More than “A Little Bit” of talk with The Ghost Twins who have just released their first single

How did you enjoy working together?

Samantha & Spencer : Honestly it was better than either of us could have imagined. It’s something we’d talked about doing over the years but our schedules got in the way. When we started writing it was effortless. It also creeped us out how well our voices worked together. Yeah, sure there’s genetics and all that stuff, but the blend was instant and surprising. It was kind of like finishing each others sentences.

Could you tell me why you decided to call yourselves The Ghost Twins? An obvious implication could be the reference to your fathers who were twins, but could you explain why and how you came up with this particular name?

Samantha: I’m gonna let Spencer answer this.

Spencer: Actually, I was working with an incredibly talented duo called “Five Weeks” and they had this song named “Ghosts”.  Because they were born on the same day (but not actually twins), I pitched them the idea of changing their name to “The Ghost Twins.”  They weren’t sold and when Sam and I were naming ourselves, a friend we were working with said, “Why don’t you just take The Ghost Twins?  It’s perfect for you!”.   And of course our dads being twins was a big factor.  And by the time we solidified the name we had already established how “spooky/eerie” it was that we worked so well together.  The “ghost” aspect of that came from there and how there’s an obvious connection between each other.  Also the fact that both of our fathers have passed on wasn’t lost on us.  Sometimes things really happen for a reason!

What songs are going to be on the EP?

Samantha & Spencer:  There are three songs.  We’ve been kinda secretive about it, but we think it’s ok to reveal song titles at this point.  Our first single is “A Little Bit.”  The other two are “This Town” and “Find Your Way.”

Will there also be an entire album of new songs coming out later on?

Spencer:  Maybe yes, maybe no.  Obviously, COVID is a factor, but the current industry trend has been more about singles and EP’s, even before the pandemic.  There’s a good chance we could put out more EP’s much faster than a full length.

Samantha:  We would totally like to do a more of a full length at some point, but like Spencer said, in this day and age singles and EP’s are more efficient.

There were photos of you exploring the Tecumseh Theater in Shawnee, OH.  If the Covid situation hadn’t transpired, would you have considered playing there as well as at other venues?  I mean, could we hope for a tour by the two of you at some point in the future?

Spencer & Samantha:  Well, we couldn’t have ever played there (sadly), because it’s a run-down theater and is not safe currently.  That said, yes, we’ll be playing live when the time comes and also be looking at online performance options during pandemic!

Also, will there be a chance that The Ghost Twins might be working with some other members of the Gibb Collective or the Fox brothers?

Samantha & Spencer:  We’re open to anything of course, but right now our focus is definitely on the two of us.

What are your earliest recollections of each other and of your fathers?

Spencer:  Honestly, my earliest recollections of my father are of him playing me music he’d written.  I remember him playing me “Nights On Broadway” like it was still yesterday.  My earliest recollections of Maurice involved us playing rough and him getting upset because his back hurt.  Turns out he needed surgery at the time…..But he was always a sweetheart.

As for Sam, due to the slight age difference and my parent’s divorce, we didn’t spend much time together as children because we lived in different cities.

I remember working with Maurice when I was about 15 or 16 and I would go to his house and seeing this little girl with huge white curly hair… Later we connected as teenagers.  My main recollection is having a crush on all her friends….

Samantha:  For me one of the earliest of my dad was me being in bed and singing ‘Tears On My Pillow’ to him.  According to my mom and dad this was the moment he realized I could sing.

As for Uncle Robin, I was stuck in an elevator once with him and a group of other people.  He was very quiet but all of a sudden he told the funniest (and probably dirty) joke out of nowhere.  I wish I could remember the joke but I do remember laughing harder than I had before.

With Spencer we got to know each other later.  I remember being with my friends and them noticing this guy in the room with long blonde hair and just being really interested in him.  I was like “that’s my cousin….” and they wanted an introduction…..

How would you describe each other as children and as grownups?

Spencer:  As I said in the previous question, we didn’t really know each other as children. As teenagers we bonded.  There’s not too much about Sam that I can say that’s changed about her since then, other than life experience.  She has always been talented, driven and committed to what she’s working on.  She loves and cares about family, always has, and that’s even more apparent now that she has a family of her own.  She’s feisty and outspoken a lot of the time, maybe even more than I (if that’s possible), but it’s something that I respect about her tremendously.

Samantha:  What I can say about Spencer is that he is hardworking, headstrong, driven and passionate.  We share the same values.As adults, our relationship has only made us smarter, closer together, and better people.

Your fathers used to say with regard to the Bee Gees that each brother brought something different to the table.  Their voices and characters were so different and yet there was something similar.  In The Ghost Twins, what do you think each one of you particularly brought to the table?

Samantha & Spencer:  The thing that made The Bee Gees so special is that, yes, they had individual voices, but when they needed to they could sound like each other.  With The Ghost Twins, there is something similar with that.  We both have unique voices yet at the same time we blend seamlessly.  There are a few moments on some of the songs where we sound like one, and there are a couple of other examples that we mimic each other.

Can you remember at what point did you start thinking of doing a duet like this? (For example, I remember the two of you sang together when appealing to Jimmy Fallon and your voices blended so well.)

Samantha & Spencer:  The Fallon thing is a good example.  Again, that was pretty effortless.  I think partly because we harmonize really well together, but also with that song I think we both knew it SO well from growing up with it.  But around that period was definitely a turning point when we realized what we could become, and then a few months later we started writing.

