by Shea Trumeter
When Ghostland Observatory’s sound first came out, it was wildly electronic, unique, and authentic – music that made you want to move whether you knew how to or not. I honestly don’t remember how I met Thomas, their sound scientist and keyboard player, but over 20 years ago we became fast friends. Perhaps it was our shared awkwardness in social situations, or maybe it was just how accepting we could both be of the absurdities in life because we understood how it felt to be strange. Unsurprisingly, a distinct feature of Ghostland is that they have the nerve to be strange and unfamiliar. They also are unpretentious and maintain a productive work ethic that is driven by their shared passion for music.
After many years of living completely different lives, I got on the phone with Thomas for KOOP radio to talk about GO’s origins, balancing music with a family, and what their plans are for the future.
Me: How did you and Aaron meet?
Thomas: My friend Andrew had a band called Waking Helix or something. I don’t even know if it had a name. Anyway, Aaron was playing in that band and they put an ad out for me in the Chronicle. Or not for me but for a person that did keyboards and stuff. And so I answered the ad and then a couple of members took off for a break to go surfing or something and Aaron and I were just left in town, so we just started working on music and we just kept working on music together. Yeah, I mean that’s basically how it started.
Me: When y’all were doing that together, was it just natural or was there something that led you pretty quickly to trust that you guys would make music well together?
Thomas: He just liked to work on music as much as I did. You know, I just had to make music because as a normal functioning human, it wasn’t happening for me. So he was like “yeah I’m down to get crazy like that, let’s just work on music all the time,” so that’s what we did. We would go to work at the time, and he worked in the mailroom downtown and I was working construction and as soon as we got off of work, we’d get an Arizona Tea and some Doritos and go to the music lab and just be there for 8 hours until they would kick us out.
Me: Yeah, I remember that.
Thomas: Yeah, it was just that over and over every day.
Me: That’s awesome, I had no idea, that’s cool. OK so I think… I feel like I vaguely remember when we’d hang out and you just knew you were going to blow up someday, you would talk about it and you knew your music would be successful. But when you were first working on it, were you truly feeling that your sound would ever actually blow up?
Thomas: I believed that from the beginning, I was like “it’s just a matter of time.” So we would work on tracks and I’m sure I was showing them to people or I’d spend every dime that I had to get some studio time and then I’d listen to it and then let someone hear it and they’d be like “no way dude” and then I’d be like “OK this means I need to try harder or I need to fix this or we need to just scrap that and start over,” whatever. I never looked at it like we’re not gonna make it. I was just like, “we just gotta figure out a way to make it.” And then sooner or later it just started coming together. Plus, I was young at that time and I’m working construction, and the main guys that I work with are grown men, you know, and they’re like, “What are you doing? You come into work, it looks like you haven’t slept in days and you’re always talking about making it in music, you’re not going to make it in music, just, like, get a good night’s sleep and come to work rested like us.” I was like “no way dude, you don’t understand, it’s gonna work.” But they were really pumped up when they would see me on TV or something. Or they’d see me in the paper and they’d call me and freak out, it was cool.
Me: So you kept in touch with them?
Thomas: Yeah.
Me: Is part of that confidence passion? Was it just commitment to making it work because it had to?
Thomas: I felt strongly, so strongly, that there was nothing else I was supposed to be doing but what I was doing at that time. Even though I couldn’t afford antibiotics or sheets, I knew that at some point it was just “no, no don’t worry about it, this is where you’re supposed to be. You’ll see, just stick to the game plan.”
Me: Yeah, I know what you’re talking about. Do you remember those early shows?
Thomas: Yeah, some of those early shows were so freaking hot and I just remember lugging all that equipment up and it being the summer and being so hot and then no AC and then it went from three to five people at our shows to 100 people to 500 people to 1000. It was fast, it didn’t take that long really when you look back at it.
Me: I’m wondering about that progression, too. What are some of the really smart decisions y’all made?
Thomas: I wouldn’t say smart decisions. Because we went from playing Red Eyed Fly, then I think we spread through word of mouth. Whoever went to the first few shows told other people and then those people told other people. I think there were a couple of things. That music was nice at that time, it was like a blend of electronics and rock and punk. That wasn’t really too common in Austin at that time. Then you had Aaron, who was very flamboyant and eccentric on stage, so I think once people saw that and heard that and you could dance to it, I think the people really like that and it just kind of caught fire.
Me: I heard you talking about Aaron and how he’s flamboyant. Are you not going to give yourself credit for a certain amount of mystery and performance or your overall presence?
Thomas: Yeah, I kind of liked being the low-key entertainer because I think it’s nice to have that balance. There’s the quiet one and then the loud one. When we were working on music, if I could get Aaron excited about it where he’s like in the rehearsal room moving and freaking out, then I’m like “oh we’re good, we’re good, let’s try this out Friday.” Because we do that all the time. We’d have a show, some small show booked for a Friday night or Saturday night and we’re working on music that we’re going to play at that show that week to try it out and see how it works.
