Thom caught up with vocalist Tom Lacey and guitatrist Jag Jago from Ghost Of A Thousand back stage at Southampton Joiners as the band were due to support all girl punk rock band Mcqueen.

So, how has your day been so far?
(Tom) Good. Uh, well, we left London really late, which is probably our own fault to be perfectly honest, and we just got stuck in traffic on the way down here.

Were you gigging in London last night, or..?
(Tom) No we did a gig in Wolverhampton, and then stayed at Tommy Vance's house.

Who's Tommy Vance?
(Jag) “Who's Tommy Vance?!”
(Tom) Infamous rock DJ. So uh yeah we stayed at their house last night, and then came here today.

Are you doing the whole tour with McQueen or is it just this gig?
(Tom) Yeah we got the whole week it's...
(Jag) Eight days.
(Tom) Yeah, eight days in total.
And how many have you done so far?
(Tom) Just one, this is number two.
And are you looking forward to it, did last night go well?
(Tom) Yeah it was cool, I think it's going to be a very different sort of crowd for us, because it's kind of like, very classic rock bands.

You're from Brighton...
(Tom) Yeah.
They (McQueen) are from Brighton...
(Tom) Yeah.
Did you know each other before or were you kind of thrown together by a company?
(Tom) I think Andy and Gez knew them.
(Jag) Andy and Gez went to music college, BIM, so did half of McQueen. So... Acquaintances.

You played with Aiden.
(Tom) Yeah.
I presume you're big fans or are you just wearing the hoodie for something to do?
(Tom) It's very warm actually. Uh, they were amazing.
Yeah, I saw them at Reading.
(Jag) Didn't they get bottled?
Yeah I think they did.
(Tom) They're just the loveliest people on the planet.
They look kinda scary.
(Tom) Nah they're all absolute sweethearts, it's really funny.

Is there anyone else you'd like to play with? Like, if you could support anyone?
(Tom) The Bronx.
Oh right, they're playing around here sometime actually, I read it last night.
(Jag)Hmm, Biffy Clyro?
Yeah that's it, they played on Thursday I think.
(Tom) Yeah we sort of followed them around last time, and we're now following them around again. Like little puppies.
So they are your ideal?
(Tom) They're just the best rock and roll band on the planet at the moment, they're just fucking unreal. And uh, Bad religion for you, (pointing at Jag,) they're your heroes.
(Jag) Yeah but, they're old.

Have you played here before?
(Tom) Yeah we played here before with a band called The Abominable Iron Sloth.
Do you like it here? Do you think it's a good venue?
(Tom) The sound system's really good.
Yeah it's a really small room, but has an amazing sound.
(Tom) The stage is a bit high that's the only problem. I never understand why you have such small venues and then... Well I kind of like to walk around anyway, but it's just kind of weird when you go, and there's just this big step. And you're two feet above them it's just a bit weird.

Tomorrow you're playing back in Brighton? Do you have a big crowd there? Because I suppose it's your home town?
(Tom)Yeah I suppose, I mean the Christmas show was awesome wasn't it? We played at the Pressure Point.
Do you tend to bring your fans out with you when you tour around the country?
(Tom) I think we're still just getting there really, I mean, we haven't really been around long enough, you know, this is only the second time we've played Southampton, so, we're playing, you know, spectacle shows really, because at the end of the day, being on tour is just so much fun. You know, just hanging out with your mates, and getting to play your songs, is just, well I'd rather do this than anything else. Rather than being sat at home with a little shitty job. So I'd rather do this than anything. I can't really recommend being in a band enough, you know, more people should do it. Just get on with it.
Haha, just get on with it?
(Tom) Yeah stop fannying around.

I looked at your MySpace, there isn't very much information on there, I have to say. And there's a link to your website but that doesn't seem to work either!
(Tom) Well our personal lives are not worthy of note in any way, just what we do as a band, that's all we took it for, really. I think the music we make, is bigger than us.

Well do you want to tell me a bit about how you came to be the band you are today? Like, when you started, and all that jazz.
(Jag) I had a dream. (Laughing.)
Oo check out Martin Luther over here.
(Tom) (Laughing.) It turned into a nightmare. Nah. Well. Mem and Jag are brothers.
That's the drummer and guitarist. You tried out just for a while, didn't you.
(Jag) Yeah I mean it's difficult. If you grew up in a small town, it's hard to meet musicians that are into the same music. Me and Mem were getting quite excited and just wanted to try something new really.
(Tom) And I knew Mem because I was working in a bar, and I was playing in a really shitty little noisecore band, and I was mister, kind of, “you know, it's got to be white noise or nothing.” Because that's all I was interested in, and then, these guys were looking for a singer, a kind of screamy kind of thing, and I just thought, “fuck it, I'll give it a go.” It wasn't even an audition was it? I just kind of, turned up, did it, and just recorded it. We didn't really discuss it that much. So until I fuck up, I think I'm in!

Have you played any really, really big gigs yet?
(Tom) Birmingham Academy with Aiden was fucking terrifying.
Was that the biggest one?
(Tom) Yeah, about one and a half thousand people wasn't it? Something like that, it was a lot. Well it seemed like a lot.
Was it scary?
(Tom) Yeah. I was fucking shitting my pants. Haha. I mean just, that whole tour was such an amazing experience. They really took us under their wing. They're got this freaky MisFits thing going on, but they're really sweet guys. They were into what we were doing, so they just, let us get on with it. But yeah that's just such an amazing experience.

