ACL's Most Anticipated: #4- Ghostland Observatory

Photo courtesy of the Austin-American Statesman.

Built from the ground up on their own money and their unique, ethereal brand of electronica, two guys from the middle of nowhere have taken the underground by storm

San Saba. It’s a town with a total area of approximately 1.8 square miles, with a population of just under 3,000, located smack dab in the middle of Texas. It has a couple of claims to fame; for one, actor Tommy Lee Jones calls it his hometown. Coincidentally, it was also a central location of the novel No Country for Old Men, of which Jones starred in the film version as Sherriff Ed Tom Bell. Other than that, there’s not a whole lot going on in San Saba, although if you happen to like pecan pie you might enjoy a visit there; San Saba proudly proclaims itself the Pecan Capital of the World.

Aaron Kyle Behrens is from San Saba, TX.

Fort Stockton. Not much larger than San Saba at about 8,000 people, Fort Stockton lies alongside I-10, about 300 miles west of Austin. Boasting the World’s Largest Roadrunner (or a statue of it, anyway; he’s nicknamed Paisano Pete), it was once home to buffalo soldiers during the civil war; hence the “fort’ part of the name. These days it’s more renowned as a gas stop for travelers from El Paso. It’s one of those small west Texas towns where everybody knows everybody, and you kind of have to make your own fun, since there’s not a whole lot to there. It’s also a place near and dear to this reviewer’s heart- he lived there for 18 years of his life.

Thomas Ross Turner is from Fort Stockton, TX.

*****
 

Ghostland Observatory is a story about how music united two individuals from the unlikeliest of places, and turned them into one of the biggest successes in the underground electronica scene. Both of them found their way to Austin to pursue music careers, and it wasn’t until Aaron put an ad for a keyboard player in the Austin-American Statesman that fate would bring them together. Before then, he was a member of Waking Helix, an instrumental band that he formed with a drummer named Andrew Hamra. Wanted to expand upon the sound they had developed, Aaron set out to add another member to their group. Thomas, meanwhile, made his way to Austin after a stint in Dallas, anxious to try his hand at music production. He responded to the ad that Aaron had put in the paper, and contacted the band for a tryout. The rest, as they say, is history.

Not that the going was easy- at first, Aaron didn’t care much for Thomas’ playing (according to an interview they did with Austin 360, Andrew was actually the one who decided Thomas should stay on board). After some time together the two began to develop a musical partnership; Aaron began singing on tracks they wrote together, while Thomas purchased a few samplers and added more grooves to their songs. They moved past the all-instrumental tracks Waking Helix was known for in favor of a synth- based, dance heavy electronic sound. The duo says that they were inspired by 70’s performers, incorporating a lot of showmanship into their performances, and a lot of crazed singing and shouting. Before, they were playing more traditional rock ballads; now, they were on to something totally different. Eventually they moved on from Waking Helix to form Ghostland Observatory, playing regular gigs at Austin staples Red Eyed Fly and Emo’s.

People really responded to their sound in a way they never did to Waking Helix. The trick, according to Aaron, lies in their performances, which are now regularly sold out. Pairing his high pitched voice with Thomas’ otherworldly grooves, the guys have found that they are consistently converting nonbelievers to their sound; crowds get caught up in their energetic performances. Eventually not even Emo’s could contain them, and so they moved on to other venues- most notably performing Late Night with Conan O’ Brian (before he received his cushy new gig as Jay Leno’s successor).

To put it simply, they’ve become a force to be reckoned with; the Austin-American Statesman named Ghostland Observatory band of the year for 2007- ironic considering the newspaper got them together in the first place. Their latest release, Robotique Majestique, came out last year. It has one of the more inconspicuous covers you’ll ever see- it’s just the words Robotique Majestique, in multicolored lettering, set atop a black background. It doesn’t really set you up for the complex album hiding underneath- a surreal blend of Rod Stewart, Daft Punk, and Parliament Funkadelic. It’s not rock, punk, or electronic- it’s all of the above, and none of the above. Ghostland Observatory kind of just does their own thing, and they’re showing no signs of slowing down.

Maybe it’s just dumb luck that these two would meet and set the musical world on fire. Maybe it’s something else. Either way, Ghostland Observatory proves that tremendous talent can come from anywhere. When most of today’s headliners come from major metropolitan cities like New York or Houston, it’s kinda cool to see an act like G.O. representing small town America, especially when one of them hails from this reviewer’s own hometown. Maybe it’s fate that led him to cover a musician that grew up about two miles away from where he used to live. Who knows?

Music has a funny way of bringing people together sometimes.

Ghostland Observatory

Date: Saturday, October 3

Time: 8:00 pm

Stage: AMD (West)

Back to overview of ACL’s Top Ten Most Anticipated