Summer Space Camp

I had no idea what the hell ‘Ghostplay’ means so I’ll admit—just like with a lot of text acronyms that I can’t interpret—I looked it up on Urban Dictionary so I wouldn’t have to ask when I interviewed the local band using said moniker. Apparently it’s when you put a white sheet over your head like a ghost and dry hump someone till … you can guess what comes next.

After giving it some thought, Ghostplay is a pretty fitting name for this band. When I finished listening to the band’s soon-to-set-sail debut EP, I felt like I had been surprise attacked by a shrouded spectre that made me climax and left me disoriented. It was kind of awesome and weird. These were the perfect, aptly timed jams for another restless summer, too. Add Ghostplay to your summer playlist, and your list of local bands on whom to keep a watchful eye and listening ear. You can thank me later for the wham-bam.

Ghostplay’s first release, 33, is a five-song EP that the band has been writing and revamping for a couple years now. The band is a tight-knit, funny and endearing three-piece, consisting of facetious frontman Jason Hess on synthesized bass, guitar, keys and vocals; super sweet babe Leticia Garcia on guitar and vocals; and newcomer drummer Armando Gonzales. Ghostplay’s music features complex layers of sound, created by an equally complex assortment of audio equipment.

“The only part that’s a little confusing—and some people have questions about—is that I use a baritone guitar which is split into two audio signals,” elaborates Hess. “One signal feeds to a guitar amplifier, and the other signal is processed by a computer to make it sound more like a bass guitar. Then that signal feeds to a bass amplifier. That same computer is also used to simultaneously create live effects, looping vocal tracks and keyboard sounds.”

Hess describes a collaborative songwriting process rather than a single member bringing the seeds of an already-formed song to the table. “A lot of times songs are born just from the three of us being in a room together” says Hess. The band’s camaraderie and egalitarian take on the band dynamic is palpable throughout our conversation.

Although they’ve been jamming songs into fruition and playing shows for a while, they only recently got to work on a more focused recording effort. “It’s really difficult when you don’t have anything recorded to promote yourself with,” says Garcia. “For this EP, we got to work with a really cool producer, Monte Vallier from San Francisco, so we’re really looking forward to having the EP to help promote ourselves.”

33 is being released by Noise Loves Audio, a Davis-based radio show and label specializing in analog for its sound character—particularly cassettes, although the EP will also be available in digital formats. The corresponding EP artwork by John Conley creatively correlates to the dark and dreamy feeling of the music.

Ghostplay has been twice nominated for the Sacramento News and Review’s local music awards, the Sammies, in the “post-punk” category, but to try to better pinpoint their sound or genre, it takes a mouthful. Gonzales tries summarizing with, “Post-punk shoegaze-y space rock, you know … dark pop,” to which, personally, I’d add beachy surf rock dance-y dream-pop with a pinch of goth.

The opening track on 33, “Too Much,” sets the tone with a spacy, sleepy beach soundscape over which Garcia sings lazily and soothingly. A muffled, echoing Hess melodically chimes in over the ringing, rolling guitar riff. The beat begins to escalate, and suddenly the pace is dance-y, then again takes a breather and slows to a Sunday stroll on Xanax. Just when you think the song is over, you stumble back into the same dream.

My favorite track, “My Halo,” is breathy and uplifting with rad timing changes; on “New Monday,” tremolo-altered voices oscillate, tonality climbs and the cadence pulses; “Science” is haunting, metallic, interstellar, pounding and echoing; “Patience” is full of angst, feedback, strange voices, layered atop traveling arpeggios and a steady pace that builds and erupts into a space cruise.

If all of that sounds great to you, then don’t miss the band’s upcoming EP release show at trusty Old Ironsides on July 10, 2015 (plus Mall Walk is playing!).

When it comes to where the members of Ghostplay want to take the band in the future, according to Hess, they’re happy with things just the way they are. “We have a lot more songs to record now,” ruminates Hess. “Music is something that we really enjoy. Shows are fun whether or not there’s a lot of people there, like this one at this art collective in Davis … it was a great experience, you know? It’s just interesting, getting to collaborate with other artists.”

