Ghost of Gloria are, Jeff Cunningham, Lead Guitar, John D'Angelo, Vocals & Guitar, Mark Caldwell, Bass Guitar, and Mark Poiesz, Drums. At least two of the members were in former bands together, including John and Mark who played in I Digress. The band formed in the fall of 2007 while recording and writing with Producer/Song writer Corey Lowery (Dark New Day, Stereomud.)

Ghost of Gloria have a combination of progressive and commercial sound, with touches of Foo Fighters, Incubus, and Tool present, making them hugely popular with their massive fan base. They have 25,000 fans on Myspace alone so no, massive fan base is not an overstatement. And their palpable sound doesn't hurt their mass-market appeal, either. Just ask EMI.

Ghost of Gloria tapped-danced and sang a song or two in front of EMI and Stellar songs who "latched on" to their music and offered them a publishing deal. Hitting the ground running, after they recorded their recently released debut EP, Voices From the Red Room, a highly anticipated six-song masterpiece, Ghost of Gloria is currently in the studio working on their debut full-length album. Lucky for us, it should be out sometime soon.

In addition to working with EMI and Stellar songs, they have snagged endorsements with Gibson, Spector Basses, Viatamin Water, and Myxer ringtone. Looks like everyone is drinking Ghost of Gloria's Kool-Aide.

Even Don Gilmore, American music producer, with the likes of Duran Duran, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Bullet For My Valentine, and Good Charlotte in his repertoire, couldn't resist. He produced "The Evidence," the last track on the Ghost of Gloria's debut EP.

antiMusic caught up with the band members prior to their studio visit in New York for a cheeky, funny, satirical interview that tells its own story. If there is one thing you'll walk away with after meeting the band, its, don't take yourself too seriously, have a good time, and keep at what you love. Even if it's watching porn.

antiMusic: What's the story behind the band name?

Mark C: In the earliest days of the band, John and I had just began working with a couple of guys who had asked us to come on board as musicians for a trip to Atlanta to work with Corey Lowery (Dark New Day, Stereomud, Stuck Mojo). As part of that process we ended up working in the Estefan's (Emilio and Gloria) studio in Miami. We were sitting in the lounge (where there happened to be a lot of Gloria Estefan memorabilia) trying to think of band names for a long time, but nothing was sticking out. Finally John said something to the effect of "well I can't think with Gloria Estefan staring me down at every angle, it's like she's haunting me!" I think it explains itself from there on.

antiMusic: How did you all meet?

Mark C: John, Jeff and I have known each other for years and years where we met through a mutual friend/guitar teacher. Eventually we started playing in bands together. Poiesz is a different story completely though: a girl had friend requested me on MySpace (I swear I'm not making this up), and Mark was in her top friends with this picture of himself just bashing the sh*t out of the drums. We were looking for a drummer at the time so I said "what the hell" and sent him a message--no response. A month or so later Jeff and I were out in Hollywood one night and I recognized him playing in a band. Of course, he was really good. So I persisted on several of his e-mail addresses (rather than being the weird guy like "hey I know you!!" at his gig). He responded that time and agreed to come meet us. He whole heartedly dedicated himself to the band after getting to know us and the music.

antiMusic: What's a good 'on the road story'?

John: We were in PA at a Hooters watching the Dolphins get whooped when the conversation of what we did for a living came up with the server. (Side note: anyone that eats at Hooters enough know that most of them have cables that run over your head throughout the restaurant that have little clips for the servers to attach orders to and sling them across the room to the cook. More on that in a second.) So the server seemed all starry-eyed and taken aback by our star power so she was easily distracted. When she wasn't looking, we drew a picture of a big penis, clipped it to the cable and slung it across the room to the cook. We thought we got the poor guy really good but a few seconds later a latex glove filled with God knows what kind of sauce comes flying back over our table and dripped liquid death all over us. He got the last laugh I would say... Oh and in NY, Jeff got in a fight with an old lady wearing a Darth Vader costume but that wasn't as interesting. (there is a video of this on our YouTube channel! www.youtube.com/ghostofgloria )

antiMusic: Worst fans?

Jeff: The ones that don't show us their t*ts!!!

antiMusic: Best place to play?

Jeff: Our most recent favorite place we've played was in Orlando FL at the House of Blues
The stage was awesome and the sound is great in that room.
antiMusic: Considering making any videos?

Jeff: We currently have a music video for the song Fight on our YouTube Channel (direct link) and our MySpace.com/ghostofgloria page along with dozens of other videos of us on the road, in the studio, shooting guns, dartness challenges, and dancing while driving. You know, the usual things four guys do to stay occupied.
antiMusic: Traditional or Youtube?

Mark C: Doggy style. (My bad, I didn't specify. Sometimes the literal translationis so much more fun to answer.)

antiMusic: Tell us something about the band that no one else knows?

Jeff: The password to all of our websites is doubleDONGtripod12 all lowercase. Except for DONG. This also applies to the band's bank account, which is an economy sized bean can, protected by a 10 year old 3rd degree black belt. Just tell him the password and everything will be cool.

antiMusic: Talk about the upcoming EP? Where are you releasing it?

Mark P: Our EP, "Voices From The Red Room," was released in early 2009 for sale online and at our shows. We've been pushing it since then and have had decent success selling it independently.

antiMusic: How are you distributing the EP?

