New Music: Best Dressed Ghost

RFB.FM connected with Best Dressed Ghost this week ahead of their new EP due out March 12th. We sat down with Patti, Chris, Stef, and Joey to talk origins, influences, and their signature punk-surf-doom sound.

RFB.FM: What brought you all together, and how did your sound evolve?

Patti: I met Stef and Chris in the midst of the pandemic. I had decided to buy a bass again after a 10 year hiatus and figured I’d just play along to songs I liked at home. Then Stef told me she wanted to start a band and wanted me to be in it. I thought we would get together and jam once in a while for fun but never could have expected it to become what it has. Our sound has definitely gotten a lot more confident and because of that, angrier and louder too.

Chris: During the pandemic, Stef said “I want to start a band that has a little punk, a little surf, and a sprinkle of… doom.” When she said “doom,” a lightbulb went off. When we met for our first practice, it was purely to hang, make some noise, and have fun, but I instantly saw that it had the potential to be something cool. I have footage from our first rehearsals and it’s funny to look back on. It sounds a lot more like traditional surf. It certainly doesn’t sound like that now.

Stef: I think Patti and Chris about summed it up - we wanted to hang together as friends but started to feel something more in it. I think we were all just looking for an outlet. Once you get on stage a few times and get really comfortable in what you’re doing, you start to push little boundaries here and there, and ones you thought you maybe weren’t even capable of pushing so you evolve in that way. We met Joey and our sound has really come together and evolved around them as well.

Joey: The band has been together for a few years, and I’m the latest edition. Patti and I reside in Jersey City. Chris and Stef had a history of living here and being a part of the scene here. Jersey is a small scene, and we’re all interconnected. I filled in on drums for the band Royal Blush, and we played a show together at the meat locker a year back. Few weeks later, they announced that their drummer was leaving, and we were all hanging at the pet shop in JC one night. We chatted and hung out, and the rest is history.

I’d like to think that Chris brought in some riffs and song ideas they were working on with their previous drummer that were more on the grittier side to their previous release. As we worked through those riffs, we looked at some ideas that were not fully developed that had that BDG flavor of sound which incorporates surf, punk, and storytelling, but adding nuances of classical guitar, salsa, and flamenco. In 5 songs, we really do have a lot to tell you.

RFB.FM How did your roots in New Jersey factor into your evolution, and what are some of your favorite venues in Jersey and beyond (e.g., Philly and DC)?

Patti: For me being from Maryland right outside of DC I grew up going to 930 Club and Black Cat in DC and The Ottobar was my home-base in Baltimore.

Chris: I am indebted to the New Jersey scene. Weekends at Hamilton Street, Bloomfield Ave Cafe, and a multitude of VFWs left an indelible mark on a fertile young mind, for sure. It showed me the value of a musical community, one that I’m truly lucky to be a part of. My favorite Jersey venue is Pet Shop. It’s home!

Stef: The NJ scene we grew up in was legendary and we were extremely lucky to have the community we did back then. Patti and I saw My Chem over the summer and I cried when Thursday was on, like we really feel so close to these bands that shaped our youth. I’m seeing that community take shape again and sort of cradle the kids we once were hoping we could play music forever with our friends.

Joey: I just grew up in Jersey, man lol. It’s hard to ignore the vast arts and culture that surround us. I was very fortunate to grow up here, learn to play/learn about music that’s local to New Jersey, and to be a part of the arts community here. My dad was a musician, my parents are both big into music, and I had three cousins that were involved in the NJHC scene. That one cousin that was on the Warped Tour influenced me to want to do the same thing he was doing.

It was like 2004? My aunt and my mom both got me and my cousin Anthony American Idiot on CD, and I was supposed to get the censored version, and they got them switched by accident lol. I like to think I’m a respectful person, but I’ve been going against the grain ever since.

As a drummer, I didn’t entirely go with what was happening in the scene as much as creating my own sound. I just listened to stuff that I liked and practiced to them as best as I can. New Jersey music can be best described by memorable riffs and poetic storytelling, not so much by distinct drum styling. Gabe Serbian from The Locust and beyond is my favorite drummer but he’s from the San Diego scene, but for local representation, Chris Pennie for sure; brother is a chef’s kiss.

