San Francisco's Cool Ghouls recently released the outstanding EP Alright Cassette, which is available for download on their Bandcamp page. Formed by Benicia natives Pat Thomas and Pat McDonald just a year-and-a-half ago, the Ghouls have already developed an intriguing sound. Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
-Russell Jelinek, The Bay Bridged
---------
https://www.facebook.com/coolghouls
---------
Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
---------
San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls recently released the outstanding EP Alright Cassette, which is available for download on their Bandcamp page. Formed by Benicia natives Pat Thomas and Pat McDonald just a year-and-a-half ago, the Ghouls have already developed an intriguing sound. Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
----------
PST: Let’s start with the name. Was it a joke, is there a specific meaning?
McDonald: We got the name from a live DVD of Parliament Funkadelic playing sometime in the '70s. That’s how George Clinton addressed the crowd.
Wong: It’s kind of ... it’s not really a joke. The reason we liked it was it was kinda jokey I guess, but we liked it.
PST: How did the band come about? Were you playing in other bands, meet in some other way? How were the Cool Ghouls born?
Thomas: Three of us are all from the same hometown, me, Ryan and Pat [McDonald]. From Benicia, in the Bay Area. We knew each other in high school. We weren’t great friends, but we knew each other played music. Pat and I started exchanging music. During that time, I moved back up to the Bay Area after school, and that’s when we really started the band. Alex, our drummer, we met at San Francisco State. We were kind of born out of SF State.
PST: Did you have some unifying concepts about what kind of music you wanted to make when you came together?
Thomas: To an extent, me and Pat McDonald kind of were the ones who talked about this band for a year before it happened. We had an idea that it was gonna be a rock ’n’ roll band. We were kind of prompted by what was going on in S.F. at the time — Thee Oh Sees, garage and psych. That was really something that excited us because that’s sort of our jam. It was right for us to step in.
PST: Not at all to limit your sound, but with all the garage rock style bands coming out of SF, do you find it harder to have your band and your sound stand out?
Thomas: I don’t know how much we really worry about standing out. We’re just trying to make good music. I feel like if anything, it helps to have such a supportive community of rock ’n’ roll bands that are around. Novelty isn’t really a concern, if we do it right.
PST: It could be easier at the same time, since there is already that attention there.
Thomas: Totally.
PST: One thing that draws me toward your band are the vocal harmonies. I’m just always a sucker for them. I feel like bands often now sort of have vocals as an afterthought or they’re really rough, which is cool and all, but it’s nice to see that attention to them here. Was that something you always wanted to have in your band?
McDonald: We like music where harmonies play a key role. It’s a lot of fun to harmonize, and we all try to write our own harmonies and stuff.
PST: Are you guys excited to play Phono Del Sol? I went last year and it had a nice, family-friendly vibe to it.
McDonald: Yes, absolutely. We’re nothing but excited. Thee Oh Sees are gonna be there.
PST: I imagine that’s quite different than some of your other shows. What’s some of the craziest stuff you’ve seen at shows of yours?
McDonald: Probably the craziest show we’ve ever played was in a cave down by the Sutro Bath Ruins. Right down by the beach, there’s this little cave. A couple of our friends went down there with a generator and our gear. That was probably the nuttiest thing we’ve ever done as a band. It felt very like primal.
Thomas: It was like a very pure gathering of people.
PST: I really like the song “Natural Life” and its video. Can you talk about filming that a bit? It sort of has this great home movie, road trip feel that perfectly fits the feel of the song, and it seems like a love letter to California.
