GHOST LIGHT returns to the Teragram Ballroom - Nov 23!

GHOST LIGHT IS BACK…FINALLY!!!! I was lucky to catch their second show ever at The Mint March 21 2018, and have been obsessed ever since. This is their first show back in the area, and the last year has seen them grow into a staple force on the jam festival scene with tours across the country and back.

Look, I’m an admitted Tom Hamilton fan; there isn’t much music he creates that I don’t love. Brothers Past, American Babies, and of course JRAD. The best part of Ghost Light is that he’s taken all the best elements from those bands and created something new and refreshing.

 The other fantastic part about Ghost Light is the presence of women in the band. It’s just rare in the jam band scene to see bands that have even a little female influence, with Ghost Light the balance is amazing. Holly Bowling had already established her self as a supremely talented pianist, composing brilliant renditions of Grateful Dead and Phish music. After many years of solo touring, Holly and Tom jammed together on Jam Cruise in October 2017, it was special. They crushed Eyes of the World (video on Youtube), and they knew it. And that’s where the idea of Ghost Light came from.

Raina Mullen was a member of Tom Hamilton’s former band American Babies. She reminds me of Joni Mitchell, looks delicate but is an impactful force. The power that comes out of her voice can be quite startling. Tom and Raina share vocal duties, sometimes harmonizing and other times each taking a lead. Raina also plays rhythm guitar. It would take a long time to explain the writing process that Tom and Raina went thru to create Ghost Light’s debut album Best Kept Secrets, but as Tom has stated in interviews, “lots of LSD, lots of coffee…”

Scotty Zwang, the Philadelphia drumming legend is behind the kit. Former drummer of RAQ and Dopapod, his ability to change on a dime and drive the jams really helps keep the jams focused. He recently wrote a profile for Modern Drummer’s On the Beat section. He goes in depth about how creating the album with Ghost Light was unlike any process he had done before. And the results are fantastic.

Much like Jrad, Ghost Light interweaves cover songs from Radiohead, Dylan, Derek and the Dominoes, The Kinks (their version of Living On a Thin Line is mind boggling),Three Dog Night, The Shins, Rolling Stones (amazing version of Sway), Neil Young (For the Turnstile), Leonard Cohen (Everybody Knows), David Bowie (Lazurus… who covers Lazarus???!!!),Tears for Fears…I mean, there isn’t a genre or an artist that would surprise me to hear in a tease or a cover. Can you tell I like this band?

Ghost Light release sound boards of their shows on archive.org. Check them out.

Ghost Light is at the Teragram in Los Angeles Nov 23. And at the Wonderfront Festival Nov 24th in San Diego.