Jukebox the Ghost

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Jukebox the Ghost

Tommy Siegel of Jukebox The Ghost performing at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival in Elmer, NJ June 2012
Background information
Origin DC metro-area
Genres Piano Pop
Years active 2003 – present
Labels Yep Roc
Website Jukeboxtheghost.com
Members Ben Thornewill
Tommy Siegel
Jesse Kristin

Jukebox the Ghost is a D.C. Metro-Area three-piece Indie-pop band. The band consists of Ben Thornewill (vocals & piano), Tommy Siegel (vocals & guitar) and Jesse Kristin (drums). The band has been active since 2006.

History

Ben Thornewill of Jukebox The Ghost on keyboards at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival, June 2012

In 2003, Ben, Tommy, and Jesse met while going to George Washington University.[1] As they were attending, they formed a band called "The Sunday Mail".[2] After two years, they took a hiatus.

Afterwards, they ended up writing a lot of different stuff that was unique to them. After they thought they had enough material, they built up a new image and band, and named it "Jukebox the Ghost". They derived the name from the lyrics of a Captain Beefheart song.

In 2008, they released their first album "Let Live & Let Ghosts".

Jukebox the Ghost recorded a cover of Ace of Base's "Beautiful Life" for Engine Room Recordings' compilation album Guilt by Association Vol. 2, which was released in November 2008.[3]

After playing music with Ben Folds in early April 2009, they cobbled the money together to get to the UK and headline for a band named Nightmare of You. They initially started headlining by playing with musician Jenny Owen Youngs in the United States on April 30 in Chicago, IL. This lasted into June, at which point they temporarily stopped playing shows so that they could write new material and concentrate on their next album, "Everything Under the Sun." The band began recording for the new album on September 29, 2009 at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which is an indie recording studio that specializes in analogue recording for flavor purposes, but mostly uses digital recording due to consistency purposes and for the purposes of added digital effect.

In February 2010, Jukebox the Ghost played music in Europe with Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches. This was followed by more headlining in the United States with the bands Tally Hall and Skybox. They took another break and started playing live shows once again in late May 2010 with the band Free Energy, and once headlined as a minor band at Lollapalooza in Chicago.

September 1, 2010 marked a major milestone for the band, as they appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Jukebox the Ghost opened for Barenaked Ladies during the fall of 2010 from October through November, and were a featured band on the Barenaked Ladies-hosted Sixthman cruise, Ships & Dip 4, in February 2011.

"JTG" also was a featured band on another Sixthman Cruise "Rombello" in September 2011.

The band opened for Jack's Mannequin starting January 19, 2012

On June 12, 2012, Jukebox the Ghost released their third album, Safe Travels. The album marked a departure from their sci-fi narratives in favor of more personal lyrics. In an interview with Jukebox the Ghost, Ben Thornewill stated that "this record has a lot of songs that are directly from our own life experience. Whether they are journalistically accurate or not, probably not, but they come from something in our lives, not something we’re imagining.”[4]

Band Members

  • Ben Thornewill - vocals, keyboard (2003–present)
  • Tommy Siegel - vocals, guitar (2003–present)
  • Jesse Kristin - drums, percussion (2003–present)

Discography

Let Live and Let Ghosts

Jukebox the Ghost released their first LP on April 22, 2008. The album was recorded in North Carolina with Ted Comerford (Army of Me).[5] Jesse Kristin suffered from "awful tendonitis" during the recording of the album.[1]

Since its release, the album has received praise from The Washington Post and Best Week Ever [source?]. Spin exclaimed that "Jukebox the Ghost is a refreshing reminder that the lighthearted electricity of a fantastic pop song is still filled with live wires."[6]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
DCist (favorable) [7]
Sputnikmusic [8]
The Washington Post (favorable) [9]
Yorkshire Post (mixed) [10]
Let Live and Let Ghosts [11]
No. TitleVocalist Length
1. "Good Day"  Thornewill 4:14
2. "Hold It In"  Thornewill 3:29
3. "Beady Eyes on the Horizon"  Siegel 4:08
4. "Under My Skin"  Thornewill 3:20
5. "Miss Templeton's 7000th Dream"  Siegel 1:38
6. "Static to the Heart"  Siegel 4:33
7. "Victoria"  Thornewill 3:44
8. "My Heart's the Same"  Thornewill 3:07
9. "Lighting Myself on Fire"  Thornewill 3:48
10. "Fire in the Sky"  Siegel 0:56
11. "Where Are All the Scientists Now?"  Siegel 4:10
12. "A Matter of Time"  Siegel 5:07