“I want to do a lot more recording, because that’s what lasts,” Garcia adds.

Spinal Tap was afflicted with a curse of having to frequently replace their drummers due to untimely deaths, such as spontaneous combustion. But Ghostplay, although currently on drummer number three, feels blessed rather than cursed about their own game of musical chairs.

“I’m really grateful that we’ve been lucky enough to find three drummers,” explains Garcia. “Mark Rocha was our first drummer who really helped us get started playing shows and helped shape the songs. Then Michael Couloures, he came in on a whim and learned all the songs in a month to record them.”

Following guest drummer Couloures’ contribution to the EP effort, Gonzales fell right into place. “I feel super lucky. I mean, it was love at first Craigslist,” gushes Gonzales. “This band is so practical and sincere. If I had to use two words to describe Ghostplay it would be those two words.”

Help Ghostplay celebrate the release of their debut EP, 33, at Old Ironsides on July 10, 2015. Get there early, because the first 50 people will receive a free copy of the album. Also performing will be Mall Walk, Silver Spoons and Subculture. This 21-and-over show will cost a $6 cover. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Instagon

Marilyn’s on K, Sacramento – Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013

No two shows are ever the same, and the band has been around the Sacramento and Southern California areas as long as Lob’s ponytail. Lob being the only consistent bass player and founding member of the amoeba that is the band Instagon.

Instagon is a free-form, experimental jam band that has performed more than 600 shows to date and has logged an equal amount of intentionally rotating band members. So, how does that work, exactly? Lob extends invitations to a wide variety of local talents, like guitarist Ross Hammond or Leticia Garcia of Ghostplay to join in; he’s even included Greg Ginn of Black Flag and Rikk Agnew from The Adolescents and D.I. during past performances. However, this past weekend at Marilyn’s on K, Instagon celebrated its 20th anniversary with a one-of-a-kind live show including more than a dozen musicians featuring eight guitarists, a drum circle at the foot of the stage, two drums sets, lots of brass and the list continues.

“When [Instagon] first started it was kind of like, let’s invite everybody out to make noise at once. Then, it kind of evolved into more of a band like it is now and it’s gone through many phases,” explains Lob. “In the early days, I would show up with a hand drill. We even did a show once where it was the Instagon Tool and Appliance Orchestra where there was even a blender section.”

Lob describes Instagon in many words, but two will do just fine—noise art. And it was certainly noisy at Marilyn’s this past weekend with audience members staring at the cluster of musicians before them.

Just before Instagon’s performance, Lob calls all participants outside for a few quick pointers, and there are only two guidelines to his improv orchestra, if he brings the tone low, go ahead and feel free to introduce a solo or take the music in a different direction. But, if the tone of his bass is louder or higher, then that’s the signal to just jam along with the rest of the band. After a bit of reefer is passed around and all was said and done, the 20-year rendition of Instagon shuffles one-by-one back inside the venue, some extinguishing their last cigarette before finding a spot on stage.

“It’s really an escape for me. I’m going to invoke this demon and ride it. It’s really like a voodoo ritual,” says Lob. “I’m going to feel the energy and the power from it. I really enjoy the energy of what Instagon brings to the stage and anybody that’s played will attest to that. To be a part of that is amazing and fun.”

Wails and screams emit from Instagon’s unique, 20-year anniversary performance courtesy of one short-haired woman. A masked man very reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter sits at the foot of the stage aggressively slapping his conga-looking drum, another woman fiddles with her Theremin radiating off-kilter, sci-fi notes while another man dressed in a black top hat and long fancy coat (like something Luciano Pavarotti might wear) gets weird on another Theremin. Then, there’s the saxophonist, who continually wails into a microphone. And then, there are the two drummers, jamming alongside one another toward the back. Plus, the single trumpet player from the band Egg of Winters is dancing about. Oh, and the eight guitarists. Not to mention countless extra musicians hidden behind one another on the crowded stage. In the end, the list of musical instruments goes on longer than “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song and all band members are contributing just about every note scaling the entire alphabet. It’s chaotic. It’s a bit Sun Ra. It’s a bit tribal. And at the center of it all is Lob, a conductor of noise art and his baton, a bass guitar.