Me: That’s a cool gauge to have, that if Aaron’s getting all pumped up and moving around, then you know it’s good stuff.
Thomas: Yeah.
Me: OK, so you breaking out into the music scene, it sounds like it happened pretty rapidly. Do you remember some of these venues that you played and the progression of venues?
Thomas: I remember the very first show that we ever did was my grandma’s birthday and it was so fun. But that was the very first show we ever did and it was the 4th of July and it was my grandma and her twin sister’s birthday. They’re 4th of July babies and they’re twins so that probably would have been like her 80-something birthday. From there we played a couple of shows at this place called Red Rum; I think it was upstairs and it was super hot and tiny and we did a few shows there. Then I think they offered us a show with the Red Eyed Fly, and then there was a transition where we went from the Red Rum shows to the Red Eyed Fly to a second Red Eyed Fly show, and that one was not super well attended but then it went from like 20 people to like maybe 50 or 70 people. Then I think we did an art show that was well-attended and then the next thing you know we were playing Emos inside and selling out Emos inside then selling out Emos outside with like a line down the street crazy. Then it was shortly after that ACL Fest, Lollapalooza, whatever the other one is. All that, just one after another – Tokyo, New York, crazy yeah. So fast, just like boom you’re playing playing playing playing, just nonstop.
Me: Was it an overall positive happy experience or was it a mixed bag? Did traveling suck?
Thomas: No no, I mean it was amazing because when you had met me and I was just daydreaming about how great it’s going to be and then these shows and all this stuff with no sheets and that era, I was just thinking, you know, that’s what I’m holding on to is this dream of making it with music and how cool the shows are going to be and stuff. It didn’t even come close to my daydreams, didn’t even come close to what actually happened, it was so far beyond anything that I could have imagined happening. It was crazy how fast it happened and I never thought that I would go across the world. We went to Tokyo, South America, Mexico, Norway, Europe, all over, and all the cities in the United States. It was happening so fast and there was no one telling us what to do. We had our agent Jackie, but it was super fast and pretty unbelievable, pretty amazing.
Me: Did you ever get to a point where you started taking it for granted?
Thomas: I think… I assume any entertainer or athlete or someone that’s a public figure… not a public figure but they’re in front of a crowd night after night… I don’t know if taking it for granted is the term but it’s not as unusual. When you first do it, you’re like “holy crap we’re playing here, we’re there, we’re at this festival, we’re about to go onstage at a festival, this is crazy” but then after you’ve done those a few times you’re like “OK sounds good, this is that, don’t bring this, got there,” it’s like you’re a little more prepared than just completely blown away just because you’re doing it night after night after night after night.
Me: OK I’m going to talk to you about creating your music, which probably sometimes gets a little conceptual so bear with me if I don’t always understand what you say, but what is the biggest inspiration when you’re creating music?
Thomas: Well, I mean, obviously I think that the music is a gift. I’ve heard several really good musicians that I enjoy say this and I think it’s true. When Aaron and I are really doing our best, we’re not really communicating, we’re not talking to each other about what’s happening, it’s just coming out of us and it’s coming from somewhere. We’re kind of an open current, or whatever you call it, to where we’re letting the spirit guide us musically. Not in some shamanistic way but just that we’re open to what’s coming and not trying to force our own stuff on it, so that’s when the songs tend to come out easier and they fit better or feel better.
Me: You’re like a conduit.
Thomas: You could say that. I don’t want it mixed up like I’m trying to pretend we’re some super special band. What I mean is that we just work really hard, we try really hard. I’m into keyboards and beats and stuff and Aaron is an amazing entertainer and the timing worked out. The timing worked out.
Me: I think I know what you’re saying, though. It could be anything, you could just bump the keyboard and then all of a sudden…
Thomas: I think we were there so much and willing to try night after night that things would just finally come to fall into place.
Me: What about now?
Thomas: We work almost every day together still. Not like that because we have a lot of children and families and stuff so we just have other obligations and responsibilities and we love to be there for our family. Back then it was just kind of me and Aaron and time to work on music whereas now that’s not the case and it’s not realistic to think that we could do that.
Me: I just saw that y’all finished touring for your most recent album, is that right?
Thomas: Not the most recent album but we were on a brief tour, yeah.
Me: That’s not the most recent album?
Thomas: I think the last album we put out was a couple of years ago and that was kind of like a mixtape, so we’ve been working on new material. We did, however, try out new material on this tour.
Me: You’ve been trying out new material you haven’t put out yet?
Thomas: Yeah, that’s what that tour was. We went to get out to places we hadn’t been in a while and tried out new material.
Me: Well, how did it do?
Thomas: Good. It was fun.
Me: Did Aaron get all excited about it?
Thomas: Yeah, he was excited, he was pumped about it. It was kind of psychedelic, it was cool.
Me: So, when does that come out? Or how does it work with recording? Do y’all choose different people to record y’all?
