Ghost Hounds singer, guitarist talk album, tour & pride in repping Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Ghost Hounds keep barking up the right tree.

On Sept. 3, the Pittsburgh band released a strong new studio album, "A Little Calamity," which finds the sextet branching out from its bluesy-rock roots. 

The Rolling Stones think enough of Ghost Hounds to hire the band as openers for several still-unspecified stadium concerts this autumn. The Stones' 2019 FedEx Stadium show in Washington, D.C., featured Ghost Hounds as support, a career highlight for keyboardist and Beaver High graduate/Beaver County Musicians' Hall of Famer Joe Munroe. 

Thomas Tull, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, assembled the Ghost Hounds, bringing in ace lead guitarist Johnny Baab and dynamic singer Tré Nation, both from Brooklyn. 

Baab and Nation talked about relocating to and repping Pittsburgh in a Zoom interview last Wednesday. Give extra credit to Nation (oh, let's call him Tré), who jogged the final mile in the rain to reach the studio interview site after his Uber driver encountered a road closure.

"Hey, this is important," Tré said with a smile.

Q: The sophomore album is out. How did you approach making it? Was there more freedom because your band is established, or were there expectations that come with it?

Tré: I think inherently there's expectations for a sophomore album, but I think we did the exact opposite and did what we wanted to do. And we're happy with the results.

Q: I love how the album starts with it's "Half My Fault." That's a song point of view you never hear. In so many blues songs it's all her fault, or all my fault. Where did you come up with that?

Tré: It's all Thomas (Tull).

Baab: Yes, Thomas had this chord progression in open tuning and he would bust it out before we started working on the new record. I remember we were doing a show at Jergel's and our backup singers got caught in traffic on the way to soundcheck. They were only 5 minutes behind, but Thomas started playing the riff again and the band just fell in behind him and it came to life right there and he added the words. To your question, in a relationship both parties contribute, whether it's to the downfall or to prosper. That's the premise behind this song, the character is taking responsibility for his half of the contributions. Definitely, like you said, it's usually all that person's fault, or it's all my fault. 

Tré: It's funny because especially as musicians we have a lack of self-awareness at times, which makes for great art, but this is like the journey toward self-awareness, where I can say 'Well, I did this," but it's not all my fault.

Q: "Good Old Days" sounds almost John Mellencamp-ish. It's got a heartland rock kind of thing. Is that something that's coming into your sound?

Tré: Well thank you, that's a compliment.

Baab: I don't think it was deliberate in terms of trying to go for a sound. The sentiment was kind of forced on everybody with COVID. There's oftentimes you look back and think 'Wow, those were really the good old days, what a great time.' And a lot of times I think it's hard for us to realize it in the present while it's happening. We had a collective conversation as a band, and Thomas had that conversation with some of his friends, in that what's happening right now is what you're going to look back to. Especially with the run we had in 2019 before the shutdown. It was so dreamlike. And we made a pact and commitment to each other that we were going to stay present and really appreciate it for what it was, and not have to look back at it and realize what it was.

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Q: "Between Me & The Devil" is about the record industry. Did you ever have someone from the music business like that, trying to get you to sell your soul?

Tré: I've never had that. The entertainment industry in itself, you kind of have to sell your time. It's what you do. It's commerce.

Baab: I think there's something really interesting that happens to musicians where obviously we all get into it for the passion for it and love for it, and then at a certain point if this is what you decide to do for a living there's a huge business element that comes into play. So yes, there's some of that. But also our band name is heavily influenced by Robert Johnson and obviously, he has that famous story of going down to the crossroads to sell his soul to the devil, and he always sang about having hell hounds on his trail, and that's where the name Ghost Hounds originated. So definitely tapping back into that story and paying homage to the legend it is, as opposed to making it about a personal experience.

Q: "Sleight of Hand" has great barrelhouse piano from Joe Munroe. What does he bring to the band?

Baab: Beaver County music hall-of-famer! Just incredible, top-notch musician and when you have that kind of player around, why would you not lean on the guy? He brings such a unique sound and flavor and we love Joe. He's such a salt-of-the-earth, great guy. He just lays it down, and we're very lucky to have met him.

Tré: He's special. And you know all those years of experience and influence on the music, it shows in his playing. Joe's a very specifically important ingredient to this recipe.

