Marley's Ghost
BIOGRAPHY
Performance Formats: quintet
vintage Americana music blending multi-instrumental prowess with distinctive vocal harmonies
"Marley's Ghost bring with them an air of gentrified discomfort, but like the snake oil salesman of old, their charm is irrefutable."
— All Music Guide
" … listening to Marley's Ghost is akin to reading a selection of short essays from Mark Twain."
— Larry Sakin
Even the members of the band have trouble describing their music, but they all know whatever they do, it always comes out sounding uniquely like Marley's Ghost. Mandolinist Jon Wilcox thinks it's the vocals. Steel guitarist Ed Littlefield says it's the broad repertoire. Guitarist Dan Wheetman just calls it American roots music, if you count reggae. After more than twenty-two years of making music together, recording more than eight albums, and performing thousands of shows across the country, Marley's Ghost remains one of the best-kept secrets of the acoustic music world, an untapped natural resource waiting to be discovered.
The absence of a handy label or glib marketing slogan — like a soft drink without a jingle — may have helped obscure the work of this richly rewarding musical venture, but the group keeps working, keeps getting invited back, keeps winning fans, and perhaps most importantly, keeps getting better at what they do, whatever you call it. "Our criteria," says guitarist Mike Phelan, "has always been bring it, let's run it. It's not about genre or style."
"What I love about this band is that whatever we play," adds percussionist/keyboardist Jerry Fletcher, "it gets filtered through our respective personalities and playing styles and emerges collectively and solely our own." This is one band that knows all the songs from both The Harder They Come soundtrack and Ralph Stanley's Cry From the Cross. "Instead of being in an old-timey band and a blues band and a reggae band and an acoustic folk group," says bassist Dan Wheetman, "I can be in one band and do it all."
The most important ingredients in the Marley's Ghost equation are the characters in the band. The five multi-instrumentalists boast distinctive musical personalities that couldn't be less alike:
Dan Wheetman — Remarkably versatile and powerful singer and show business veteran of the band whose Simi Valley (CA) '60s teen rock group, the Humane Society, earned a regional hit and, as a member of Aspen '70s country-rockers Liberty, toured for years with John Denver and Steve Martin.
Jon Wilcox — School teacher, mandolinist and vocalist who used to trudge around the country as a solo artist to the same folk clubs where all the fledgling singer-songwriters tried their hands; the group's tender, sensitive side.
Mike Phelan — Boy tenor who can tear your heart out with a soul tune, put a romantic lilt into an Irish folk aerie, or blast molten lead guitar licks through the heart of a blues. Like Dan and Jon, a prolific songwriter.
Ed Littlefield Jr. — Innovative pedal steel guitarist son of a millionaire industrialist/philanthropist, he spent years playing C&W in rugged roadhouses for loggers and cowboys across the Pacific Northwest — he kept active fishing licenses for Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, Idaho and Washington — and brought the psychedelic spirit of Jerry Garcia to western swing. Eddie is all music — he plays fierce fiddle and is a tasty bagpiper who cuts quite a figure in a kilt and tam o'shanter.
Jerry Fletcher — Long the band's secret weapon and unofficial fifth ghost, appearing on albums and gigs from the outset, he became "certified" in 2006, bringing his eclectic musical skills (drums, keys, accordion, vocal arranging) to bear full time. Teen rock rival of Wheetman's and his cohort in Liberty, Jerry lays down a rhythmic energy that grounds the band and completes the musical puzzle.
Together they are a unique amalgam of their respective backgrounds, personal proclivities, and musical abilities — a blend honed to a seamless collaboration over the many miles they traveled together down the road. Despite what at first glance may seem to be a lack of cohesive style, a distinct, clear thread runs through all this apparent disparity. These men are mining for emotional convergences of voices and instruments, sentiments and sensibilities, song and style, and often find it in rich, unexpected combinations.
Even though Marley's Ghost has managed to maintain this unintentionally low profile over the course of two decades, the band has been attracting intriguing, prestigious associations on recent recordings. The 2006 CD, Spooked, with the R. Crumb cover, was produced by Van Dyke Parks, the musical mastermind who wrote Heroes and Villains with Brian Wilson and produced the first album by Ry Cooder, among many other things. Parks ingratiated himself into the fabric of the band at the keyboard bench and led the Ghost through its most accomplished recording to date.
But the latest development of the band's recording career may yet prove to be the crucial missing link for Marley's Ghost, who have been working on a new album in Nashville — spiritual home of so much of the music that shaped Marley's Ghost — with producer Cowboy Jack Clement, country music cornerstone and the beloved dean of Nashville producers. Having Marley's Ghost in his studio this past year has put a buzz around the band on Music Row for the first time.
Workshops, Master Classes, and Residency Activities
All band members enjoy sharing their skills and knowledge with audiences of all ages. Workshop and class instruction on several acoustic and electric instruments is available and can be customized for special situations.
The band is also knowledgeable in roots music history and can create a program that will explore its development over the years.
