics into your music?
-Music
is a great tool to use to express social and
political injustices and musicians have been
doing it successfully since the beginning of
time. We don’t really have political songs per
se, but a lot of our songs tell the stories of
historical injustices. Tulsa Heat is a good
example of this. The song is about the racial
conflict in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the early 1920s.
Any good Swedish bands you like?
-I
loved Millencolin, No Fun At All, Randy, and
Bombshell Rocks when I was a kid. And I still
love those bands. One of my favorite shows was
when I got to see Millencolin play with Good
Riddance and Down By Law at the Stone Pony in
Asbury Park when I was 15. They were on tour for
Life on a Plate. I still have such vivid
memories of that show. Millencolin was just
having so much fun on stage. And I’ve tried to
emulate that ever since.
Is it boring with interviews? Is it much
interviews? What do you prefer
Telephoneinterviews, face to face or as this one
via e-mail?
-Any
interview is great. I prefer face to face
because it’s more of a conversation and just
hanging out, but I appreciate any time that an
interviewer takes to write about our band.
Futureplans for the band?
-We’re
going to keep playing shows and hopefully make
it over to Europe one of these days.
Futureplans for yourself?
-I’m
going to continue to go with the flow and hope
for the best.
Wisdomword?
-Always
be positive and always stay kind.
Something more to add?
-Thank
you so much for taking the time to listen to our
record. It means the world to us that people
like you are able to hopefully enjoy something
that we really care about. |