GHOST MUTT

Words: Keeley Thompson & Joe Maranta

Another 12 hour shift passes by in what feels like a lifetime, though she can’t remember a single thing about the chaotic day behind taps. Falling like a potato sack on to her bed, the melatonin takes control and heavies her eyelids, all the while the stench from her sweat and lager stained uniform is becoming more and more overwhelming. 

Begrudgingly delaying her hard earned sleep, she walks past her guitars and haphazardly discards her pungent work clothes en route to her shower. Her mind drained, body bruised and lethargic, the imposing sound of falling water crashing onto a ceramic bathtub calms her mind as she waits for the water to warm. 

In the intermission between the water falling and the water warming, she turns on a speaker and begins the process of choosing her shower’s soundtrack. She looks over band after artist, artist after band, before finding the perfect mix of melancholy and joy. She thinks to herself, “hmmm.. How about Ghost Mutt?”

KEELEY: Tell me about yourself and Ghost Mutt. What's the story, where did the name come from?

ANNABELLE: We started in the January lockdown in 2021. My partner and I were running a bar and of course, every time there was a lockdown we had a bunch of spare time (after all the back of house stuff was done). In that time my brother (who I was in a band with) had moved to Melbourne, so the loss of that really spurred on my desire to learn guitar and write my own music. I’d told myself that if I stuck to it for three months that I could get my own guitar and I did! 

During those lockdowns I’d started writing songs and inviting Rodrigo and Torian around to play too. We all worked together so when those lockdowns happened, we all had time off at the same time which was kind of perfect. I asked my friend Maddy to come on board a bit after that too. 

It took us a while to find Dylan. He’s a wizard on guitar but at the time when we all came together, he was just learning drums. It felt natural to have him since we were all kind of new to our instruments I guess. The skill match was good. 

The name is a Simpsons reference, but it’s a bit of a deep cut. It’s from the episode where the creator of Itchy and Scratchy is getting sued for copyright. The fancy rich guy that owns Itchy and Scratchy basically does this whole monologue about how if no one stole ideas there’d be nothing good in the world and who would come up with ideas and he points at Marge and she says “Hmmm… how about… Ghost….Mutt”. That’s it. 

KEELEY:  Was there a defining moment where you all transitioned from “we’re just having fun” to “let’s do something with this”?

ANNABELLE: I think it happened naturally. I can’t really pinpoint an exact time or moment. I get so ahead of myself with things though, I’d booked a photoshoot before we even had a drummer locked in. Our first photoshoot is actually just the four of us. 

I think as soon as I felt like “this is happening”, it had already happened. I will say in June 2021 we all played together with the five of us for the first time so that was probably a pretty defining moment. 

Since then, music had just kept pouring out so we had a lot of songs written already. 

KEELEY: You’re going on a road trip with your friends. You’re on aux. What are you playing? 

ANNABELLE: Oh what time is it? I’m going to assume it’s 8am because I like to start early so we’re set up before dark. 

First, it would probably be Is This It? by The Strokes. It’s got the right amount of energy, and it’s upbeat. It’s perfect. 

See, this is hard because I’m normally the one driving. Maybe The Dandy Warhols Come Down? 

KEELEY: Ghost Mutts got some things burning! You’ve got an album coming? 

ANNABELLE: Yeah! We’re recording our second album (starting in June). I really want to release it on Halloween, because it’s my birthday so it would kind of be a gift to myself. 

KEELEY: Do you have any highlights as a musician and band?

ANNABELLE: Our first album launch was a huge highlight for me. The turnout at both the Meanjin and Naarm (Melbourne) shows was amazing and really affirming. 

We also got to play at Splendour last year which was such a special time. Honestly, it felt like a mistake; like they’d booked the wrong band, but of course, I didn’t question it. That show also came at a time where I had a lot going on personally so playing at Splendour was a nice break from it all.

KEELEY: How do you navigate personal life struggles whilst being a musician?

ANNABELLE: Writing music feels a bit like a gift from the universe to me. It is the best outlet. 

I’m really lucky, my struggles pale in comparison to a lot of people I know. I do really struggle with burnout though, so a lot of my songs are about that. 

It’s funny though, because when your main inspiration for creation comes from darkness, it can actually be harder to create when you don’t have anything weighing you down. 

KEELEY: We’ve kind of touched on it already, but what can we all look forward to? 

ANNABELLE: Halloween-ish album time for sure! We’ve also got a show supporting West Thebarton on the 28th of June.

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