Music Sucks.

With an eye on what’s happening locally, Musicsucks is starting a series spotlighting local StL bands. One part MP3 free-for-all, one part interview, and one part soundcheck we’re hoping to highlight the diversity of talent right here in your own Lou. Today we’re talking talking with Robby Ritter from The Ghost Of The Forest, who professes a love of percussive instruments, fellow radiant popsters The Pomegranates, and all things “east of unusual.”

I first saw TGOTF at some random Red Sea basement show and they knocked my socks off with their naive exuberance. I immediately bought their hand-made $5 debut. This teen bedroom-pop outfit from St. Charles has a delightfully sparkling piano-driven sound that combined with lo-fi guitiars borrows heavily from Broken Social Scene’s instrumentals, with doses of sunny Camera Obscura-esque melodies, and Nick Diamond’s (The Unicorns/Islands) influenced rhythms. All of which belies lyrical themes of yearning, lost love, death, and ostracism. My favorite ‘We Are Men’ is both a hilarious commentary on masculinity (We are me/We fight with our hands/we steal your women/and pillage the land) and expose of the juvenile male experience. Their sophomore album “My Time To Die” is available at local Slackers locations, and you can catch Robby’s solo act Bear (The Ghost) at the Lemp Arts Center July 29th.

We Are Men (LISTEN)

The Ghost Of The Forest (LISTEN)

MS: How did The Ghost of the Forest get it’s start?
RR: well it all started back in 2006. I was a bright starry eyed child, looking for love in all the wrong places. One day i was driving to my school, and i saw these woods, and i was like, man, it would be sweet to play a show in the woods (which i still want to do!) and then the name The Ghost Of The Forest hit me. The first song i recorded under this new name was heavily influenced by Liars. I knew this would be my new style, dark, scarry, and awesome! Shortly after this i wrote the song “OH”, which is on our new album ‘My Time To Die’ and realized that in my heart, i was a pop song writer. The next song i recorded was ‘We Are Men’ which quickly rose to number 15 on the charts. I knew that i must start a real band. Collin and I played ‘We Are Men’ at our schools talent show. It went over pretty well, and we decided that it was time for the big leagues. We started asking friends to join the band. Our debut show was May 28th ['06] at Lemp Arts Center with Berlin Whale and Frog Eyes. Since then we have added new members and lost old ones, but we have finally found our sound and are ready to take the indie world by storm!

MS: Where do you draw your musical influences from?
RR: Well personally my biggest 2 influences are Sigur Ros and Sufjan Stevens. But across the band we get influences from Animal Collective, The Strokes, The Beatles, The Walkmen, Arcade Fire, Patrick Wolf, The Cure, and Gorillaz (just to name a few)

MS: What have you been listening to a lot of lately?
RR: hmmm… tough question, i usually just put my ipod on shuffle. I really like Pomegranates. They are a smaller band from Cincinnati and i listen to their CD and EP alot. oh, and i just heard the new Fleet Foxes cd….it blew me out of the water.

MS: Do you think that you are most influenced by current artists or stuff you grew up listening too?
RR: Well i used to be influence by The Unicorns, but lately i am mostly just influenced by what i listen to now.

MS: What is your favorite piece of musical equipment?
RR: well i grew up on drums, and since i play piano all the time it is really fun to play drums. Im gonna go with Drums for $500, Alex.

MS: Whats your favorite food?
RR: I really like Pei Wei, i think it is Japanese.