Saturday, December 11 brings Ghost Of Pop 6 to Gallery 5 (200 W. Marshall St). This year's edition will feature performances by Young Adult Fiction, Orioles, Rocktopussy, The Trillions, Fuzzy Baby, Prabir/Goldrush, and David Shultz and the Skyline, all for only $5. This show is a perfect opportunity to familiarize yourself with all the great things happening in the Richmond independent pop music scene, or to check out the latest work of some old favorites.
As the day of the show draws closer, we'll be running a series of interviews with the artists who will be performing at this year's Ghost Of Pop. And what better way would there be to start off this series than by interviewing Prabir Mehta, the creator and founder of the Ghost Of Pop events? Prabir was a fixture on the local scene for years with his group The Substitutes, but that group played their final show at last year's Ghost Of Pop. This year, Prabir returns with a new group, Goldrush. We talked to him about this new band, as well as the ideas and inspiration behind Ghost Of Pop, and what the term "pop" means to him.
RVA: Where did the Ghost Of Pop come from?
PRABIR: The idea of Ghost Of Pop came from a holiday type event I wanted to put on six years ago. One of my favorite bands that was playing around town back then was The Rip Off, a 60s garage cover band. I wanted to do something around the holiday season to bring all of the local rock and pop bands together and wanted some 'Ghost of Holiday past' type of vibe to the event. I was just playing around with phrases and ideas and thought that the Ghost Of Pop would be a fun way to sum up the idea into a simple expression. Since then I've been trying to stick to the idea of fusing local music and the idea of the 'past' together into an annual event. The Rip Off were a great way to start that because it was a band of local musicians playing songs from the past (60's garage rock).
Since then other 'past' related things have helped fill out the rosters. For example, one year Heath Haynes and the Cryin' Shames played. They were a blast from the past. Heath had been playing around town for sometime, but that year had moved to Nashville, TN. I thought bringing Heath back would be a good way to fuse the "past" into the event. Another year The Sweater Band headlined. This is a Weezer cover band, but again the classic hits were all from our collective pop-culture past. Last year was the final show of Prabir and The Substitutes, ushering that band/idea/group/songs into the halls of Richmond Rock and Roll Past. So the idea has always been to fuse some sort of nostalgic element into the night. This year we're doing a couple of things. Jason Horst is putting together a group called Rocktopussy, a band that plays only James Bond theme songs! That little trip down pop-culture nostalgia is an important part of the night.
The focus, however, is not strictly on the past. Ghost of Pop has always been some of my favorite bands that play around town and the ones that are going to be bringing new songs and ideas to Richmond, VA for years to follow. Some of my favorite new bands such as The Trillions and Fuzzybaby will be playing this year also. So, the basic idea behind Ghost Of Pop is to have a swirl of nostalgia, new ideas, pop music, rock music, and of course keep it all homegrown. We have a lot of talent in this town and its nice to be able to put on one of the many events around town to showcase this talent.
RVA: So "pop" music isn’t the focus?
PRABIR: "Pop" is a pretty vague term. I think the idea behind using the word "pop" was to allow for the types of music I associate with to have a night to be celebrated. Richmond has such a large variety of original music being produced within city limits. Six years ago when I was considering the idea of a "pop"-night I noticed that the hardcore, jazz, country, and jam scenes were being very well represented. I just wanted to contribute something for the music that I could relate to the most. Plus, at some point acts such as the Beatles and Ozzy Osborne have both been lumped into the "pop" category.
Popular music, more often than not, has inspired so many musicians at a young age. If we were to deconstruct a pop song and boil it down to its basic components we would probably see the skeleton of that song is similar to another stripped down song, but in reality the two songs could be as different as a Michael Jackson song and a Metallica tune. I guess for me "pop" is something that is based in a hook of some sort with some other flashy stuff around it to make it unique. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but the opening to Beethoven's 5th is just as "pop" as the opening chord to "Hard Day's Night." They are way different as far as pieces go but they both have a flow to them and are filled with iconic parts that make them their own thing. Similarly, I feel like a lot of great bands in Richmond have their own version of this. "The Experts" by The Trillions has a fantastically catchy hook just like "Free" by David Shultz and The Skyline. Both songs are pretty different but kind of follow that same skeleton of "pop" music that was ingrained into us from when we first started understanding sounds. So yeah, it's a lot of rock and roll, some folk, some quirky acoustic stuff, but in my head its really all pop.