Former guitarist of indie rock band Der Spazm and founding member of her newest project Ghostplay, Leticia Garcia, has performed in a couple versions of Instagon and says the music helped her the most at a time when she stepped away from music. She says the improvisational style kept her on her toes and often introduced her to new musicians.

“I really had no idea what to expect,” admits Garcia. “It was challenging and forced me to play a different style of guitar than I was used to. I was also surrounded by other very talented musicians including members of Musical Charis, ZuhG and the Trees. It ended up being a real rush because it was all improv. There was no way to tell what bass riff Lob was going to throw down and how the other musicians would react.”

And it was just that, which kept Garcia accepting Lob’s invites when Instagon scheduled another performance around town.

“You just never know what is going to happen. Sometimes, the music will be so-so, but then all of a sudden you have a moment of ‘Whoa! That was amazing!’” says Garcia. “That’s what [it’s] about, those little moments of amazing, those musical moments that will never ever happen again. It becomes something special for everyone there watching the show and the musicians playing.”

With more than 600 different combinations of musicians and more than 600 shows logged on Instagon’s website, which is like an intricately kept Internet database, one can read all the names Lob’s invited to play alongside him. He’s even attached dates to each name and whether or not the musician performed a second or third time. Yeah, it’s all there.

“I’ll see a player who’s really fluid and I’ll go, ‘Oh, I gotta invite him to [Instagon]’ because he’s gonna get it,” says Lob. “Sometimes, people are standoff-ish because they don’t want to join [another band]. I don’t want you to join my band. I just want you to come experience this on stage jam thing. Instagon’s the mistress band.”

Finally, a band you can cheat on your band with.

Der Spazm’s new EP is the culmination of a year’s worth of work

Never expect a band to be punctual.

“Hopefully everyone’s on time,” says Leticia Garcia, lead guitarist of experimental, indie rock quartet Der Spazm, the song “Electric Feel” by MGMT humming at a low volume within the confines of her gold Honda Accord. Bassist and backing vocalist Ashley Maiden rides shotgun; the two band mates chat about the latest Exquisite Corps show and the daily grind of their jobs. This casual, end-of-day gab kills time on the trek from Midtown to Sacramento Rehearsal Studios, where the band practices for their upcoming show at Old Ironsides celebrating the release of their six-song EP, 1000 Days.

Although Der Spazm have only solidified their lineup since May of last year, the band has performed on the steps of the Capitol in support of Sacramento Pride Week, admits they felt comfortable recording their EP in a former insane asylum in Stockton and have several colorful stories to share, like a Bay Area road trip gone terrible–involving barf, bands and a backseat passenger who unfortunately fell victim to said barf. From surviving car accidents together to supporting one another in the heat of Proposition 8, Der Spazm have grown into a tight-knit group of friends who just so happen to play in a band together.

Pulling up to the barbed wire-guarded practice space, Garcia presses a plastic cardkey to a black machine near the entrance, instantly cuing the gate to roll open and granting the two access.

“Never buy the box of 100 band aids at Grocery Outlet. That’s why I’m putting on three band aids right now,” says Maiden, sealing her injured finger.

Once inside, Der Spazm’s weekly routine begins. Drummer Andy Fisher sits behind his kit, idly jamming on his snare drum and high hat cymbals, completely encased behind the beats he creates. Maiden fidgets with her wounded finger and cheap band aids once more before plugging in her bass, and Garcia swings her Gretsch electronic guitar over her shoulder, the instrument appearing heavy on her petite frame.

Arranged orange and black chords, organized tools and guitar equipment hang to the right on one wall, while a U2 “The Best of 1980-1990” poster is tacked on another near the door of room No. 130. A stuffed tiger rests proudly above a PA speaker, its tail dangling down the side. The deep, sloth-like chug-chug of metal-inspired guitar chords erupts from various rooms lining the hallways of Sacramento Rehearsal Studios, whose bathroom still reeks of piss and 99 Cents store toilet cleaner. Back inside their practice space, a makeshift recording filter crafted from a simple wire hanger and an old pair of chocolate-colored panty hose lays abandoned atop a guitar amp.

