Ghosts was recorded live with minimal overdubs in late February 2025 at Test Tube Audio in Austin, TX.

Kevin Butler (Black Books, Reddening West) engineered and produced all five songs on Ghosts.

The award-winning artist Billie Buck (Austin Chronicle) designed the album artwork based on the concept behind the songs: an inability to escape the past or make sense of the present.

Aaron Winston (vocals, guitar) trades call-and-response with Dylan Hill’s (Mamalarkey) hazy leads, anchored by Justin Winslow’s melodic bass and Wes Armstrong’s (Half Dream) brush-kit groove.

After playing together since 2021, the quartet has developed a unique sound that’s grounded in imagistic lyrics and gritty guitars.

Ghosts

Something You Said

Lyrics:

So over again I feel the wind 
Knock me down just like a hurricane
And every day feels the same
But if you close your eyes 
It’s okay 

So I’m over it now
Sometimes things happen
And I just shut down 
But she was a catch
And just for one night 
We threw it all to chance 

Well tucked away in her dress 
She talked about god
It’s strange the world’s such a mess
But lately I can see
I’ve questioned life 
I’ve questioned prophecy

So over again I feel the wind
Knock me down again just like a hurricane 
And every day feels the same
But if you close your eyes it’s okay 

So over again I feel the wind 
Knock me down again just like a hurricane
And every day feels the same 
But if you close your eyes it’s okay 

Over and over 
Over and over 

So over again I feel the wind
Knock me down again just like a hurricane 
And every day feels the same
But if you close your eyes it’s okay 

So I’m over it now 
Sometimes things happen and I just shut down 

Credits > 

Recorded, Produced, Mixed, and Mastered at Test Tube Studios in Austin, TX

Written by Aaron David Winston

Acoustic Guitar > Aaron David Winston
Lead Guitar > Aaron David Winston
Rhythm Guitars > Aaron David Winston & Kevin Butler
Bass > Aaron David Winston
Percussion > Charlie Magnone
Organ > Cassie Shankman
Piano > Dylan Hill
Drums > Cory Fica

Hurricane

Carmelita

Mastered and Produced by Keenan McDonald

--

she's got red shoes on
the street where he
left her out to be
by herself

he's got all the words
right in order by 
their significance 
it don't matter much

and that kid, stood there right next to me
shook my hand, swear i sneezed
thank you please

and my head, broke to pieces where i lay
spread thin drugged out decay
till i was left, smoking by myself

he's got all the time
been granted by design
i get older all the time
i can't connect

watch the girl by the pool
snorting lines and acting cool
did she ever think to move
out of the way?

and that kid, stood there right next to me
shook my hand, swear i sneezed
thank you please

and my head, broke to pieces where i lay
spread thin drugged out decay
till i was left, smoking by myself

so i know it goes
deep eyes, don't you know
get back, go go
and maybe by yourself alone

i've got no time
my achillean shrine
i get older all the time
i can't connect


Spread Thin

“The time has come, everybody lie down so you won't get hurt when the sun bursts.” 
― Neal Cassady, The First Third

i've got a question
for a rambling man
can you help me please?

i saw the river
it was black as night
reached to my knees

all alone at night,
left to think and breathe
time festers horribly
brings me to my knees

and i don't know my name
drank my share i'm born again
i'll fall, down, down the stairs

i'll take you on my knees,
negotiate with your disease
i'll try, try to care

and i, i've got a question
for anyone who's lost their way

and i - i have a woman
who holds me tight 
and tells me to stay

smoking by myself
lungs feel so heavy
cold, cold biting night
dulled by warm whiskey 

controlled by all your fears
under your bed drove you to tears
and tried, tried to grab

the lights talked to themselves
made me feel like someone else
i try, i'll try to care for you

take me to my last
two coins my eyes, lay down depressed
it's okay, i'm with you

and i don't know
my rambling man keeps me from you

and i don't care
the river black as night, i swear

Rambling Man

so it was only for the time 
red ribbons dotted the celebration's rhyme 
and i was cold, cold for you 
a little strung out but there for you 

i'm going back to the mississippi summers 
i'm going back to the blowing winds 
and i say i am only a vagrant 
i'll drive away on my wings 

well i met my girl on the third floor 
she had vodka on her breath 
she said, "i'm going to numb it all 
with my alcohol, and see which one is left" 

so take me back, back to where the river starts 
i'm going to dunk my head 
well smoke my voice raw, i got that kid's call 
tonight is not my friend 

i'm going back to mississippi summers 
i'm going back to blowing winds 
and i say i am only a vagrant 
and i will drive away on my wings

Wings

Lyrics:

take me back when i was shorter
not yet a man, still only a boy
the world was bigger then
when the sandbox was it
when the sandbox was it.

and i drank my way
to those memories
so darling don't be afraid
when i fall by the way
i am happy

remember back in the fourth grade?
i'd do my homework everyday at five pm
but then it did change
when the airplanes came
i know something changed -
an ending came.

i know that we haven't talked much
i lost your number, your address, some memories
but now, i am sad
i forgot at long last
i ignored my past

i drank my way
from those memories
oh darling don't be afraid
when i fall by the way
i am happy

and i drank my way
to those memories
so darling don't be afraid
when i fall by the way
i am happy

Art : Adam Al-Aali, 2009

Rough Nights

Sidewinder is a late-night song for people who replay conversations in their head on the drive home.
lyrics
Lyrics:

So come down my sidewinder...