My favorite venue in Jersey has got to be White Eagle Hall. I’ve played in there in previous bands but not with BDG, which needs to change (I’m talking to you, Todd). But outside that, I loved OWL (RIP) and Sultan Room both in BK. Two of my favorites outside of that are The Smell in LA and The Holland Project in Reno.

RFB.FM: For the new EP, tell us about where you tracked it — how did that environment influence the final sound?

Joey: So the band has previously worked with Trevor Reddell at his home studio in Martinsville, NJ, but it was my first time working with him. I’ve had some producers. I’ve worked with those who have been endearing, but also have sat there and pressed the button and yawned and didn’t give a shit about what we were doing.

Trevor was different; he didn’t know me. He didn’t know what he was getting into. I wanted to assure him that I was going to work with him to his and my standard, and that I have many years of experience recording in such a way. But what I love the most was that he was also a fellow drummer, so not only did he express the best moves for the songs to be reflective of the band, but he also pushed me to get the best take I could possibly get. I was very appreciative of him doing that because it left us with a really diverse-sounding album with a punch.

RFB.FM: What’s one thing you would want listeners to take away from the new record?

Patti: I would love for young girls to take away that it’s ok to be loud and take up space, unapologetically.

Chris: A productive use of anger.

Stef: Patti nailed it. As a woman we teach ourselves to be small, unassuming - don’t ruffle any feathers. It’s insanely powerful to be able to yell into a microphone “this is what happened to me, this is what I care about, and now you’re gonna hear about it” and I hope at least one person listens and realizes they don’t have to shrink themselves. I also want people to have fun listening to it! It’s ok to talk about hard shit but shake your ass, too.

Joey: Listen to the lyrics, let them make you happy, let them make you sad, let them make you angry. I said this previously, but I’m so serious I have to say it twice. Stef put a lot of heart into the stories that are in each of these songs, and we got a lot to say.

RFB.FM: Who were/are your biggest influences?

Patti: Bikini Kill, The Breeders, Mannequin Pussy, Amyl and the Sniffers, The Hives. I also love a theatrical band like The Darkness or Foxy Shazam and try to harness that level of showmanship onstage.

Chris: The World/Inferno Friendship Society is a massive influence on me, both in terms of musicality and performance. Seeing them live was like going to school, only I was excited about it, and there was wine on the floor.

Stef: I saw Screaming Females in a New Brunswick basement when I was a kid and the second I saw Marissa perform I was like, I need to do this. When we started this band I was in a real Dick Dale and 5, 6, 7, 8s era of my life and was loving that sound. I would watch live performances of PJ Harvey and Concrete Blonde and Veruca Salt and Kathleen Hanna and idolized the og riot grrrls. I also have a bit of clown blood like Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys and grew up with a Rage Against the Machine poster above my bed that I bought on the boardwalk so I was like, damn, how do I somehow mix all of these sounds in my head together while saying something, anything.

Joey: Bonham, Dillinger Esc Plan (as a whole), Chris Conley, Jimmy Chamberlin, P Funk, Billy Joel’s drummer who was on Turnstiles, Ummmm whoever the drummer was on Herbie Hancock’s Man-Child, Peter Tosh, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Dub Music, Whoever the drummer was on Aaron Goldberg’s Worlds album (man’s crazy), Trent Reznor, David Bowie, Ween, SpongeBob

RFB.FM: What are some of your favorite bands right now? Who should we be checking out?

Patti: Slugwater for sure!

Chris: Check out OFF-KNOWNEOUS. Catchy, killer songs, and they’re sweet fellas.

Stef: Grandma’s House, Commitment, Lambrini Girls. Locally - Shirthole, Young and Doomed, Guack, Más Trauma, Cashmir, there are so many. Honestly go out to any local show in NJ and I promise that you will find your favorite new band.

Joey: Love these local guys LOOSEY out of BK, real killer stuff; Kiss w/o make-up, cooler than White Reaper. Dracu-Las are hometown friends of ours keeping surf classic with a pop making our city proud.

Check out my buds Tony From Bowling out of PGH, check out Dog Lips out of NH, Greaseface from VT just put out a new album, it’s so good my buddy Ari’s band Valley Porno People out of LA killer shoegaze. Also, my buddy Lowell and Eli in Tongues of Fire (love you bbs)

(Photo by Dan Acosta)