Could you tell us which song(s), movie(s), book(s), artist(s), and/or author(s) have influenced you most as a person and as an artist?

Spencer:  Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” album changed my life.  It showed me that songs could also be paintings.  Although there are many others.  I can’t tell you a specific movie, but Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee (as well as MANY others) definitely influenced my view on cinema.  They both have a way of conveying a minority American experience that still remains metaphorically (or literally) relevant today.  As for authors, probably Kafka.  He showed me how to think outside the box (much like Joni Mitchell).  I would also credit Miyamoto Musashi. “The Book Of Five Rings” changed my life.  Same thing with artists. Van Goghcomes to mind.  Unappreciated in his time, died virtually penniless, but developed a style that shaped the 20th century.

Samantha:  My song is “The Wind” by Cat Stevens.  Movie is definitely “Spaceballs.” As for books, my favorite is probably “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse.  I also love Tom Shadyac and his book “Life’s Operating Manual.”  My favorite artist is my son, and he influences me every day.

Are you a Sun person or Moon person?

Spencer:  Definitely a moon person. I’m dark….

Samantha:  It depends on the day….

Are you a Cat person or Dog person?

Spencer:  A dog person.  I have four.  Also I’m allergic to cats.

Samantha:  I am typically a dog person, but I love cats for their independence.

When you write songs together, do you do the melody first or lyrics first?

Spencer:  Honestly it depends.  It flip-flops for both of us.  For example, and this is a good reference for our earlier point about the whole experience being “creepy,” we were writing what became “A Little Bit,” our first single.  We were struggling to finish a third song and Samantha was working in one room with ideas and Spencer was working in another.  The plan was to essentially pick the best idea and work on it.  The ideas that we both had shared the exact same chord progression, so we blended them into one concept. It was pretty cool.

Samantha:  Yep, what he said….

Which phrases/words you have written in your career and in this project are you most proud of?

Spencer:  Shit, that’s a tough question.  There are a lot.  I write in metaphors much of the time, even if the original motivation/inspiration was literal.  As of now I have to say The Ghost Twins is what I’m most proud of because I feel Sam and I emotionally connected over the content of the material.  That’s hard to do as a solo artist, so imagine it as a duo!

Samantha: I think this EP is what I’m most of proud of right now.  The times we wrote it in and the times we’re currently living in have changed so much in the last year and these songs stay relevant.  I couldn’t be prouder.  As for phrases, I really love these song titles but if you’re looking for a specific lyric I’d have to say “if things could be different, would you still be you?” from the song “This Town.”

Are there any songs by the Bee Gees (including the solo material) which you would want to cover at some point?

Samantha & Spencer:  Of course we have favorite Bee Gees songs…..as you can imagine…. And as you know, both of us have covered songs in the past as solo artists (and then The Gibb Collective project).  We don’t have any immediate plans to do that, but we have talked about incorporating something into our live show (maybe a medley), when that can start happening again.

What did you feel were the pros and cons of working together?

Samantha & Spencer: The pros were that, again, it was eerily effortless.  The cons were that we live in different cities.  Even before COVID.  If we’d had more time together we would have had more material.  But don’t worry, we’re gonna keep making it work!

What did you feel were the pros and cons of working together while being physically apart under the current, unusual situation?

Samantha: This is gonna be more of a production based answer, so I’ll give it to Spencer.

Spencer:  Well, fortunately, the record was almost finished under the current conditions, and we had worked at a distance before then. Mixing became a little tricky though.  I was mixing and sharing mixes with Sam, but then I had to shut my studio in Austin down because of COVID.  I sent my almost finished work to Laz Rodriguez at M.E.G Production Studios in Florida and he cleaned it up.  Plus we worked online to tweak it out along with Samantha.  Then the files came back to me and I did some extra work. It then went off to mastering with Emily Lazar at The Lodge in NYC.It was definitely weird to not be in a supervised mastering session, but I’ve also worked with her before so that helps. Bottom line is it could have been worse. Maybe it’s better because of it…

Have you seen the 1971 film “Melody”? If so, what do you think of it?  The film was a huge commercial hit in Japan, and “Melody Fair” and “In The Morning (Morning of My Life)” were released as singles here.

Samantha & Spencer:  We haven’t seen it in a long time, but we remember liking it.  We are both big fans of Jack Wild and were HUGE “H.R. Pufnstuf” fans when we were kids. May he rest in peace.

Do you have any nicknames?

Samantha & Spencer:  We just call each other Sam and Spenc all the time.  I think we’d both wish there was something meaner, but sadly there’s not…LOL…

What is your idea of a perfect day off?

Spencer:  I live in Austin, so I miss a beach.  And no social media.  Or phones.

Samantha:  Being with my family and no phones.

The cover art of your upcoming single/EP was just revealed.  What is the concept behind it?

Samantha & Spencer:  Well, actually, the art we just released is only for the single “A Little Bit.”  The inspiration behind that was a photograph that a friend of ours took that was representative of her life in quarantine at the time.  Seemed appropriate for the single’s lyrics.  As for the actual EP art, we have been working with an incredible artist, Jessi Clayton, who is doing some unbelievable work!  That’s all we can really say for now!

Interview by BGD