Interview: Handsome Ghost Talks Teaching, High School Prom, and Drive-In Movies

By: Francesca Graham – 

Handsome Ghost’s Tim Noyes during our pre-show interview. (Photo: Francesca Graham/Aesthetic Magazine Toronto)

“Indie-prom” band Handsome Ghost, who released their debut EP, Steps, on March 10th, 2015 via Photo Finish/Republic, showcases a sound with entrancing vocals, dynamic instrumentation, and hypnotic spirit.

They are currently out on the road supporting MisterWives on the “Our Own House” tour alongside Borns, and we sat down with frontman Tim Noyes before their Dallas show to talk about their new EP, his past job as a high school English teacher, his high school prom, and more!

When you faced the dilemma of either returning to teach high school english or continuing your music career, what was going through your head at that point, and what made you decide on music?

It was definitely a tough call. I think I gave it some serious thought [going back to teaching] but I wasn’t quite ready. [Teaching] is such a demanding job and it’s tough to balance both so I wasn’t quite ready to give music up completely so I knew it wasn’t the right time yet.

What kind of impact (if any) did your experience of teaching English in a low-income district in the Bronx have on your songwriting?

It didn’t have a lot of influence on the songs themselves, but because I was so busy, it made for a very focused outside of work situation so when I would get home it would just be a few hours that I’d just write. I think it helped to focus the creativity because it was hard trying to juggle these two important parts of my life.

After quitting teaching, you formed a folk band in Brooklyn. What was the transition like for you to go from playing folk music to having more of a synth pop sound?

It’s been cool. I think the folk music is still very much a part of Handsome Ghost, like I write all the songs on acoustic guitar and I include as many acoustic elements as I can but the production is just so fun. It’s cool do those things that are kind of off-limits in folk. So, I think it was kind of afitting transition.

During the initial sessions for what would become Handsome Ghost, you made the rule to never use electric guitar on any of the tracks. Why was that?

I think that rule just kind of came about naturally. I don’t really play much electric guitar. So, the thought was if you bring electric in, it dominates the acoustic. So, we were shooting for the acoustic base and then having everything else sit on top of that.

You’ve been quoted as saying that the songs you recorded for this project was so that you could “try and capture your youth”. Has that been achieved or will it always be a fleeting type of thing?

Yeah, I think we got it. I mean a few of the songs are definitely reflective, like from a couple years ago a moment or month, or different locations. There are definitely reflective elements but it’s not all a look back.

Handsome Ghost released their debut EP, Steps, on March 10th, 2015 via Photo Finish/Republic.

You describe your sound as “indie prom”. What was your high school prom experience like?

Prom was fun. I went to a bunch of proms to be honest. I think I went to five so I was a little burnt out on prom by the end. You know, you’ve got your junior prom and senior prom and then you can kind of mix and match. But, yeah I had a good time at prom. We had a limo. I’m a prom guy.

Who would you say were the biggest music influences on your new EP?

It always changes from phase to phase, but I think my favorite is Elliott Smith. He has a big influence on the song writing. He is consistently in my discography. Production wise, I listen to everything but Bon Iver is one of my all time favorites. There’s plenty of synth-pop and indie-pop bands that are you know, contemporary bands that I try to learn from. Even MisterWives and Borns, being on tour with them I’ve been taking notes.

What are some current bands that you can’t stop listening to?

Right now we have a killer pop female playlist that we’ve been playing. It’s like our “drive to the venue” music. So, when we get close enough [to the venue] it’s like “put the playlist on.” It hasRyn Weaver and Owl Eyes. I guess Ryn Reaver is kind of like my go to. I saw her at SXSW. I had to catch a show in all the madness.

How has jumping into a tour alongside BORNS and MisterWives been?

It’s been really cool. We were kind of a late edition to the tour but I was so psyched when it worked out because I’m a huge fan of both of these bands, genuinely. MisterWives is on our label so hopefully we will be seeing plenty of them. And then BORNS is such a fanstastic songwriter. I’m trying to pick up little tips. It’s been really cool.

What was the message that you wanted to convey in the “Blood Stutter” music video? What was the inspiration for the video?

We wanted to film a music video at a drive-in because there just aren’t many of those kicking around anymore. They’re awesome. That was the initial thought and then from there we decided that we would step it up one notch and have the character from the drive-in movie come to life. That was so fun to shoot. It was beautiful summer day. Most of those actors are friends of mine so it was really cool.