RVA: Are you excited about the lineup this year?
PRABIR: Words can not express how pumped I am to see the bands, play with my new group, and be surrounded by the people that have helped make Richmond, VA a wonderful place to live, work, and play.
RVA: You are now Prabir and The Goldrush. How is this band different than the Substitutes?
PRABIR: Again, the songs kind of follow that skeleton that I was mentioning earlier but the content of the songs are a little different. My time with the Substitutes was nothing but amazing. I'm so lucky that I had the opportunity to write, record, and tour with some of my best friends for so many years. This new lineup is a little weirder, I would say. We are not recording or touring as much, so we have time to devote to really working on taking songs and pushing them as far as they can go. Treesa, Matt, and Gregg had seen me play with the Substitutes before, so they knew what they were getting into. Likewise, I had seen them play and knew what they were capable of doing so putting this band together and starting the songwriting process was nothing but a total joy. Having classically trained musicians get their hands over my pop songs is great. I've always wanted to do something where the traditional idea of a song or a hook or a refrain can be taken and layered with lots of sonic emotional weight. Treesa and Matt Gold are both very competent and educated musicians so I totally trust that what they will bring to the song will always be beautiful and stylistically appropriate. Gregg and I kind of reinforce the foundation or the groove of the song while the Golds go crazy with the layering. Like I said, the ideas of the songs are still very rooted in pop and rock but the execution is a little different because of the new types of layers that are being added to these songs. In addition to that, playing with new people is always different, a lesson Eddie Van Halen has learned all too well I'm sure.
RVA: Do you have a record coming out anytime soon?
PRABIR: We just tracked a song called "It's Too Late," and we're going to be dusting off our other favorite recording studio songs and taking them in to get tracked around early 2011, I hope. We'd love to have an album out by spring, but there are some other fun factors we need to consider before we can push record (i.e. time and money). My hope is we'll be tracking in early 2011 and then have something to show for it by spring. We have more than an album's worth of material, we just need to line up some things and get moving! I'm excited to get back into the mix of things again.
RVA: You play all over town; do you have any regular gigs right now?
PRABIR: I have never really kept a regular gig, but I'm interested in something that could allow for us to have a new idea to present once a month or something. A few years ago, They Might Be Giants played five shows in five weeks in New York. Each week, they did something totally different. I've always been interested in that type of thing. There are some talks of working out a few different set ideas with regards to various topics (sex, drugs, religion, music, etc) and getting a monthly gig somewhere, but as of now I've been doing one offs when I can.
Last year when I played my last show with the Substitutes I decided to take a year off from the hustle. I'm glad I did. This time off has allowed me to have some fun, play with tons of new people, and work on some music that I normally would not have allowed myself time for. In this past year, I've started playing with the Goldrush and Long Arms. Both bands play out, so I'm lucky to be playing with such great people, but the idea of a regular gig would have been scary for me to take on this year. Now that I've had a chance to relax, chill out, and get re-grounded I feel like maybe this is something I could take on in 2011. Maybe the squirrels need a house band? That'd be nuts. Yes, I just went there.
RVA: Any last words or shout outs?
PRABIR: Always! I'd like to thank Gandhi for...no. I'm just really excited about this year. All the bands are wonderful, the winter holidays are upon us, it’s getting cold outside; sweaters, jackets, and scarves are back in full swing. What could be better than coming into a nice warm packed cozy Gallery 5 to see some of the area's best talents do what they do best? Nothing could be better for me. I'm excited about the show and am really proud to live in a city that can support this type of event for six years now! Good job Richmond!
WHAT: Ghost Of Pop 6: All Richmond Music Fest!
WHERE: Gallery 5 200 W Marshall St
WHEN: Saturday, December 11, 8PM
ADMISSION: $5