Ghost leader Tobias Forge recently talked about his method of choosing his bandmates named Nameless Ghouls. He stated that he is very picky in his -band and revealed what is vital in the decision.
In 2006, Ghost was formed with the image of being the Anti-Pope and their demonic stage presence. The band members are all hidden behind similar face masks except the lead singer Tobias Forge. Forge used to hide behind the personality of Papa Emeritus but then revealed his identity.
Interestingly, the rest of the band members are not known. They only present themselves as Nameless Ghouls, which offers unique performances, especially by maintaining anonymity in such a popular genre. Forge’s leadership carried the band to high prominence, but the Nameless Ghouls changed numerous times.
Recently, Forge talked about how he determines who gets to perform on stage. He stated that he used to pick the members according to their personalities rather than their abilities. Even though he focuses on not choosing ‘bullies,’ he currently pays attention to their professionalism and friendliness as well.
Here is what Forge said about picking a band:
“If we were to change anyone now, it would have most likely been on a recommendation because there’s definitely a combination. Originally, I put a band together based more on proximity than ability or professionality. And that will end up being a problem if you’re not very lucky, and you end up being Rush, three best friends ever, just being the greatest band together. But that is not very common.
Basically, what is very important for me nowadays, and I’ve been trying to do this for the most part. And to be clear, I obviously look to the band first, but to me, the crew is very much an extension of the band. And just overall, I’m very, very picky when it comes to people and attitudes amongst the band and the crew so that we have a very sturdy, friendly, professional team for the most part.
Obviously, on a big tour like this where it’s 40 people, our buses are about 40 people, even more so, and then we have two other bands with us, of course, amongst 50 or 60 people, I can’t curate everyone. But I’m trying to get people who aren’t privy to bullying and screaming and being a f*cking d*ck.”
Forge doesn’t only record with Nameless Ghouls when creating an album. There is the drummer Ludvig Kennberg present in most of his records, but this puts Nameless Ghouls in the position of session musicians instead of stable band members. Ghost released their most recent album ‘Impera’ in March and are on a follow-up tour in Europe and the UK.
You can watch the interview below.
