Give Up the Ghost

All Music Guide:

Boston hardcore thrashers Give Up the Ghost (Tim Cossar, guitar; Wes Eisold, vocals; Brian Masek, guitar; Matt Woods, bass; and Nate Helm, drums) originally formed in the fall of 1999 as American Nightmare, building a following with local live shows and a heavily circulated demo cassette, which led to a deal with the Boston independent label Bridge Nine Records. A self-titled EP followed in 2000, as they hit the road with such acts as Madball, Converge, Amen, and Boy Sets Fire, issuing another EP the following year, The Sun Isn't Getting Any Brighter, again for the Bridge Nine label. The same year, the band signed with Equal Vision (a subsidiary of Caroline), issuing their debut full-length release, Background Music, in June of 2001 -- overseen by renowned hardcore producer Dean "Madball, Right Brigade, Ten Yard Fight" Baltulonis. That year, the band signed up to appear on a forthcoming Black Flag tribute album for Initial Records. In 2003, following a trademark dispute with a Philadelphia group of the same name, American Nightmare changed their name briefly to American Nothing before settling on the new name Give Up the Ghost in early 2003. New name in place, the guys returned with their Equal Vision follow-up, We're Down Til We're Underground, that September. Bridge Nine then released Year One in early 2004, which compiled the band's initial EPs and other early material, but by the summer, due to personal and health reasons, Give Up the Ghost decided to call it a day.

Wikipedia:

Give Up the Ghost (originally named "American Nightmare" sometimes stylized as A.N.) was a hardcore punk band from Boston, Massachusetts.

History

Give Up the Ghost was formed when Tim Cossar and Wesley Eisold (who was then a roadie for Ten Yard Fight) met up with Azy Relph and Jesse Van Diest in 1998. They recorded a demo tape in 1999, followed by their debut release, a self-titled 7", on Bridge 9 Records under their original name American Nightmare in 2000. After extensive touring and line-up changes, the band recorded their second release 7", The Sun Isn't Getting Any Brighter. This was later combined with their self-titled effort to form Year One, which was released posthumously.

Their debut full-length, Background Music, was recorded for Equal Vision Records in 2001 and was released to much acclaim. In 2003, the band faced a legal battle with a similarly named band from Philadelphia. The band then changed their name briefly to the initials "A.N." then to American Nothing for a brief period. After the other American Nightmare threatened to press charges again, they changed their name to Give Up the Ghost (which was intended to be the name of their second album). Their second full length, We're Down Til We're Underground released on Equal Vision Records, displayed the band experimenting with their sound, with longer songs that didn't follow the typical hardcore songwriting formula they had adhered to in their previous releases.

Fans of the band are known to refer to them by their original name.

Breakup and aftermath

The band broke up suddenly in June 2004, a day after announcing the cancellation of a European tour. The band issued a statement which cited "health and personal reasons" for the split. Give Up the Ghost's success, combined with the success of contemporary Boston bands like The Suicide File, cemented the position of the Boston scene as the bellwether for new trends during the early 2000s. Members went on to join/form other bands such as Cold Cave, Some Girls, XO Skeletons, Ye Olde Maids, Head Automatica, Bars, and the Hope Conspiracy. Wes also went on to start a publishing company called Heartworm Press and co-owns Philadelphia based bookstore/performance space Juanita And Juan's. It is also stated that Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance played guitar for them on a few occasions while on tour in 2003-2004 with Every Time I Die and Suicide File. Give Up the Ghost came back into the headlines in 2007 under accusations that Fall Out Boy had taken lyrics from Wes Eisold, the band's lyricist, resulting in an out-of-court settlement and a credit in the liner notes of both the multi-platinum selling From Under the Cork Tree and Infinity on High.

Reunion

After seven years of disbandment, Give Up the Ghost played two reunion shows in December 2011. The band performed in Revere, Massachusetts (just outside of Boston) on December 29, and in Los Angeles on December 31. Deathwish Inc. reissued Give Up the Ghost's albums Background Music (2001) and We're Down Til We're Underground (2003) to coincide with the reunion dates.

Tickets for the two reunion shows went on sale on October 29, 2011 and both shows sold out in under a minute. As a result, a special ticket package was announced to go on sale November 7, with all proceeds going to Shirts For A Cure Project, which benefits the Syrentha Savio Endowment. The package included two tickets and two t-shirts for $100, which in turn also sold out in under a minute.

Give Up the Ghost will play a third reunion show on July 22, 2012 at Webster Hall in New York City.