Local alt-country/rock group Ghost Fleet is (from top) Jason Bays, Aaron Fisher, Derek Thompson and Nathan Shrewsbury. The band lists Tom Petty and Drive-By Truckers as big influences.
Reposted from The Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- After so many years sitting behind the drums and filling in on guitar, Aaron Fisher is finally the captain of his own ship -- or at least his own band, Ghost Fleet. He’s drummed for years and played in bands like Dog Soldier and with Mark Bates and the Vacancies, but now he’s out front, singing and playing guitar in the recently formed alt-country/rock band.
Fisher, an accomplished studio engineer and producer at his 101 Productions in Sissonville, now gets the chance to write and arrange his own songs.
“Right around the start of the new year is when I got sick and tired of trying to track down a singer that was cool and would come to practice and wasn't a diva and could sing songs that I wanted to be a part of.
“I said, ‘You know what? I’ve always wanted to sing in a band, and I’ve been playing a lot of guitar, so I’m just going to go ahead and step out and do it -- and if it works, it works; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t’, but so far it’s worked. I’m really happy about it.”
Fisher and Ghost Fleet have been playing area shows regularly since the start of the year and are finishing up work on their debut EP, “Jesus Is From Texas.”
The band plays the Blue Parrot on Friday.
When it came time to record, you could say Fisher knew a guy, but just because he was recording his own band, it wasn’t a cakewalk. Fisher admits that his obsessive tendencies nearly took over.
“Typically, it’s not as bad as it’s been this time around,” he said. “Usually, I’ll just nitpick the mix.
“At this point, I'm writing the songs, recording all the music and mixing; I’m doing everything, and trust me, it’s not by choice. I’d much rather go to someone else. This whole self-produced thing is overrated.
“I think the reason a lot of bands self-produce is just the cost of recording,” he said. “It’s the same story producing your own music.
“It’s a nightmare for me, because I keep wanting to go back and re-hash or fix something. The process goes from, ‘In two weeks, we’ll be done’ to ‘In a month, we'll be done,’” he said laughing.
Ghost Fleet is Fisher, guitarist Jason Bays, bassist Derek Thompson and drummer Nathan Shrewsbury. While the songs are Fishers own, he says it’s his bandmates that really make them work.
“I’m shocked at how easy it’s been for me to manage the singing and the songwriting,” he said. “I come in with an idea of what I want, and those guys just get on board and make it really great.”
Fisher said he'll have pre-mastered sampler versions of the new EP to pass out Friday. He’s looking forward to the show because he says the Blue Parrot is a place Ghost Fleet has been well received.
“The Parrot is always a great place to play. I have a feeling this show on the 13th is going to be pretty big; there’s Live on the Levee that night, with Bud Carroll and Jeff Ellis, so the styles are really going to mesh. I’m expecting a nice crowd for our show.”
The performance is just another highlight in what Fisher feels like, in terms of his music and his band, is a high point in his life.
“I feel like an artist, instead of just a drummer or a rhythm guitar player. In the past, I was the guy everybody called to play drums. I’ve just been driving the nail into someone else’s house, you know? Now I’m creating something from scratch, like an actual artist. It’s all happened so easily. Now I’m just waiting for that writer’s block to come.”
WANT TO GO?
Ghost Fleet
With Nathaniel Good and the Boot
WHEN: 10 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Blue Parrot, 14 Capitol St.
COST: $5
INFO: ghostfleetband.com or 304-342-2583
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