GHOSTWRITER: The original punk-folk troubadour
Ghostwriter could be the post-punk version of a Harry Smith era self-accompanied singer-songwriter... For the better part of the last decade, Ghostwriter has hit the road in true troubadour form; one man traveling, music that is direct and uncompromised. Ghostwriter has independently released five albums and shared the stage with icons like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and T-Model Ford. Ghostwriter currently resides in Portland Oregon and is working on a sixth full length album, available on LP & MP3 this winter from End Of The West Records. Full Bio
Links: iTunes, facebook, cdbaby, youtube, myspace
Discography:
PORTLAND MERCURY
Ghostwriter is Steve Schecter, a one-man junk-folk-blues act with
knitting-needle guitar, footstomp percussion, and a holler that sounds like a
less lysergic Captain Beefheart. Ghostwriter was handpicked to open for Nick
Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Crystal Ballroom last September, and the recent Wreck the City/Simplify Your Life vinyl
record is about as backwoods as it gets, with chicken-cluck banjo, country
fiddle, and a hint of genteel majesty. But Schecter has darker things on his
mind, and a black mood of exhaustion pervades the music. The Dalles resident
spent some time in Austin before finding himself back in Oregon, and
Ghostwriter sounds like the miles of road dust underneath his fingernails.
NATIONAL EXAMINER
Part traditional and part contemporary, Ghostwriter's sound is made from the same stuff that has made old-time roots and modern rock'n'roll great. On top of that, listeners can also detect hints of banjo-pickin' Americana and dirty blues trash in the Ghostwriter sound. In the simplest description, I would have to say it's a raw, gritty, organic sound, full of heart and guts, and sweat and spit and backbone. In fact, it is because of his sound that Ghostwriter has been referred to as "anarcho cowpunk," "blue-collar blues-punk," and a "one-man existential blues machine." Not the most fitting descriptive terms, to be sure, save perhaps for "blue-collar blues-punk," which at once sums up the man and the artist pretty accurately.
WILLAMETTE WEEK
[PUNK-ROCK BLUES] Steve Schecter, otherwise known as Ghostwriter, makes the trek in from his hometown of The Dalles only so often to play a show, but when he does, brothers and sisters, you'd better be ready. His brand of fiery one-man stomping punk/country/blues is the kind of music that goes all too well with the things your mother said were bad for you: booze, red meat and unfiltered cigarettes.
ROCKTOBER ( Chicago)
While there are hints at ominous, creepy, menacing One Man Band madness at the corners and fringes of this mighty album, Ghostwriter seems to genuinely transcend the limits of one-man-band-ism by serving up raw, real C & W that sounds like Chet Atkins' classy crossover strings production never hit Nashville, and the brawling, sprawling nature of surly Southern musicians was allowed to stay pure.
LEFT OF THE DIAL (Texas)
With scroungy one-man-band blues-punk pilfering, Ghostwriter comes round the bend like a hillbilly Tom Waits stompin’ and hollering “Blue Eyed Girl” with phlegmy finesse. Sure, his ragged, bottom-hollow voice doesn’t paint any daisies, but his overall grit and panache ensure that you’ll listen hard, not lounge, and maybe knock some spoons on your skinny kneecap.
AUSTIN SOUND
The Creepout Showcase at Beerland is billed as a night of one-man bands, but don’t tell that to Steve Schecter (aka Ghostwriter). He seems adamant that he’s not a one-man band but just a solo artist. I’m inclined to let him call himself whatever he wants, because, frankly, he scares the hell out me. – Nicol Zoe
LET THEM EAT LEAD (Austin, Feb. ‘04)
Every band down here who purportedly plays “punk” music should actively seek out Ghostwriter performances, and try to learn a little something from this man. He plays at an emotional depth that basically spawned the genre. He isn’t following any particular fashion or trend... he just plays at a level of arresting emotion and feeling, unlike most of Austin’s “punk” community. Steve Schecter is probably the most punk rock motherf*%ker in this town right now.