TV Ghost

Originating from the static interference known as analog television frequency disturbances, Lafayette, Indiana's TV Ghost initially specialized in a particularly viscous and severe strain of art-punk upon forming in 2006. Vocalists and guitarists Tim Gick and Jimmy Frezza brought keyboardist Brahne Hoeft and drummer Jackson VanHorn into the lineup. Die Stasi Records, home at the time to noisy acts including Pink Reason and Zola Jesus, issued the band's debut 7-inch "Atomic Rain." Their menacing approach, which recalled the Scientists and the Cramps' mid-'70s recordings, along with their high-energy performances, earned an underground audience. Toward the end of 2007 Frezza departed to attend art school, after which bassist Shawn Beckering joined in time to track a nine-song EP that appeared in early 2008. Later that year the group signed with In the Red, issued a full-length album, and performed at the label's South by Southwest showcase. In May 2009 they contributed The Fiend/Prodome to Columbus Discount's Single of the Month Club, several months before the arrival of their first album Cold Fish. VanHorn left in 2010, Hoeft assumed drumming duties, and Frezza returned on keyboards. Gick, Hoeft, and Frezza then recorded the second album Mass Dream and embarked on an extended tour of the U.S. and Europe. After the tour concluded Beckering exited and Tristan Ivas joined on bass. In the Red released Mass Dream in April 2011, and the Phantasm/Panic Area single followed on Sweet Rot Records the next year. Later in 2012 VanHorn rejoined, this time on guitar, and the new configuration adopted a slower, more expansive sound shaped by Echo and the Bunnymen and the Cure. Chris Woodhouse produced the hypnotic Disconnect, which surfaced in September 2013.