Thomas: My brother Rob (Robert Thomas) filmed it. He’s a film student at [SF] State. He and I kind of conceived the idea for the video. I feel like we did it that way because it felt like a pretty easy way to do it. Just like oh yeah, we’ll grab a camera go to a cool spot. We definitely were kind of thinking having that imagery of the coast and California like that would be good for the song. Something we take for granted living here is how beautiful it is. People could kind of dig it in ways we forget. It fits the vibe of the song.
show less
-Russell Jelinek, The Bay Bridged
---------
https://www.facebook.com/coolghouls
---------
Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
---------
San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls recently released the outstanding EP Alright Cassette, which is available for download on their Bandcamp page. Formed by Benicia natives Pat Thomas and Pat McDonald just a year-and-a-half ago, the Ghouls have already developed an intriguing sound. Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
----------
PST: Let’s start with the name. Was it a joke, is there a specific meaning?
McDonald: We got the name from a live DVD of Parliament Funkadelic playing sometime in the '70s. That’s how George Clinton addressed the crowd.
Wong: It’s kind of ... it’s not really a joke. The reason we liked it was it was kinda jokey I guess, but we liked it.
PST: How did the band come about? Were you playing in other bands, meet in some other way? How were the Cool Ghouls born?
Thomas: Three of us are all from the same hometown, me, Ryan and Pat [McDonald]. From Benicia, in the Bay Area. We knew each other in high school. We weren’t great friends, but we knew each other played music. Pat and I started exchanging music. During that time, I moved back up to the Bay Area after school, and that’s when we really started the band. Alex, our drummer, we met at San Francisco State. We were kind of born out of SF State.
PST: Did you have some unifying concepts about what kind of music you wanted to make when you came together?
Thomas: To an extent, me and Pat McDonald kind of were the ones who talked about this band for a year before it happened. We had an idea that it was gonna be a rock ’n’ roll band. We were kind of prompted by what was going on in S.F. at the time — Thee Oh Sees, garage and psych. That was really something that excited us because that’s sort of our jam. It was right for us to step in.
PST: Not at all to limit your sound, but with all the garage rock style bands coming out of SF, do you find it harder to have your band and your sound stand out?
Thomas: I don’t know how much we really worry about standing out. We’re just trying to make good music. I feel like if anything, it helps to have such a supportive community of rock ’n’ roll bands that are around. Novelty isn’t really a concern, if we do it right.
PST: It could be easier at the same time, since there is already that attention there.
Thomas: Totally.
PST: One thing that draws me toward your band are the vocal harmonies. I’m just always a sucker for them. I feel like bands often now sort of have vocals as an afterthought or they’re really rough, which is cool and all, but it’s nice to see that attention to them here. Was that something you always wanted to have in your band?
McDonald: We like music where harmonies play a key role. It’s a lot of fun to harmonize, and we all try to write our own harmonies and stuff.
PST: Are you guys excited to play Phono Del Sol? I went last year and it had a nice, family-friendly vibe to it.
McDonald: Yes, absolutely. We’re nothing but excited. Thee Oh Sees are gonna be there.
PST: I imagine that’s quite different than some of your other shows. What’s some of the craziest stuff you’ve seen at shows of yours?
McDonald: Probably the craziest show we’ve ever played was in a cave down by the Sutro Bath Ruins. Right down by the beach, there’s this little cave. A couple of our friends went down there with a generator and our gear. That was probably the nuttiest thing we’ve ever done as a band. It felt very like primal.
Thomas: It was like a very pure gathering of people.
PST: I really like the song “Natural Life” and its video. Can you talk about filming that a bit? It sort of has this great home movie, road trip feel that perfectly fits the feel of the song, and it seems like a love letter to California.
Thomas: My brother Rob (Robert Thomas) filmed it. He’s a film student at [SF] State. He and I kind of conceived the idea for the video. I feel like we did it that way because it felt like a pretty easy way to do it. Just like oh yeah, we’ll grab a camera go to a cool spot. We definitely were kind of thinking having that imagery of the coast and California like that would be good for the song. Something we take for granted living here is how beautiful it is. People could kind of dig it in ways we forget. It fits the vibe of the song.