She was my pisces queen
I gave her everything she took from me
But straight jackets and wide-eyed dreams
I just kept thinking about too many things

Sidewinder, you were my friend
I gave you everything I had back then
Broken nights and neon lights
You thought you had it, but you had nothing

So come down my sidewinder
I went miles and miles just to find you
I’ll tell you what you thought i never knew
I went miles and miles just to find you

So come now you know the score
You thought you had it but you wanted more
Sidewinder you were my friend
I gave you everything I had back then

So come down my sidewinder
I went miles and miles just to find you
I’ll tell you what you thought i never knew
I went miles and miles just to find you

So come down my sidewinder
I went miles and miles just to find you
I’ll tell you what you thought i never knew
I went miles and miles just to find you
I went miles and miles just to find you
I went miles and miles just to find you
credits
released August 8, 2025
Ghosts was recorded live with minimal overdubs in late February 2025 at Test Tube Audio in Austin, TX.

Kevin Butler (Black Books, Reddening West) engineered and produced all five songs on Ghosts.

The award-winning artist Billie Buck (Austin Chronicle) designed the album artwork based on the concept behind the songs: an inability to escape the past or make sense of the present.

Aaron Winston (vocals, guitar) trades call-and-response with Dylan Hill’s (Mamalarkey) hazy leads, anchored by Justin Winslow’s melodic bass and Wes Armstrong’s (Half Dream) brush-kit groove.

After playing together since 2021, the quartet has developed a unique sound that’s grounded in imagistic lyrics and gritty guitars.

Buy this song

Sidewinder

Buy Blind

Blind

Lost

Buy it on Bandcamp

Strangers

Engineered & Produced by Kevin Butler in Austin, TX.
Guitar & Vox by Aaron Winston.
Bass by Justin Winslow. 
Drums by Cory Fica.
Keys by Charlie Magnone. 

Lyrics: 

And I said, hey sister sister, You’ve got love on your mind
Haven’t called in a while, I hope everything is all right
Tell me again oh what’s on your mind
And hey sister sister, everything will be just fine

Well I ain’t never been to Paris
But I’ve lived in Austin, Texas
And I’ll tell you something you should know

On those hot summer nights
In red with white stripes 
You could give me a microphone

And with eyes like thunder 
She told you to come over
You know sometimes that’s how it goes

Well I could be your only friend
Even when things gets strange
You would be my little saint
Well my name is Russel Taine

And you know she came in 
With her Rorschach grin
She wanna tell you how it is 

But you were looking for chance
And some cheap romance
You know you want that good shit

Well you know you can try to run fast
but the past it comes back 
Sometimes that’s just how it is

Well I could be your only friend

And I said, hey sister sister, you’ve got love on your mind
Haven’t talked in a while, I hope everything is all right
Tell me again oh what’s on your mind
And hey sister sister, everything will be just fine

Well I could be your only friend
Even when things get strange
You would be my little saint
My name is Russel Taine

And I said, hey sister sister, you’ve got love on your mind
Haven’t talked in a while, I hope everything is all right
Tell me again oh what’s on your mind
And hey sister sister, everything will be just fine

And everything will be just fine
And everything will be just fine
And everything will be just fine
And everything will be just fine

And everything will be …

Sister Sister

released July 1, 2020 

Engineered & Produced by Kevin Butler at Austin Point Studios. 
Written by Aaron Winston. 
Guitar & Vox: Aaron Winston 
Backing Vox: Brittany Long 
Bass: Justin Winslow 
Drums: Cory Fica

Blue Jean Baby

LYRICS
Well she got tired of my jokes
she told me things I didn’t want to know
But before that, we made love
in the backseat of a car

And now these are the memories
that drive me mad when i try to sleep
So I sit out on this porch
I smoke and drink till I feel a ghost

Well so it goes, it all ends
all in time or it’s been said
so it is but i will mend
i won’t break but i sure bend

And I still cry

Lord I will survive
Lord I am still alive
The days they pass me by
Lord I am still alive

I read a book about japan
How when the bombs hit all was burned land
Shadows were all that were left
in a nightmarish remembrance

And I still cry

Lord I will survive
Lord I am still alive
The days they pass me by
Lord I am still alive

Well so it goes, it all ends
all in time or it’s been said
so it is but i will mend
i won’t break but i sure bend

And I still cry

Lord I will survive
Lord I am still alive
The days they pass me by
Lord I am still alive

Lord I will survive
Lord I am still alive
The days they pass me by
Lord I am still alive

CREDITS
Aaron Winston - Songwriter, Guitar, Vox
Justin Winslow - Bass
Cory Fica - Drums
Brittany Long - Synth
Engineer & Producer - Kevin Butler

Bends

Music written by Aaron Winston in Austin, Texas.

Russel Taine Jr.

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