Phish Mexico 2-27-2022

"FOLLOW ME" from Van Ghost - The Ghost Unit

Jennifer Hartswick - Vocals / Trumpet (Trey Anastasio Band)
Natalie Cressman - Vocals / Trombone (Trey Anastasio Band)
Michael Harrison Berg - Vocals / Acoustic Guitar
Nick Cassarino - Vocals / Electric Guitar (The Nth Power)
Chris Chew - Bass (The Word / North Mississippi Allstars)
Dominic Lalli - Saxaphone (Big Gigantic)
Grant Tye - Electric Guitar (Sonia Dada / Robbie Fulks)
Chris Gelbuda - Acoustic Guitar / Keys
Rob Marscher - Synths / Keys (Matisyahu / AGP)
John Staten - Drums (Pimps of Joytime / KDTU)

Recorded at The Barn in Vermont by: Ben Collette (Dec 2014)

Mixed & Edited in Chicago & Los Angeles by: Greg Magers & Manny Sanchez (Feb/March 2015)

Mastered in Nashville by: Jim DeMain at Yes Master (May 2015)

Song written by: Michael Harrison Berg (2014)

Song Produced By: Michael Harrison Berg, Nick Cassarino, & Jennifer Hartswick (2014/2015)


The Ghost Unit

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Manic Focus Live Bonnaroo 2018

In a way only true and humbling hindsight could provide, after Van Ghost's nearly decade long run as a musical project concluded, the band and singer/ songwriter Michael Harrison Berg found themselves at a crossroads. Over the next few years the band scaled back on touring to only a handful of special festival-based performances per year ranging from Costa Rica to Chicago, and from Mexico to Florida. 

Recognizing inspiration comes in waves, Berg wrote a series of new songs and assessed old ones that never got recorded, but fit the current version of the band’s vibe. And for a week before New Year’s of 2015, Van Ghost co-founder, Jennifer Hartswick, got the band invited to a fabled studio in her home state of Vermont, known as The Barn, which is owned by the band Phish. 

For years, the line up has served as a rotating cast of Berg and Hartswick's musician friends, who fans and the band started referring to as The Ghost Unit, a nickname for the extended family participating in recordings and live shows in support of Van Ghost. 

Hartswick and Berg have served as the primary voices and organizers of Van Ghost activity since the early days. And their devoted friendship comes through in the music as clearly as it does in real life. When they started brainstorming ideas regarding the brand new, third Van Ghost record, they reminisced on members of the Ghost Unit who could fit a certain vibe they were striving for. This led to the most balanced and unified vision of the band that has ever existed. 

Van Ghost's main songwriter and founding member is singer Michael Harrison Berg. Other members consist of Jennifer Hartiswick on vocals & trumpet, with her band mate from Trey Anastasio Band, Natalie Cressman on vocals & trombone. The two headed lead guitar tandem is made up of The Nth Power's, Nick Cassarino and Grant Tye, who hails from Sonia Dada and Robbie Fulks Band. A rhythm section that any band would dream of has bassist Chris Chew of The North Mississippi All Stars & The Word plus drummer John Staten, a player with gospel roots who has served tenures in Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and currently plays with Pimps of Joytime. Hailing from Nashville, by way of Chicago, the multi instrumentalist & prolific songwriter, Chris Gelbuda has had a huge presence with Van Ghost both historically and musically on this record. Recently writing and producing songs for stars like Meghan Trainor, John Legend, & Billy Currington, Gelbuda's co-written songs for Van Ghost have served as both educational and influential on Berg's songwriting style. On key's, the band was thrilled to have Rob Marscher who has played with Addison Groove Project and Matisyahu over the years. Finally joining the party as a cherry on top, a few saxophone solo's we're later laid down by very special guest and friend, Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic. 



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VAN GHOST