Interview by Jen McKinnon
Adam Perry, of Athens-based space-rock trio Ghost Owl, took a break from rehearsal to chat with us about the band’s debut release Say Goodbye to Finland, an album themed around new beginnings and leaps of faith. After parting ways with Perpetual Groove in 2013, Adam Perry, Matt McDonald, and Albert Suttle were faced with the struggles of rebuilding everything from the ground up, a task that led to some hard self-discovery, and ultimately a creative awakening.
Here Adam shares the emotional experience as he expresses some of the challenges faced by leaving behind everything and re-emerging as a new entity. Continuously experimenting, the group is optimistic about working with other musicians, fine tuning their presentation, and heading out on their first official tour (kicking off tonight in Tallahassee, with a free show in Jacksonville on Weds, 10/1).
Talk about the album Say Goodbye to Finland. What is the significance behind the title?
When the band started to become a reality, we were watching a webcast lecture by a woman named Lisa Maki. She was talking about her grandfather who was from Finland. He left his wife, child, and everything he knew behind and moved to farmland in America. He abandoned everything to make a better life for himself and his family. Ultimately what it’s about is a leap of faith. It’s about leaving behind what’s familiar to make a better path, not knowing what the future’s going to be. It’s taking a step into the unknown.
So in this metaphor, would it be fair to say “Finland” is comparable to your old band [Perpetual Groove]?
Yeah, but it’s more than just the band though. We all had to make some different lifestyle changes. A lot of lives changed from some personal stuff that happened. It’s about all the things that come along with crazy sharp turns in life.
How did Ghost Owl grow from an idea in your head into a defined band?
Matt [McDonald] and I talked a lot about ways to move forward. I had a lot of songs that didn’t fit with the old band and things I always wanted to do. We sat down to figure out how to make it a reality using a different approach for the music, things we’ve always been interested in doing. We had a stockpile of songs and were trying to figure out how to make it work as a 3-piece band. We didn’t know exactly how it was going to sound.
As things came along, we learned what each of us brought to the table and started incorporating that more. One of the main objectives of the whole project was to push ourselves. We’ve been doing the same thing for so long, and we wanted to get out of our comfort zones and explore our different music interests. As we did that, we realized each of our strongpoints and how to piece them together.
We’re in practice right now, figuring out other cool things we can do with these songs. We’re going to be debuting 5 new songs on this tour. So the creative process is maturing and becoming fruitful. We’ve been really busy and it’s exciting.
There was a recent announcement about Ghost Owl adding a fourth member, an instrumentalist named Adam B. How did he join the group?
He’s not really a full-time member. We’re toying with adding people. We have some other people we’ve been wanting to play with for a long time. Now we’re getting to a point where the project is comfortable with us, so we can start pulling in other people. We want to have a revolving door with the fourth member, and maybe a fifth member as time goes on. You’ll be seeing some other people pop in and out with us over the next year. Some might end up with us full-time, some might be guests on tour with us. We’re working on the core group and having some other pieces come on to change the aesthetic of our shows, to add some flavor.
Is this the first official tour Ghost Owl has put together?
We did some shows leading up to the album, but that was really just testing the waters. I consider this our first real go at it. The album is out now and the songs have matured. We changed around a lot of things in the studio so the songs on the album are different than how we were playing them initially. Some of the songs started as instrumentals and now they’re vocal songs. It’s not our first official tour, but I look at this as the first real packaging of what Ghost Owl is moving forward. Given the circumstances of the tours and runs we did before, it was just a crazy time in our lives. We just wanted to get back on the road and play. Now things are put together differently.
What would you say are the standout tracks from the album, or the ones you’ve gotten the most feedback on?
“Sky Yellow” is a favorite. I personally am a fan of “Clouds Will Lift.” I’ve had people tell me “Vela” is their favorite. That’s the cool thing, a lot of people I talk to have favorite songs that are all different from each other, which is a good sign. It’s not just one song and the rest of the album is garbage [laughs].
The album does have a noticeable wide range of sounds and styles that would appeal to different people at different times.
Definitely. Some are more rockish, some have a more electronic feel. That’s a reflection of us as musicians. I listen to old country, rock n roll – my interests cross many genres and it comes through in the writing.