Do you prefer playing the big gigs, or the smaller ones?
(Tom) It's just a different experience. It's just so different. I mean I like the small stage where you can get in amongst things, like when you're playing in a grotty little venue in Brighton with a shit sound system but it's just so much fun. With a flat stage when you can just bound around and just grab people. You get a nice sense of, everyone in it together when you play a small venue, especially when you're supporting. If it had been one and a half thousand of our own fans then obviously it would have been a very different thing, but walking out in front of that many people who don't know who you are, it's pretty daunting, you've just got to get on with it. I think we kind of, did what we always do, just get your head down and try and get everyone on your side.
(Jag) It's Wembley Arena next. (Laughing)
(Tom) (Also laughing,) yeah we're supporting the Chili Peppers.

You describe your music about being “young and unstoppable...”
(Tom) Yeah...
Is that speaking from experience or what?
(Tom) I think it's just, I mean it's, someone made a nice point in one of our reviews, that it's kind of about dwindling youth freedoms, but it's out kind of, stand against that. The thing is there's just this general attitude, that you've got to, I mean, especially now you know, you're expected to get a job younger, and there's no childhood or youth anymore, you know, you're in primary school and then you're a young adult. And it's like, well, fuck it, I know we're not spring chickens but, in a way it's more just about being in a band and just loving what you do. It's just, not letting yourself being led to believe that the only way to get ahead in this life is to be raised by a nuclear family, have a shit job, and that's the only way you can be happy, because these things bring happiness, like a car or a mortgage. It's just like, it's not really important.
That's possibly the best answer I've ever heard to anything, ever.
(Tom) Really? Fantastic.

Are there many bands in Brighton coming up that you think people should keep their eyes on?
(Tom) Blood Red Shoes. But they're already doing really well, so. They're a great great band. We're following them around as well. Hopefully we'll clash at some point.
One big Brighton massive.
(Tom) Well there are loads of bands, some really good indie labels there.
Is that what is mostly coming out, indie stuff?
(Tom) Yeah well, it's all about kids in their bedrooms pressing records.

And obviously the Kooks came from Brighton. Are you a fan?
(Jag) I was at his house party on New Years Eve.
Oh really?
(Jag) Yeah, trashed it. He was like, what are you doing here? But I was having a great time.
What a way to spend New Years Eve.
(Tom) Yeah well they're good. They're a good pop band, and their song writing is just first class. I mean they work fucking hard don't they.
(Jag) They got signed after their second gig or something, and the week later they're on Top of the Pops. And now they've got like, Penthouse Apartments.
(Tom) Well maybe in two years we'll have a Penthouse Apartment... ...I can't believe you trashed it. Were you sick?
(Jag) Huh?
(Tom) Were you sick in it?
(Jag) I don't know.

Was the title of your new album, (This is where the fight begins,) actually based on people beating themselves up at gigs?
(Tom) No.
That's alright then.
(Tom) Not literally like, here it comes, we're going to punch you. It's more just about, yeah you know the lyrics, I guess it's a bit of a statement, but it's just our stand against, you know, like, yeah I just think there's this general attitude of there's a certain way you live your life, and this is us. Us doing this is our little sort of, stand against that. It's a big deal to us, so that's why the title is that.
(Jag) Not many bands are doing what we're doing. I mean, at the moment even in Brighton, there's some sort of theme, particularly with metal bands. It's so easy to just pick up a guitar and play beat down riffs, but we're trying to be generic in what we do.
(Tom) Yeah it's all about being a in a rock and roll band. It's been tough though. I mean the standard assumption we get from the press is like, right, “they're a Brighton heavy band,” and then they look at are pictures and say, “their haircut's like that, therefore they're going to sound like...” I mean Johnny Truant and the Architects had the same thing, I mean the Architects came out and the instant reaction was “oh they're just a mini Johnny Truant, which isn't the case at all, they're very different bands. It's inevitable, it's the lazy assumption to make, you know. Brighton band, heavy, therefore, they must follow the strict pattern.

Do you like your crowd to go nuts and fling themselves about aimlessly, like other heavy bands do?
(Tom) They can do what they want to. I don't mind. I don't mind what people do so long as they enjoy it.
Do you do the same, but up on stage? Do you hurl yourself around or...?
(Tom) Yeah, we do don't we?
(Jag) We bleed.
(Tom) Yeah we cut ourselves a lot, unfortunately. But yeah, I don't expect the crowd to entertain me, so if they just want to stand there, but they're enjoying it, then that's fucking fine. But there's so many young bands that are like “why aren't you moving?!” and it's just like, nobody knows the songs, the album's not even out yet, so, maybe in a year I'll give you a different answer. If we meet again that is. But you know what I mean
(Jag) I'd like to see people holding hands, doing the conga.
(Tom) Human pyramids, we like that. We had that at Aiden actually, it was fucking brilliant. This place at the back, these kids were doing human pyramids and just jumping off each other. That's what I want, human pyramids non-stop.

Well, that's about it. Anything else you want to say?
(Jag) Buy the record.
I've already got it.
(Tom) You've already got it?
(Jag) What?
In my bag, and I'm going to get you to sign it, if that's alright?
(Tom) Have you got a copy of the record?! I'm not annoyed, I'm just wondering. Wow, I haven't even got one of these. Wow, these will look good on the proper paper.

Thanks guys.

Interview by Thom