Everything Under the Sun

Jukebox the Ghost's second album was released on September 7, 2010. 'Empire' the first single, was released on June 1, 2010.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [12]
The A.V. Club (A-) [13]
SPIN [14]
The Washington Post (mixed) [15]
Everything Under the Sun [16]
No. TitleVocalist Length
1. "Schizophrenia"  Thornewill 3:44
2. "Half Crazy"  Siegel 3:03
3. "Empire"  Thornewill 3:38
4. "Summer Sun"  Thornewill 2:15
5. "Mistletoe"  Thornewill 3:44
6. "The Sun"  Siegel 3:06
7. "So Let Us Create"  Thornewill 3:50
8. "Carrying"  Thornewill/Siegel 4:16
9. "The Sun (Interlude)"  N/A 1:02
10. "The Stars"  Siegel 4:53
11. "The Popular Thing"  Thornewill 3:43
12. "Nobody"  Thornewill 4:23

Safe Travels

Jukebox the Ghost's third album was released on June 12, 2012. The album was released digitally on June 5, 2012. 'Somebody', the first single, was aired on NPR on April 9, 2012, and officially released on April 17, 2012. The second single from the album, 'Oh, Emily', was released April 13, 2012 on the band's website. The album has a wide variety of instruments used on it such as accordion, bass guitar, congas and a voluneer orchestra.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
PopMatters [17]
Safe Travels [18]
No. TitleVocalist Length
1. "Somebody"  Thornewill 4:06
2. "Oh, Emily"  Siegel 4:04
3. "At Last"  Thornewill 3:36
4. "Say When"  Siegel 4:06
5. "Don't Let Me Fall Behind"  Thornewill 3:50
6. "Dead"  Siegel 4:16
7. "Adulthood"  Thornewill 3:31
8. "Ghosts In Empty Houses"  Siegel 3:58
9. "Devils On Our Side"  Thornewill 2:27
10. "All For Love"  Thornewill 3:33
11. "Man In The Moon"  Siegel 1:58
12. "Everybody Knows"  Thornewill 3:54
13. "The Spiritual"  Thornewill 3:49
14. "A La La (Bonus Track)"  Thornewill 3:18

I Love You Always Forever

Jukebox the Ghost also released a cover LP on April 21, 2012, titled "I Love You Always Forever", after the first track on the disk - their cover of Donna Lewis' “I Love You Always Forever”. They also included their version of New Order‘s “Temptation”.

I Love You Always Forever
No. TitleVocalist Length
1. "I Love You Always Forever"  Thornewill 3:54
2. "Temptation"  Thornewill 6:12

Personnel

Jukebox The Ghost

  • Ben Thornewill - vocals, keyboard
  • Tommy Siegel - vocals, guitar, bass (Only on Safe Travels)
  • Jesse Kristin - drums, percussion

Additional Musicians (Only on Safe Travels)

  • Jonathan Dinklage - violin & viola
  • Dave Eggar - cello
  • Seth Faulk - conga
  • Dan Romer - additional stuff

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Natural Selections: Jukebox the Ghost
  2. ↑ Jukebox the Ghost Interview with BYT.com
  3. ↑ Matthew Solarski (19 November 2008). "My Brightest Diamond, Frightened Rabbit Do Covers". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
  4. ↑ Chris Rutledge (11 June 2012). "Jukebox The Ghost Gets Introspective With Safe Travels". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2012-06-12. 
  5. ↑ http://www.musicsnobbery.com/2007/08/jukebox-the-gho.html
  6. ↑ Catch the Buzz: Jukebox the Ghost
  7. ↑ Sedlar, Matt (January 25, 2008). "Album Review: Jukebox the Ghost's Let Live and Let Ghosts". Retrieved October 2, 2010. 
  8. ↑ "Jukebox the Ghost - Let Live & Let Ghosts". May 24, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2010. 
  9. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (March 7, 2008). "JUKEBOX THE GHOST "Let Live & Let Ghosts"". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2010. 
  10. ↑ "Jukebox The Ghost: Let Live & Let Ghosts". March 12, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2010. 
  11. ↑ http://www.last.fm/music/Jukebox+the+Ghost/Let+Live+and+Let+Ghosts
  12. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Everything Under the Sun - Jukebox the Ghost". Retrieved October 2, 2010. 
  13. ↑ Mincher, Chris (September 7, 2010). "Jukebox The Ghost: Everything Under The Sun". Retrieved October 2, 2010. 
  14. ↑ Young, Jon (August 27, 2010). "Jukebox the Ghost, 'Everything Under the Sun'". Retrieved October 19, 2010. 
  15. ↑ Foster, Patrick (September 7, 2010). "Album review: Jukebox the Ghost, "Everything Under the Sun"". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 2, 2010. 
  16. ↑ http://www.yeproc.com/news.php?articleId=6741
  17. ↑ Hepfinger, Billy (June 22, 2012). "Safe Travels - Jukebox the Ghost". Retrieved June 27, 2012. 
  18. ↑ http://jukeboxtheghost.com/site/2012/safe-travels-coming-june-12-2012

External links

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