Hover by ghost24
It's the way the music draws you in, the way it embraces you, that makes ghost24 unique. Described as being "ambient" and "encapsulating", the music speaks for itself. Some songs are dark, others hypnotic or hopeful, all are cathartic and pure in essence.
Raised in a family full of musicians, Manny, Sam and Dan knew at an early age that they would follow in the family tradition. That desire to play together would prevail, despite a (barrier) of time and distance.
Moving away to the Azores, Portugal after spending their childhood in the Boston area, Sam and Dan developed their song writing and instrumental talents by playing in a number of up-and-coming local bands and with a vast quantity of musicians. This is where and when they met and worked with a wild-hearted and soulful guitar player, Gonçalo Moniz, whom by a strange twist of destiny became a recent addition to ghost24 at a later date.
Sam found a comfortable/disturbing place as being a singer at a very early state of his career. The guitar was his main instrument while composing. Dan on the other hand, moved from being the frontman / singer / guitar player in two of his earlier bands, to becoming the drummer of his last band previous to ghost24. He would then start developing his skills as a drummer and finding at the same time a better channel for his artistic expression.
Ghost24 appeared as an idea Sam had of the possible creation of a project focused more on the spiritual side of the human day-to-day life.
Sam than shared, for the first time, this idea with his brother Dan.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world...
Manny, a born and bred Bostonian, was always found playing some kind of instrument, whether it was the piano, drums or the guitar. Later taking preference in playing the guitar, his love for the musical form of Art took hold.
When Sam and Dan moved back to the United States in 1998, it was only natural that the two brothers and their cousin start creating / writing music together.
In 1999, ghost24 was finally formed and bass player Jeoff Tardif recruited. The band developed a strong following by playing numerous shows (gatherings) in the Boston area, as well as playing in Maine and Rhode Island. Their debut came in 2000 with the simply titled mini EP, Ghost24 and was followed up the next year with their 6 song EP, Hover. A mix of both mellow and spirited rock music. Dan's tribal and earthly rhythmic percussions, Manny's audio washes and distorted ambiences on the guitar, Jeoff's structure and drive on bass and Sam's climaxing and enveloping voice combined to result in a cd that lived up to the band's ethos. Hover has been received with good reviews, and has been described as:
"Very dark, haunting, cerebral and rockin', while still encapsulating, (...),some very nicely written melody in to the mix"
Deek Mcdeekula III - The Boston Soundcheck Magazine.
"They clearly put a great deal into their songwriting - these aren't just rags pulled off the currently passing bandwagon"
Tim Emswiler - The Noise.
Hover has been selling well at local music stores and at the band's gatherings. It has also been spotlighted on radio stations 104.1 (WBCN) and 107.3 (WAAF) in programs dedicated to forefront up and coming local bands.
The guys continue to promote gatherings all over the New England area and the fan base increased as a result. These gatherings have been considered to be an experience on its own.
"You can prepare all you want for a show, but the more unpredictable and spontaneous that show is, the more human it becomes."
Sam Cabral
Jeoff grew, wrote, and experienced with the band until the end of Summer 2002 when he left to persue other projects.
A new era would then start for ghost24.
Adam Abrams another Bostonian who has played in a couple of other local bands became the new bass player and has added since then more density to the sound of the band.
Just a few weeks earlier than Adam, Gonçalo Moniz (mentioned above), while still living at the time in Lisbon, Portugal, decided to take a change of path and flew over to the United States. This decision came after both he and Sam played with the idea of reuniting after several years.
With that change in the band line-up, Sam stepped away from playing the guitar in ghost24 preferring to hand that spot to Gonçalo who would help bring the band the type of expression and dynamics they where looking for.
Unfortunately things don't always work as one intends them to. After 4 years and many late nights later the band decided to call it quits in 2001 and have been all working on there own adventures.
Credits
Samuel Cabral, Daniel Cabral, Emmanuel Cabral, Jeffrey Tardif
