a chelsea ghost

The Name: A Chelsea Ghost first was the name of the band because all the other names I thought up were taken, predominantly by Christian rock bands, it stuck after I saw a photo by Helmut Newton taken at the Chelsea hotel in NYC. The photo showed a woman in lingerie sitting on the corner of a bed with a gun in her mouth. This gave me a couple of idea’s first, I knew I wanted the name to have some kind of connection to the city and specifically NYC and the Chelsea hotel. The history of writer’s, musicians and actors that called it their home is long and impressive. Second, the reason for the ghost came from idea that a photo is a captured moment in time, an invisible etching, a ghost.
Also we don’t know what happens to the woman, did she do it or just think about it? What was going through her mind? Was it sadness, anger, bored of life? Every thought we have Happy or sad is a ghost in our own minds

The Past: The first thought I had of starting a band came about 6 years ago, my mother had just died and I went through a tough year of coming to grips with the lose. I started writing as a way of moving through the emptiness, the feeling of never being able to go home again. I had written before but mostly half songs that went nowhere, nothing to the extent of what was coming out. I called up an old friend and drummer Jeremy O’shea that was living in London Ontario at the time as a farmer. He came down to Toronto and we started playing in my sisters basement (cliché, I know) and soon after he moved to Toronto, we went through a few players before we settled into a 3 piece that played with clicked backing tracks because of the amount of instruments on each song. I’ve always loved a big dramatic sound, something that both the band and listener can get lost in, but more about that later. We played a few gigs at the Drake and El Macombo, then Jeremy came to me with some bad news. His family was going to lose their farm if he didn’t immediately plunge himself into debt and take it over, so I told him go back. I spent the next few months wallowing because I wasn’t making any money and my band had disintegrated just when we were starting to gain fans and a future, then an opportunity presented itself. Now this is where I apparently shadow my street cred and tell you that I have been performing on stage for the last 15 years in numerous plays and musicals. I couldn’t tell you why this stigma exists, if it does, I mean I’ve been making a living singing and acting for over and decade and a half, wouldn’t that qualify a little higher on the experience scale then suffering at Starbucks? Not to say that there’s anything wrong with a 9 to 5 job, I just twinge a little inside when I’m looked down upon simply because I don’t work at a bar… Back to. I was offered a part in “We Will Rock You” the new Queen musical, hired by Brian May and Roger Taylor themselves. While in rehearsals I met Tristan, first time I heard him play the guitar I thought it would be good to see if we could work together outside of the show. Mike Pellarin (bass) an old friend from a show I did 6 years ago was also playing for the WWRY band so we brought him in after Tristan and I started jamming and found that we had a good working relationship. Donn Dixon (drums) was asked to join after Derek Lewis (guitar) another old friend, told him about the sound and convinced him he could add a whole other element. For the past 8 months we’ve been rehearsing at Donn’s studio and honing material for a demo and debut album.

The Band:
Peter Deiwick: Is the principal songwriter and plays guitar and keyboard for A Chelsea Ghost. He has performed on stage in over 20 musicals and sung with a wide variety of musicians such as Lee Aaron which he sang back up for on her Emotional Rain tour.

Mike Pellarin: Bass player. Personally chosen by Brian May and Roger Taylor to be one half of the rhythm section for their show We Will Rock You. Other credits include stints with Jeff Martin (the tea party) Jeff Healey, Burton Cummings, Petula Clark, Gowan and Goddo.

Derek Lewis: Guitar. Derek has been writing and performing his own material for the last 5 years in various bands. He is a highly sought after tattoo artist that has made his print on celebrities such as Justin Timberlake and Wade Belak of the Toronto MapleLeafs.

Donn Dixon: Drums. Donn played with reggae and ska bands such as Skaface. His own band Spine Cracker were released through Sonic Onion and Moon ska records and played with bands such as The English Beat, Bad Manners and an opening slot for The Sex Pistols at Molson Ampi-theatre. Donn also worked at Much Music for 14 years as personal sequrity high profile musicians in town to promote.

Tristan Avakian: Guitar. Tristan’s credits are to long to list. Highlights include Platinum album sales and tour with Biohazzard, a tour with Cirque de Soleil and a major American deal with Geffen records. Visit www.tristanavakian.com

The Influ