“Sorry I’m late,” says Dillon Christensen (guitar, vocals), entering the room with the grace of Seinfeld’s Kramer. He sets down a massive, pastel-colored plaid board lined with every effects pedal imaginable: distortion, equalizer, digital delay, blues overdrive, memory toy, digital reverb and a handful of others. Each rectangular-shaped pedal is assigned to a certain spot upon his wooden platform, each holding the ability to immediately transform the sound of Christensen’s guitar with just the mere tap of a foot.

With every member now present, an impromptu jam session quickly begins. Garcia’s long brown locks sway to the momentum her body creates as her hand twitches up and down the fret board, fingers squeezing out euphonious melodies followed by Fisher, crashing in on drums, keeping up the momentum Garcia just developed. Stomping on his distortion pedal, Christensen adds a third layer to the mix, slightly changing the speed and volume of the song as Maiden, with eyes closed, seals the experimental rock base Der Spazm emanates with groovy bass lines and a James Brown swagger as her feet take on a path of their own dancing to the low, supporting sounds of her Fender Jaguar bass guitar.

“I could have had a shitty week and work is fucked, and I don’t want to be home and you feel like the world’s going to end, but then we get together; something about us playing, almost makes it feel like we’re not here, like we’re somewhere else,” says Christensen of the band’s chemistry.

Der Spazm started recording their 1000 Days EP in late November 2010 and now the release show is only weeks away. However, the location in which the band chose to record their EP was a bit strange in itself. On the weekends, the band would drive down to record at an old insane asylum in Stockton, later changing its tune as the Alan Short Center, according to Christensen, an institution for adults with developmental disabilities using the arts, like music, to heal.

“The environment really helped us to focus in and bang shit out,” says Christensen.

“Comfortable in an insane asylum, you know,” Maiden jokingly adds.

But what’s more insane is the wide array of incidents this band has endured in each other’s company. In January of last year, Christensen and Garcia survived a car accident on I and 18th streets. And though they are not to blame, Christensen does admit he was listening to Sonic Youth at the time and he thought I Street was not in fact, a one way street. Fortunately, both survived the accident, but the car ride adventures don’t stop there for members of Der Spazm.

“I went to see the Dodos with the Alcohol Plague in San Francisco. I was the designated driver. They got wasted and we were doing OK on the way home, but we get on the bridge and all of a sudden one of them barfs out the window and I’m laughing, and the guy in the backseat starts yelling, ‘It’s in my mouth,’” says Garcia, laughing at the memory.

Still, in times of misfortune, or in times of strange entertainment involving a little roadside spew, Der Spazm used it all to write track one on the 1000 Days EP called, “Happy Accidents.”

“It’s just about being content with how things are and realizing that things will happen, happy accidents will happen,” says Christensen.

But, while some songs are written from a place of laughter, others take a more political stance, like in their song “Sentinel,” written by Maiden in the heat of Proposition 8.

“I wrote ‘Sentinel’ about all the Prop. 8 stuff that was happening,” says Maiden. “Then, Prop. 8 passed and there were rallies all over the Capitol and California. The queer community just came together and it was amazing. And I was like, ‘Love is born in the heart of revolution.’ I think that was the best drunk line I ever came up with. It can apply to anything.”

Der Spazm may be the most diverse group of musicians when it comes to race, gender and even sexual orientation in Sacramento, consisting of two men and two women musicians, one of which happens to be a lead guitarist. Some work for the state, some are full-time students at Sacramento State, one works construction, while the other is watching the quality of our water and environment. But, regardless of who’s who, the members of Der Spazm collectively agree they just click and their year-long struggle to release a finished package of music has finally come to a close.

“We’re finally getting something out that we’re proud of. This is us. This is just a snapshot of our sound; it’s just who we are,” says Christensen.

Der Spazm will celebrate the release of their 1000 Days EP with Babs Johnson Gang and Mr. Loveless at Old Ironsides on Saturday, Sept. 24. The show starts at 9 p.m. and will cost just $5. 21-and-over only.