San Francisco's Cool Ghouls recently released the outstanding EP Alright Cassette, which is available for download on their Bandcamp page. Formed by Benicia natives Pat Thomas and Pat McDonald just a year-and-a-half ago, the Ghouls have already developed an intriguing sound. Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
-Russell Jelinek, The Bay Bridged
---------
https://www.facebook.com/coolghouls
---------
Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
---------
San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls recently released the outstanding EP Alright Cassette, which is available for download on their Bandcamp page. Formed by Benicia natives Pat Thomas and Pat McDonald just a year-and-a-half ago, the Ghouls have already developed an intriguing sound. Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
----------
PST: Let’s start with the name. Was it a joke, is there a specific meaning?
McDonald: We got the name from a live DVD of Parliament Funkadelic playing sometime in the '70s. That’s how George Clinton addressed the crowd.
Wong: It’s kind of ... it’s not really a joke. The reason we liked it was it was kinda jokey I guess, but we liked it.
PST: How did the band come about? Were you playing in other bands, meet in some other way? How were the Cool Ghouls born?
Thomas: Three of us are all from the same hometown, me, Ryan and Pat [McDonald]. From Benicia, in the Bay Area. We knew each other in high school. We weren’t great friends, but we knew each other played music. Pat and I started exchanging music. During that time, I moved back up to the Bay Area after school, and that’s when we really started the band. Alex, our drummer, we met at San Francisco State. We were kind of born out of SF State.
PST: Did you have some unifying concepts about what kind of music you wanted to make when you came together?
Thomas: To an extent, me and Pat McDonald kind of were the ones who talked about this band for a year before it happened. We had an idea that it was gonna be a rock ’n’ roll band. We were kind of prompted by what was going on in S.F. at the time — Thee Oh Sees, garage and psych. That was really something that excited us because that’s sort of our jam. It was right for us to step in.
PST: Not at all to limit your sound, but with all the garage rock style bands coming out of SF, do you find it harder to have your band and your sound stand out?
Thomas: I don’t know how much we really worry about standing out. We’re just trying to make good music. I feel like if anything, it helps to have such a supportive community of rock ’n’ roll bands that are around. Novelty isn’t really a concern, if we do it right.
PST: It could be easier at the same time, since there is already that attention there.
Thomas: Totally.
PST: One thing that draws me toward your band are the vocal harmonies. I’m just always a sucker for them. I feel like bands often now sort of have vocals as an afterthought or they’re really rough, which is cool and all, but it’s nice to see that attention to them here. Was that something you always wanted to have in your band?
McDonald: We like music where harmonies play a key role. It’s a lot of fun to harmonize, and we all try to write our own harmonies and stuff.
PST: Are you guys excited to play Phono Del Sol? I went last year and it had a nice, family-friendly vibe to it.
McDonald: Yes, absolutely. We’re nothing but excited. Thee Oh Sees are gonna be there.
PST: I imagine that’s quite different than some of your other shows. What’s some of the craziest stuff you’ve seen at shows of yours?
McDonald: Probably the craziest show we’ve ever played was in a cave down by the Sutro Bath Ruins. Right down by the beach, there’s this little cave. A couple of our friends went down there with a generator and our gear. That was probably the nuttiest thing we’ve ever done as a band. It felt very like primal.
Thomas: It was like a very pure gathering of people.
PST: I really like the song “Natural Life” and its video. Can you talk about filming that a bit? It sort of has this great home movie, road trip feel that perfectly fits the feel of the song, and it seems like a love letter to California.
Thomas: My brother Rob (Robert Thomas) filmed it. He’s a film student at [SF] State. He and I kind of conceived the idea for the video. I feel like we did it that way because it felt like a pretty easy way to do it. Just like oh yeah, we’ll grab a camera go to a cool spot. We definitely were kind of thinking having that imagery of the coast and California like that would be good for the song. Something we take for granted living here is how beautiful it is. People could kind of dig it in ways we forget. It fits the vibe of the song.
read more
-Russell Jelinek, The Bay Bridged
---------
https://www.facebook.com/coolghouls
---------
Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
---------
San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls recently released the outstanding EP Alright Cassette, which is available for download on their Bandcamp page. Formed by Benicia natives Pat Thomas and Pat McDonald just a year-and-a-half ago, the Ghouls have already developed an intriguing sound. Heavily influenced by pop, psych, surf, and folk-rock of the sixties, Cool Ghouls sound a lot like what I imagine the Byrds would sound like if they always cranked it to 11. They write catchy melodies, but their tight harmonies sung at the top of their lungs are highlights for me. Throw in a little lo-fi production, and you have some material that is meant to be played loud with a smile on your face.
