If The Ghost of Asa Phelps was a beverage, it would be a mix of the punky playfulness of the band's biggest influence The Lawrence Arms, perspiration and Pabst Blue Ribbon ' but mostly perspiration.
The basement we make music in
well there are spores everywhere said bassist Ben Gibbs, a junior at Ohio University.
Along with spores, the band said that a lack of air conditioning has led to some sweaty practice sessions where having a beer was the best way to cool down.
Have you ever been to southeast (Washington) D.C.? said guitarist and OU junior Ryan Ford. Well
it's a crack neighborhood.G? and that's what it is like down (in that basement).
The Ghost of Asa Phelps originated last year when Ford, also in Athens' punk rock group Front Royal, met drummer Tim Carlson and bonded over a mutual appreciation for The Lawrence Arms and punk rock in general, as it had been a genre that fascinated Ford and Carlson for years.
The first album I ever had a big infatuation with was NOFX's Punk In Drublic
said Carlson, an OU senior. But it took me forever to be able to play that fast.
But when Ford brought Gibbs into the band as a bassist, Gibbs added a more funk-driven influence to the band's sound.
I want to be that one white person in a black funk band
Gibbs said. My life would be complete if George Clinton (of Parliament Funkadelic) would come up to me and say
'You've got the funk.'
This year, however, Gibbs will be focusing more on punk than funk. The Ghost of Asa Phelps has planned many shows in the Athens area. The band is also planning to make better recordings than the rough demos currently on the band's MySpace page.
In terms of songwriting, Ford often molds the beginning of the band's songs and then brings them to Carlson and Gibbs, who add their own ideas and creative mark. The band's lyrics frequently explore thoughts of regret and fear of change.
A lot of it comes from the transition of leaving home for school and not really wanting to be at school
Ford said. I'd say some (songs) get a little dark and emo
but we don't have jet black hair
so that's what keeps us from being emo.
Being emo is definitely not their style, as all band members discussed a common distaste for bands such as The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Fall Out Boy and O.A.R.
Oh
and Angels & Airwaves