Are you guys excited about the show dates you also have coming up with Papadosio?
Yeah, super excited. We’re all in really good moods right now and ready to go. I can’t wait to get back out there again. I work a day job and at night I play music. We’re working towards touring full time again. You do what you gotta do, and now it’s time to tour the country. It’s my favorite thing to do.
You make an interesting point about working a day job to make ends meet. How are you able to balance that with all the shows coming up? Is your schedule flexible?
Yeah I work for a company out of Atlanta called Avatar Events Group. They’re a music background company so my job is to test and work with gear all day. Everybody I work with is a musician and at some point goes on the road. They’re really flexible. Even the owners are rock-n-rollers so they understand when someone has a tour.
Does it feel like you are starting over from scratch with the new band, or does it feel more like a continuation of your previous efforts?
It feels like starting over – it definitely was starting over. It makes it hard, but it’s also good because we have this new thing we’re fighting for everyday. There’s so many hurdles to overcome. It’s not easy, but things worth doing aren’t easy.
But things seem to be moving along and doing good now. Are you starting to feel the rewards of the hard work? Or is that still yet to come?
Yeah, there’s been some big buzz. That makes you feel good, but we’re not letting off the gas pedal. I won’t feel rewarded for a very long time. I know where I want this to go, and I know we can get to that point, but we got a lot of hard work to do.
Ghost Owl is also performing at the Suwannee Hulaween festival. Do you have anything special planned for the Halloween weekend show?
We have a To Do list and that’s something we’re working on. We’re going to do something special for sure.
The theme for Hulaween is “The Afterlife.” What would you want to become when you transcend into the next physical realm?
Hmm, I’d like to be a musician again. I’d want to start over knowing what I know now. As far as a non-human form, I’ve never thought about that before.
Do you believe in the afterlife, or reincarnation?
Funny you ask, I saw this video on Youtube of a boy who was four years old and he’s playing the piano like a master, like Beethoven. I have a three-year-old and can’t even see how it’s possible, unless this kid was a skilled pianist in a former life and remembered his skills from his life before. It’s absolutely amazing. So yeah, I do believe in that.
Ghost Owl is touring through December. (Dates listed below.) While in Florida, Ghost Owl will also perform a free webcast at Live From AURA Studios on Sunday, October 5th. Fans can tune in to the HD 5-camera video stream at www.LivefromAURA.com.
FLORIDA TOUR DATES
Tuesday, September 30
Sidebar Theatre | Tallahassee, FL
809 Railroad Ave, Tallahassee, Florida 32301
www.sidebartheatre.com
$8 adv/$10 dos
Wednesday, October 1
1904 Music Hall | Jacksonville, FL
19 N. Ocean St. Jacksonville, FL 32202
904.434.3475 | www.1904musichall.com
FREE
Thursday, October 2
The Funky Buddha | Boca Raton, FL
2621 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL 33431
561.368.4643 | www.TheFunkyBuddha.com
$8 adv/$10 dos
Friday, October 3
Guanabanas | Jupiter, FL
960 North Highway A1a, Jupiter, FL 33477
561.578.4668 | www.Guanabanas.com
FREE
Saturday, October 4
Dunedin Brewery | Dunedin, FL
937 Douglas Ave, Dunedin, FL 34698
727.736.0606 | www.DunedinBrewery.com
FREE
October 5 – Live From AURA Studios Free Live Stream
October 31– The Orange Peel | Asheville, NC* ?
November 1 – Music Farm | Charleston, SC* ?
November 2 – Suwannee Hulaween | Live Oak, FL
November 13 – The International | Knoxville, TN* ?
November 14 – The Chop Shop | Charlotte, NC* ?
November 15 – Lincoln Theatre | Raleigh, NC* ?
November 19 – Cannery Ballroom | Nashville, TN*
November 20 – Georgia Theatre | Athens, GA* ?
November 21 – Terminal West | Atlanta, GA*
December 3 – Belly Up | Aspen, CO ?
December 4 – Hodi’s Half Note | Ft. Collins, CO ?
December 5 & 6 – Quixote’s True Blue |Denver, CO
*Opening for Papadosio
http://www.ghostowlband.com/
https://ghostowlband.bandcamp.com/