----------
PST: Let’s start with the name. Was it a joke, is there a specific meaning?
McDonald: We got the name from a live DVD of Parliament Funkadelic playing sometime in the '70s. That’s how George Clinton addressed the crowd.
Wong: It’s kind of ... it’s not really a joke. The reason we liked it was it was kinda jokey I guess, but we liked it.
PST: How did the band come about? Were you playing in other bands, meet in some other way? How were the Cool Ghouls born?
Thomas: Three of us are all from the same hometown, me, Ryan and Pat [McDonald]. From Benicia, in the Bay Area. We knew each other in high school. We weren’t great friends, but we knew each other played music. Pat and I started exchanging music. During that time, I moved back up to the Bay Area after school, and that’s when we really started the band. Alex, our drummer, we met at San Francisco State. We were kind of born out of SF State.
PST: Did you have some unifying concepts about what kind of music you wanted to make when you came together?
Thomas: To an extent, me and Pat McDonald kind of were the ones who talked about this band for a year before it happened. We had an idea that it was gonna be a rock ’n’ roll band. We were kind of prompted by what was going on in S.F. at the time — Thee Oh Sees, garage and psych. That was really something that excited us because that’s sort of our jam. It was right for us to step in.
PST: Not at all to limit your sound, but with all the garage rock style bands coming out of SF, do you find it harder to have your band and your sound stand out?
Thomas: I don’t know how much we really worry about standing out. We’re just trying to make good music. I feel like if anything, it helps to have such a supportive community of rock ’n’ roll bands that are around. Novelty isn’t really a concern, if we do it right.
PST: It could be easier at the same time, since there is already that attention there.
Thomas: Totally.
PST: One thing that draws me toward your band are the vocal harmonies. I’m just always a sucker for them. I feel like bands often now sort of have vocals as an afterthought or they’re really rough, which is cool and all, but it’s nice to see that attention to them here. Was that something you always wanted to have in your band?
McDonald: We like music where harmonies play a key role. It’s a lot of fun to harmonize, and we all try to write our own harmonies and stuff.
PST: Are you guys excited to play Phono Del Sol? I went last year and it had a nice, family-friendly vibe to it.
McDonald: Yes, absolutely. We’re nothing but excited. Thee Oh Sees are gonna be there.
PST: I imagine that’s quite different than some of your other shows. What’s some of the craziest stuff you’ve seen at shows of yours?
McDonald: Probably the craziest show we’ve ever played was in a cave down by the Sutro Bath Ruins. Right down by the beach, there’s this little cave. A couple of our friends went down there with a generator and our gear. That was probably the nuttiest thing we’ve ever done as a band. It felt very like primal.
Thomas: It was like a very pure gathering of people.
PST: I really like the song “Natural Life” and its video. Can you talk about filming that a bit? It sort of has this great home movie, road trip feel that perfectly fits the feel of the song, and it seems like a love letter to California.
Thomas: My brother Rob (Robert Thomas) filmed it. He’s a film student at [SF] State. He and I kind of conceived the idea for the video. I feel like we did it that way because it felt like a pretty easy way to do it. Just like oh yeah, we’ll grab a camera go to a cool spot. We definitely were kind of thinking having that imagery of the coast and California like that would be good for the song. Something we take for granted living here is how beautiful it is. People could kind of dig it in ways we forget. It fits the vibe of the song.
show less
Date/Times:
The Chapel
34 Upcoming Events
777 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox
From Our Sponsors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.