By: Jamie Steinberg
Photo By Ima Leupp
Q) Your music has been described as “alt-rock,” but how would you describe your sound?
A) We almost always call it alt-rock, but mostly as a fall back because it’s pretty hard to describe. We have so many different influences, from alt, to hardcore, to punk, to pop, every song kind of finds itself in its own little world. I guess we would say that The Haunt is a multi-genre project. [laughs] Is that a copout answer?
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
A) Same as our sound, our influences are all over the place. We also both have very different influences from each other. Some of our absolute favorites have always been The White Stripes, Royal Blood, Bring Me the Horizon, Amy Winehouse, Paramore, Linkin Park and Fleetwood Mac. But we could keep going forever, we’re huge music fans in general.
Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Worst Taste in Men”
A) I feel like the song tells the story of my misjudgment on its own. [laughs] The song was my way of kinda making fun of myself. We’ve all been in those relationships where we know it’s bad for us, everyone around us knows that it’s bad for us, but we stay anyway… Or maybe that’s just me, idk.
Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?
A) I guess we all have a habit of gravitating to things or people that are bad for us. I think that’s why so many people were able to relate, we’ve all been there before.
Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?
A) We really had fun with this one because it was our first horizontal video. We wanted to capture the idea of getting awards for how terrible you are at something (in this case, judgement of character [laughs]), as well as the irony of telling a therapist how bad you know something is for you but that you’re gonna continue doing it anyway.
Q) Your sophomore album Ghost drops in October. What are some themes you will be exploring on it?
A) Yes! We’re so excited for this record! We started working on it immediately after wrapping on our last record, New Addiction, and we can’t wait to share it with everyone! We’ve been expanding on a lot of the ideas that we established on the last record and we explored a bunch of brand new sounds as well! We can’t wait for everyone to hear it!
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) Every song is totally different for us, honestly. It totally depends. Sometimes we start with a guitar riff, sometimes we start with a melody, but we never start with building a full production and writing on top of it. It’s always a process where the instrumentation and melody are developing simultaneously to allow the writing to stay fluid and free.
Q) Kevin Thrasher and John Feldmann lent a hand on production for the upcoming album, but how much of a say do you guys have in the production of your music?
A) A lot. But these are two absolute legends that we’re talking about here, so we allow them to get just as creative as we want to get. When you work with a producer, you choose them because you have respect for the projects they created before. With Kevin, specifically, we’ve worked with him for years now, so we have a huge amount of trust when building productions together. But, yes, we are very specific about our music and have a lot of say in the end result.
Q) My favorite tracks on the album are “Favorite Way to Die” and “Alone on Your Planet.” What are a couple songs from this release that holds a special place in your heart?
A) We love those songs, too! It’s really hard to say which are our favorites because they’re all our babies at this point, but I think “Alone on Your Planet,” “Ghost,” and “Seasonal Depression” are our favs right now. But that will probably continue to change.
Q) What do you hope will linger with audiences when they explore Ghost as a whole – either as an emotion or message?
A) To be honest, we learned on our first record that once we release these songs, they’re not ours anymore. It’s a shared experience that means something different to everyone who hears it. We just hope that it connects with people on a deep level and brings people together. That’s always what we’re aiming for. Our music and live shows are a place where all different types of people can come and feel welcome and leave the real world problems at the door.
Q) We’re hoping there will be some live shows coming up in time for the album release. What can fans expect from a live The Haunt performance?
A) Come warned, our live shows are a lot more rock than our recorded music. We love creating a high energy performance, and getting the crowd moving the whole time. Come prepared to leave it all out in the pit.
Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?
A) Everywhere we play offers a different amazing experience. I will say we did have two of our best US shows last year in Dallas and Austin! Chicago and LA always come to party, as well! Seattle was specifically crazy last year… It’s so hard to say. We love playing live so much that as long as we’re in a room with fans, we create incredible memories for ourselves and hopefully the audience.
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) Bring Me the Horizon – we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Oli is our dream feature. Cross your fingers for us.
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
A) Right now we’ve had the Olivia Rodrigo record on repeat. Her songwriting is absolutely incredible and we really feel like she’s outdone herself yet again. If you haven’t heard it, you’re missing out. Front to back bangers.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) We love you guys so much! We wouldn’t be able to live our dream like this if it wasn’t for you all and we can’t express how grateful we are to have such an incredible fanbase, who we feel we can pour our creativity out to. It’s a really special bond and we can’t thank you all enough. We also can’t wait to see you on our upcoming tour this Fall! Get your tickets to “The Ghost Tour” now!! We love you!