Kids See Ghosts

Below is a profile of the Eugene/Chico-based band 'West Ghost.' They're some great guys with surprising talent that I felt was really worth showcasing, and I had an incredible time getting to know them watching them rehearse. Also, it's likely the most work I've ever put into a piece that wasn't for publication, so check it out.

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For just a few hours that night, the sounds of ghosts echoed throughout Eugene’s dimly-lit Jefferson Westside. Cannon Johnson, one of those ghosts, closed his eyes, kept strumming and imagined his future. The drummer, Ben Katz, who displayed a naturally prolific talent far beyond his years, did the same. Shocked by their own abilities, the two were nearly brought to tears.

I had arrived only 10 minutes earlier with my friend Jack Cochran, a talented guitarist whom Johnson wanted to get a chance to jam with now that The Ghost and Katz were in Eugene.

Despite this chemistry, which was evident from the moment they started playing, this was only two-thirds of the founding members of West Ghost. Johnson had promised me I’d soon be able to speak to his father, the band’s mysterious front man and aforementioned Ghost himself, who was somewhat of an elusive living legend. Although the duo’s music was fantastic, I couldn’t help but be nervous as I waited for the man to appear in the doorway across from my seat in their makeshift studio.

I had heard a lot about him. Johnson told me stories of a masked man who’d been in and out of punk bands for decades now. The Ghost once played in a group called Contraband with an Englishman who had allegedly been deported “because he was such a madman.” Together they’d start riots at their shows. “He’s just the crazy guy who’s gonna pop up and be crazy, or have this crazy dyed hair or like a dyed beard. He doesn’t want anyone knowing who he is,” says Johnson of his father. “I don’t even think he has a credit card, I don’t think he pays taxes and shit.”

According to his ex-partner, The Ghost is only four credits away from a degree in French at the University of Southern California because he took his very last final exam with a crayon on the last day of college after the Rodney King riots made him fall out of love with institutions of the American establishment.

Johnson, 20, is a junior at the University of Oregon studying education. He’s a tall, dark-haired young man with a Cheshire Cat’s smile and eyes that shine in moments where his passions come to life. Katz, 19, has been drumming since he was only eight or nine years old; “a damn while,” he says. He’s nothing less than a wizard armed with drumsticks. Johnson, however, only first started to play guitar a year or two ago when he found himself lacking any real passion for his studies. He’s clearly a quick learner who has a firm grasp on music theory, but has no interest in declaring himself the next Stevie Ray Vaughn. “I don’t shred for shit,” says Johnson. The two formed West Ghost only a few months ago in their hometown of Chico, California. After feeling uninspired by what their collegiate educations had brought them thus far, they impulsively began chasing dreams of traveling the country playing music. Given their gap in experience, however, it didn’t make much sense for them to be as good together as they are.

Yet after releasing five songs in the form of an EP titled “West Ghost Demos” in October of 2019, the band has amassed over 15,000 streams on Spotify in just over a month. Each song has its own voice: “Foolin” is upbeat and has an indie-pop feel that is irresistibly catchy; “Pick Poke” is a down-to-earth example of what Johnson describes as “northern California folk rock.” A few of the EP’s songs had been written by The Ghost decades before he sat down and recorded them with Johnson and Katz in 2019. He is a man of mystery, yet clearly a bit of a musical mad genius with the ability to dip into multiple different genres.

Pictured is the album art for West Ghost's debut tape, 'West Ghost Demos.' Art done by Maddy Francois (IG: @madshakeyhandart). Click the cover for a link to the album on Spotify.

Johnson illustrates his father as West Ghost’s bold architect, perhaps even as someone who is taking advantage of his son’s enthusiasm and Katz’s abilities to further his own message or musical agenda. “My dad is the talent, we go with him. He’s singing, he’s playing guitar, he’s playing bass. He’s doing the bulk,” says Johnson. “I’m doing what the band needs me to do, that’s my role.”

But when I finally spoke to him, it wasn’t the conspiracy theorist or mad genius behind this incredible music that jumped out at me. It was the heart of a loving father; it was a man humbled by his son’s enthusiasm for the music that had defined their relationship for 20 years.

“I’ve been around bad shows and bad people,” says The Ghost. “But this is just so exciting. If this thing rocks and rolls I’m ready to rock and roll. Especially if I get to go with my son. And that kid in there, Katz, is just insane.”

When The Ghost speaks about his son, it’s difficult to picture the masked anarchist that the urban legends make him out to be. “If they let me hang out with them, I’m gonna keep hanging out,” he says. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m not surprised my son loves music, but I’m just so glad he does.”

West Ghost plans to record a few more songs in December, possibly featuring the addition of Cochran’s efforts on guitar. The immediate success of “West Ghost Demos” without any legitimate marketing tactics inspired Johnson in a way that nothing else has before.

“If we had 150,000 streams, I don’t even care if we’re playing in front of 50 people, we’d do a tour,” says Johnson. “That’s enough for me to drop out of college, right now. Let’s be real.” Despite the rocky road of a life The Ghost has lived, both in music and as a parent, it’s clear he remains a prominent role model who has helped to light a fire in Johnson’s heart.

The timing, too, is a key factor for West Ghost. Johnson worries his father only has a few more years of youth left in him, and these 15,000 streams are fueling them to take a serious step in the next direction.

“I haven’t really had much going on for me the past few years, but, look, I’m up here,” says The Ghost. In that moment, especially, I saw the resemblance between him and Johnson: their eyes light up in the exact same way. For a man who’s dedicated so much of his life to music, this could be his fairytale ending.

“The Ghost knows what it takes, and now he’s more motivated than ever. We’re riding this heat. I want to do it now,” says Johnson. “I’ve got this going for me, why not come back to college?”

Before I stepped back into the fog to head home, Katz handed me a pair of headphones and played a new song for me that they’d been working on—now featuring a melodic guitar riff that Cochran had recorded in our time with them. I listened as they each looked at me, eagerly awaiting feedback. It was better than anything they’ve released to date, and they knew it too.

Whether or not the ghosts are able to reign in the audience of their dreams, what they showed me that night was a group of passionate and talented musicians who have reason to be proud of the reception they’ve gotten so soon after their debut. The Jefferson Westside shouldn’t be afraid of the paranormal. And especially not West Ghost.

Griffin Reilly

December 2, 2019