Jukebox the Ghost
| Jukebox the Ghost | |
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| File:Tommy Siegel of Jukebox The Ghost performing at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival in Elmer, NJ June 2012a.jpg
Tommy Siegel of Jukebox The Ghost performing at the Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival in Elmer, NJ June 2012
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| Background information | |
| Origin | DC metro-area |
| Genres | Power pop,[1] indie pop, piano rock, indie rock |
| Years active | 2003 – present |
| Labels | Cherrytree Records, Yep Roc |
| Website | Jukeboxtheghost.com |
| Members | Ben Thornewill Tommy Siegel Jesse Kristin |
Jukebox the Ghost is an American three-piece power pop band from the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. The band consists of Ben Thornewill (vocals & piano), Tommy Siegel (vocals & guitar) and Jesse Kristin (drums). The band has been active since 2006.
History
In 2003, Thornewill, Siegel, and Kristin met while attending George Washington University.[2] and formed a band called "The Sunday Mail".[3] After two years, they decided to change their name.
After they thought they had enough new material, they renamed themselves "Jukebox the Ghost". The name was a combination of words chosen democratically, with "jukebox" originating from the lyrics of a Captain Beefheart song and "ghost" as a reference to a Nabokov novel. In 2008, they released their first album, Let Live & Let Ghosts which was recorded during winter break of their senior year of college.
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.[4]
After releasing their debut record, they toured with Say Hi and Nightmare of You, among others. In 2009 they toured with Ben Folds, followed shortly by a tour with Jenny Owen Youngs in the United States. The band began recording their sophomore album "Everything Under the Sun" on September 29, 2009 at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut, an indie recording studio that specializes in analog recording.
In February 2010, Jukebox the Ghost toured Europe with Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches. This was followed by more touring 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, and toured with Guster soon after. The band opened for Jack's Mannequin and Motion City Soundtrack in 2012.
On June 12, 2012, Jukebox the Ghost released their third album, Safe Travels. The album marked a departure from their often-fictional 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.”[5]
On May 23, 2014, they released a new single, "The Great Unknown" from their self-titled fourth record, Jukebox the Ghost which was released on October 21, 2014. As of November 2014, They have announced that they will be going on tour to promote Jukebox the Ghost. They will be touring all across the U.S. in multiple different locations.
On January 21, 2015, the band announced they had signed with preeminent pop alternative label Cherrytree Records. Cherrytree Records is a subsidiary of Interscope Records. Jukebox the Ghost will re-release their self-titled album in February, 2015, under their new label. This was quickly followed by the bands performance of "postcard" on Conan's late night show on January 26.
On February 17, 2015, Jukebox the Ghost and label-mates Secret Someones released a cover of Walk Like an Egyptian, which became available to download soon after. The two groups toured together in the few following months, performing mainly on the east coast of the United States.
In late March of 2015 the group announced a national summer tour with Ingrid Michaelson. In early April they released the music video of "Postcard".