Q: "Mountain Rain" has a country feel. Is that by design?

Tré: It just happened naturally that way. It illustrates a bit of a spiritual experience. We just feel the gravity of how big the world is and you just realize how small your part is in it. It's really beautiful. Thomas wrote that song in Canada, and I don't know if you've been in northern Canada, but the scenery is divine. I feel that's why it comes across that way. There's a little bit of a Christian tint to it because of that divine element.

Baab: A lot of the sound on this record is very organic in terms of we spent a lot of hours together playing in 2019, between shows, recording and rehearsals, and I think the musical conversation develops in a way you can't manipulate it. And in a lot of ways we see that on "A Little Calamity"; rock and roll, blues, a little bit of country. 'Mountain Rain," to me has a bit of folky vibe with the acoustic guitar. All that's a product of the band's natural evolution seeping out. I don't think we discussed it much like, 'Let's make this one sound country.' It's just what everyone's instinct was to play. Thomas is such a visionary with his songwriting that he'll be able to explain to us the whole sentiment of the song and that translates what we do musically, what guitar I'll pick up...

Tré: ... what kind of vocal choices I'll make. It's all a very beautiful, organic situation.

Q: We're allowed to say you're opening some shows for The Rolling Stones, which you also did in 2019 in D.C. Is that a pinch-me kind of thing? How does that feel performing for thousands of people in a stadium?

Tré: It doesn't seem real just quite yet. I think it'll seem real once we get out there and see the tour buses and the setting up and everything. But right now it's just a little surreal as it was the first time.

Baab: Definitely a pinch-me thing. I grew up listening to those guys, and all of a sudden they're there in real life. And what always blows my mind is how amazing they were to us. They were very accommodating to us the first time around, and you would think after all this time — the level of superstardom they have, one of the best rock 'n' roll bands in history for the past six decades — that there might be a disconnect. But I can say they were just so cool and great to us. And obviously, with the recent loss of Charlie Watts, he was so wonderful to us when we got to meet him. Our hearts go out to the whole Stones' family and all their fans, too, because I know a lot of people, myself included, were really sad about that. We lost a legend and one of the most important and influential drummers in rock history. 

Q: You're tackling another legend with your cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road." How did you approach that? Lot of pressure there, but you put your own wrinkle on it.

Baab: Covering "The Boss" is almost sacrilege, you know? (Laughs). Thomas was reading his autobiography and listening to him and heard an acoustic cover (by Melissa Etheridge) and said 'We've got to do this.' That song was fun to record. It's always intimidating to take on a song that's treasured by so many people and Bruce fans are some of the wildest, most loyal in the world. I loved hearing Tré sing on it.

Tré: It was definitely a trip the way it all came together. It was intimidating like John said. But we had a catalyst with (backing vocalist) Sasha Allen being a part of it. Are you not mesmerized by that woman's voice?

Q: Yes, I am.  And Tré I want to ask about your performance style because it's very animated. You're all over the stage. What's going through your mind at those moments and why is it important for you to work the whole crowd like that?

Tré: I grew up singing gospel music, which is mostly about emoting and connecting and the range of emotions, from intimacy to excitement and exclamation. And so I try to make sure that whatever the song is calling for in the moment that I'm showing up to meet it and express it. It's like the song wants to show itself and I'm just a conduit. So I kind of allow myself the freedom to do that and be silly and open and excited and allow the music to take over my body.

Q: One other thing to talk about is the Pittsburgh angle. What does it mean to you to get ingrained in Pittsburgh and what has that done for your music? Are Ghost Hounds a 'Burgh band? Do you feel that now?

Baab: Yes, we feel tremendously honored to represent Pittsburgh wherever we go. I'm from New York City originally, and a pretty recent transplant down here in the last few years but everyone here has been so nice and made us feel so welcome. And Pittsburgh has such a rich music history and a great music scene. It's been great getting to learn that and learn more about the history of the city. And also getting to kind of carry on the torch. Pittsburgh is a great city, and we're very honored and excited to represent it.

Tré: Definitely. 100 percent.

Scott Tady is the local Entertainment Reporter for The Beaver County Times and Ellwood City Ledger. He's easy to reach at stady@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @scotttady