John McIntosh, as musician, singer and band member of Electric Ghosts

So how did it all begin?

I received drum lessons at high school, which got me interested in playing music and gave me the taste for performing with a group of musicians. I then got taught how to play guitar by my older brother and took it from there.

What made you give it a bash?

Through jamming with my brother we both started writing music together and I suppose we gave each other the confidence to believe the music we were making was good.

How did you get started?

I first started playing in a band with friends from school. We were all similar ages and had a similar taste in music. The band didn’t last for long but I gave me the experience of playing in a band and made me more aware of the musical direction I wanted to take.

Equipment/instruments?

My uncle gave me an old drum kit, which I still use today and I got my first guitar for my 16th birthday which I managed to snap in two. I have since owned and broken many more acoustic guitars due to clumsiness on my part, but I do have a fender telecaster which thankfully is nearly indestructible.

Direction?

I mainly play country rock n roll music/Folk rock sort of stuff.

Do you perform alone and as part of a band?

I perform solo gigs playing my own songs, sometimes with a backing band and also perform in a band called the Electric Ghosts.

Where did the band name come from?

There is a line in a Dylan song that goes “the ghosts of electricity howled in the bones of her face”, which became the electric ghosts. But basically it was the only name we came up with that everybody in the band agreed they kind of liked and it stuck.

Who inspired you?

Growing up my parents played a lot of the Rolling Stones, the Band, Little Feat and Neil Young so that had a massive influence on me. As a teenager though Oasis and the whole Britpop scene made me think, I could do that. An as I got older I got into the Byrds and Gram Parsons and loads more country/psychedelic rock, and more heavy rock.

What kind of music do you play (as an individual and as part of band)

The music I play as an individual I would say is more folk rock and the music I play as part of the electric ghosts is more country rock.

Do you write your own songs and music?

Yes.

What was the first event you ever played at/put on?

Think it was some battle of the bands at Bannermans.

What’s the best event you’ve played at/put on?

Quite often you find that the gigs you are least expecting to be good turn out to be the crackers, so I’d probably say a random gig we played down at Henrys Cellar bar, purely for the atmosphere in the place that night.

What was your first tune you bought?

Michael Jackson’s Bad on 7inch, loved it.

Challenges?

A big challenge is getting used to and comfortable with playing live in front of an audience so that you are not hindered by nerves. The main challenge with playing in a band is finding other members who are on the same page as you musically and who all want to go in the same musical direction, and who ultimately, you have a good laugh with.

Top Tips for budding musicians?

Just get yourself out there and start gigging, there’s no practice quite like playing live in front of an audience. Don’t be scared to take risks and put yourself out on a limb and above all make music that you like, not what you think other people will like.