Personnel
- Ben Thornewill - vocals, keyboards
- Tommy Siegel - vocals, guitar, bass
- Jesse Kristin - drums, percussion, vocals (only on Jukebox the Ghost)
Additional musicians (only on Safe Travels)
- Jonathan Dinklage - violin & viola
- Dave Eggar - cello
- Seth Faulk - conga
- Dan Romer - additional instruments
Discography
Studio Albums
Let Live and Let Ghosts (2008)
The band released its first LP on April 22, 2008. The album was recorded in North Carolina with Ted Comerford (Army of Me).[6] Jesse Kristin suffered from "awful tendonitis" during the recording of the album.[2]
Since its release, the album has received praise from The Washington Post and Best Week Ever.[citation needed] Spin stated that "Jukebox the Ghost is a refreshing reminder that the lighthearted electricity of a fantastic pop song is still filled with live wires."[7]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| DCist | (favorable) [8] |
| Sputnikmusic |    [9] |
| The Washington Post | (favorable) [10] |
| Yorkshire Post | (mixed) [11] |
| Let Live and Let Ghosts [12] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Vocalist | 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 (2010)
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 | [13] |
| The A.V. Club | (A-) [14] |
| PopMatters |   [15] |
| SPIN | [16] |
| The Washington Post | (mixed) [17] |
| Everything Under the Sun [18] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Vocalist | 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 (2012)
The band'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 volunteer orchestra.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [19] |
| PopMatters | [20] |
| Safe Travels [21] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Vocalist | 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 |
Jukebox the Ghost (2014)
Jukebox the Ghost's fourth album was released on October 21, 2014. "The Great Unknown", the first single, was released on June 23, 2014. On April 7, 2015, a deluxe version containing solo piano covers of the entire album without vocals was released.[22]
| Jukebox the Ghost | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Vocalist | Length |
| 1. | "Sound of a Broken Heart" | Thornewill | 3:18 |
| 2. | "Made for Ending" | Siegel | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Girl" | Thornewill | 3:35 |
| 4. | "The Great Unknown" | Thornewill | 3:00 |
| 5. | "Long Way Home" | Siegel/Thornewill | 3:27 |
| 6. | "When the Nights Get Long" | Thornewill | 3:27 |
| 7. | "The One" | Siegel | 3:39 |
| 8. | "Hollywood" | Thornewill/Kristin | 3:27 |
| 9. | "Postcard" | Thornewill | 3:30 |
| 10. | "Undeniable You" | Thornewill | 3:22 |
| 11. | "Show Me Where It Hurts" | Siegel | 3:06 |
| 12. | "Sound of a Broken Heart (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 2:52 |
| 13. | "Made for Ending (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 2:39 |
| 14. | "Girl (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 3:41 |
| 15. | "The Great Unknown (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 4:07 |
| 16. | "Long Way Home (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 3:44 |
| 17. | "When the Nights Get Long (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 4:27 |
| 18. | "The One (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 3:34 |
| 19. | "Hollywood (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 4:14 |
| 20. | "Postcard (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 3:27 |
| 21. | "Undeniable You (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 3:16 |
| 22. | "Show Me Where It Hurts (Solo Piano Version) [Bonus Track]" | None | 3:15 |
| 23. | "Medley [Bonus Track]" | None | 10:22 |
Extended Plays
Mistletoe
The band released a holiday EP on November 30, 2010, titled Mistletoe, containing a new holiday-themed song "This Year", as well as "Mistletoe" and two acoustic covers from Everything Under the Sun, their second studio album.[23]
| Mistletoe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Vocalist | Length |
| 1. | "Mistletoe" | 3:44 | |
| 2. | "This Year" | 3:30 | |
| 3. | "Schizophrenia (Acoustic)" | 3:19 | |
| 4. | "Half Crazy (Acoustic)" | 3:07 | |
I Love You Always Forever
Jukebox the Ghost released a cover EP 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. | Title | Vocalist | Length |
| 1. | "I Love You Always Forever" | Thornewill | 3:54 |
| 2. | "Temptation" | Thornewill | 6:12 |
The BSide Session
The band released an EP in early 2015, titled The BSide Session, containing acoustic covers of two songs from their self-titled album.[24]
| The BSide Session | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Vocalist | Length |
| 1. | "Long Way Home (Acoustic)" | 3:27 | |
| 2. | "Undeniable You (Acoustic)" | 4:02 | |
Singles and other appearances
| Title | Year | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Cross My Mind (Twin Forks cover)"[25] | 2015 | Tour Split EP | 4:35 |
| "Walk Like an Egyptian (The Bangles cover) (feat. Secret Someones)"[26] | 2015 | Walk Like an Egyptian (Single) | 3:22 |
| "Your Love Isn't Different"[27] | 2015 | The Gayest Compilation Ever Made, vol. 3 | 3:58 |
References
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- ↑ [2][dead link]
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- ↑ [3][dead link]
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- ↑ itunes.apple.com/JukeboxTheGhost
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/mistletoe-ep/id406338071
- ↑ http://www.mobtownstudios.com/projects/jukebox-ghost-bside-session/
- ↑ http://dinealonerecords.com/news/twin-forks-digital-split-with-jukebox-the-ghost/
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/walk-like-an-egyptian-single/id965054481
- ↑ https://everyoneisgay.bandcamp.com/album/the-gayest-compilation-volume-iii