Thomas: No, we do it, same crew. Aaron and I record it and then our engineer Mark.
Me: You just go into a box and record?
Thomas: I have a studio in my home so we work there. We’ll go through the material, see which ones we like. If there’s an opportunity, we’ll play them live, see how they work live, then refine them, then compile them together, record them, tweak them, get them to sound good and put out the record.
Me: So when are you putting out a new record?
Thomas: Yeah, hopefully 2025.
Me: I need to ask you about when you’re doing a show. What kind of show success gives you the most gratification? What happens where you walk away and are like, “that was good.”
Thomas: When the crowd is very loud and the crowd is going nuts, that’s the best. Especially if it sounds good on stage. If there’s a lot of bass on stage and the mix on stage sounds good and loud, then you can feel the vibrations from the crowd. I’ll give you an example. Speaking of vibrations, this ties into your last question. There are places where sound travels slower than the light, so you can actually see the sound waves. Like when the sound hits the people, you can actually see it. There was this place in Portland called the Crystal Ball Room. They had a wooden floating floor, so the floor would give because it was an old building and they used to swing dance there in the 20s. On the second floor of this building, the floor gives, so it’s shaking. So when you’re playing, it’s going nuts in there, the floor is shaking. The green room is under the crowd, so when you’re in your green room, people are getting ready for you to go on, it’s shaking. When you’re playing, the whole building is shaking. That’s just an example of “this is freaking crazy!” Don’t get me wrong, those first shows we were talking about earlier, those meant the world to me, even my grandma’s birthday and the shows where there were like 10 people there. Those were the most important, that day of show I was so excited, nervous, freaked out, it was the biggest deal to me. Any time we made it through a show and one person was like, “that was awesome!” we were like, alright, we’re really doing it!
Me: I saw on your website you have four music videos and I noticed they had a bit of a theme to them, and that’s really cool but that was like 5 years ago and I was wondering are y’all planning on making any music videos or is there a music video y’all want to make?
Thomas: I mean we’ve never really wanted to make one… or maybe we have but we just never have, but those things were for a particular EP that we put out called “Channels,” I think, it looked like an old TV or something? And I’m pretty sure it’s just static playing channel 1,2,3,4 for the songs. But yeah, that wasn’t so much video. We used to like it when fans made their own versions.
Me: Yeah, I did see some of those on YouTube. I saw people making videos to your music.
Thomas: Yeah, we’re down with all that.
Me: So we kind of talked about venues already but are there any other venues you want to mention that have been notable to you? Either you played or one that you really want to play?
Thomas: No, they’re all pretty cool. Almost every venue has its own character, personnel that work there, and just vibe of the place. I mentioned the Crystal Ball one because of the floating floor. I’m happy anytime we get the chance to play, it’s cool.
Me: This is an interesting thought experiment and I think different people have different feelings about the Internet and social media when it comes to their career and, considering you’re in the music industry, what are your thoughts and feelings about how the internet and social media have changed or affected the industry?
Thomas: Well, that’s one of the other things that was kind of happening when we first started, that’s probably one of the things that helped propel us so quickly is people’s communication on the internet. I think it was Myspace and all that was going on and then Facebook happened so people could totally spread the word to other friends or people in like-minded communities and let them know or send them a link to our YouTube video. You weren’t required to have some big song on mainstream radio in order to play these shows and play at festivals. All of a sudden any band that was good or appealing could blow up on the internet. Just by viewing how my kids interact with music, there’s a lot less patience and a lot shorter lifespan for what my 15-year-old daughter thinks is cool. Something might be cool tomorrow and then two weeks from now she doesn’t want to hear it. She really doesn’t have patience for “oh we’ll play that other song you were playing last week, you remember the moment this and that” and she’s like “yeah no no I’m not gonna play that for you, thanks, and I’m gonna put my earbuds in, so I’m taking a break, cool.”
Me: Cool, sounds like a fun age. I look forward to it.
Thomas: She’s really into Aphex Twin now on her own, I don’t know how she got into it and she was like, “can I play something?” and I was like “sure!” cause we’ll drive around and she likes to listen to music with me and I take every opportunity I can get. So she’ll put in the cord and listen or play music and then this song comes on, I’m like “what is this?!,” she’s like “ohh, it’s Aphex Twin.” I was like “I know, you’re listening to Aphex Twin?!” and she’s like “yeah I like it.” I’m like “oh thank you that’s great.”
Me: That’s awesome, yeah, that’s kind of evolved taste for a 15-year-old.
Thomas: We’re jamming their stuff all the time. We’re jamming Ambient Works Volume II, all the old stuff, newer stuff, all of them. Sounds cool.
Me: Your website said something about y’all have a surprise in the works. Do you know what they’re talking about?
Thomas: Maybe it’s the new record.
Me: That’s what they’re talking about? A surprise is the new record?
Thomas: Yeah, I would think that’s what that means.