Mark P: The EP is available on iTunes, at CDBaby.com, as well as many other online retailers. A few independent record stores have carried it and we always sell them at shows.

antiMusic: How many facebook/myspace fans and friends do you have?

Mark P: Ummm... a lot. We've just started doing the facebook thing more seriously, since more people seem to be gravitating to there now. But on Myspace, I think we are around 25,000 or so. I'm not sure how many keep track of us on there, but we've seen that social networking is something you have to keep on top of all the time. You never know who is gonna stumble across your profile.

antiMusic: Talk about the Don Gilmore track? How did working with him come about? What track is it?

Mark P: Don produced "The Evidence," which we included as the last track on our EP. We won a contest through PickTheBand.com, actually their very first contest, and the prize was to work on a song with Don Gilmore. We're all big fans of his work and it was great to spend a few days in the studio with such an influential producer. He came down to Miami and we tracked all the instruments over three days here. Then John flew out to L.A. and recorded the vocals at NRG studios, which is one of Don's usual spots. As for the final product, we think it turned out great and we hope that someday we can work with him again, hopefully with more time to really get creative.

antiMusic: Any plans for a full-length?

Mark P: That's actually next on our radar. In a few days, we're starting work in New York City for what will be our first full-length. We'll be working primarily with the production team Espionage, who recently did some work with David Cook, Cavo, and Train. Right now, we don't have a timetable as far as recording and release goes, but we hope to have it out as soon as possible. You'd better believe that we are going to give it everything we have though. There's definitely a sense among us of "put up, or shut up." We're ready to make it happen.

antiMusic: Talk about the sponsorships with Gibson, Spector, Vitamin Water etc.? Are they making sure you aren't starving?

Mark C: All of our sponsors have been great to us, especially on tour.

antiMusic: Gibson or Fender? Honestly?

John: Gibson

antiMusic: What came out of the Hard Rock's regional Ambassadors of Rock Battle of the Bands?

Mark C: It was a great honor to be voted amongst some of the best bands in the country by our fans and music lovers in South Florida. It also helped us build upon the great relationship we share with the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood. That being said, all of these "battle of the bands" and contests like it are great for just getting your name out there and being able to play for a new audience who might enjoy your music. Don't get me wrong, we always play to win, but we don't enter them to be known for winning them or because we depend on the prizes. It's all about expanding our audience.

antiMusic: Who does the songwriting?

Jeff: The majority of the song writing is done by John. He will come to the table with the lyrics, melody and a basic chord structure. From this point we all just add our own flavors to it and turn it into a Ghost of Gloria song. We all tend to pitch-in our thoughts for parts that we add to the songs. For example if we need a loop in a verse of a song we will tell Mark Poiesz what we are hearing for the part and he goes on his laptop and he brings us back this magic little morsel of awesomeness that works perfectly for the song. We seldom disagree when it comes to having the right part for the songs.

antiMusic: What song is your favorite?

Mark C: I think we're all a fan of "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred. (Refer to the Traditional or Youtunbe excerpt above.)

antiMusic: What song is the most fun to perform?

Jeff: There really isn't just one song that I can think off the top of my head. It really depends on the crowds reaction to the songs so it can vary night to night.

antiMusic: Can you give us a juicy story about the inspiration behind one of the songs?

Mark C: We actually have a blog about the inspiration for our song "Selfish Nights" on our MySpace. Check it out!

antiMusic: Talk about the EMI publishing deal?

Mark C: The publishing deal with EMI and Stellar songs came about because our music got into the right hands. They really latched on to two of our songs and wanted to know more. We did a live showcase for them, and that accompanied with our "resume" and management team helped make it happen. We're very excited to be a part of the EMI family and to begin working!

antiMusic: Where to from here?

Mark C - Well I'm probably going to make a sandwich, and then see if porn heals all wounds like Jeff says it does... (You'd think I'd have caught on by now. Nope.)

antiMusic: If you could open for any arena act, who would it be and why?

Mark C: Wow, that's a tough one. Hard to pick just one. With actively touring bands and just throwing logic out the window, I would say U2. They have the biggest, baddest tours and some of most dedicated fans in the world. Plus just the legacy of music they've left behind is astounding. I know we aren't really a musical fit but I just think that would be about as tops as you could get for an arena tour.

antiMusic: Who would you like to work with in the future?

Mark C: So many artists and producers it's almost endless. David Bendeth would be cool, Don Gilmore again would be great, Rob Cavallo etc. etc.

antiMusic: How would you describe your sound?

John: If Breaking Benjamin were to bang the Foo Fighters and Jimmy Buffet at an orgy 9 months later our music would be born. Then there would be a custody battle where Jimmy would eventually win but we would always know who our real father was. Elvis would remain politely neutral.

antiMusic: What did you learn through this process about yourself, each other?

Jeff: I've learned that porn can heal all wounds. Even the ones that burn and sting.

antiMusic: Would you do anything differently?

Jeff: Never pay upfront for anything even if it seems like a done deal.

antiMusic: Advice for those just starting out on how to secure major publishing deals?

John: Well patience is the most important thing. Then you have to keep writing bad songs till you write a good one; then keep writing good ones till you write a great one. Rinse and repeat. Next would be finding a group of like-minded people that believe in each other and the music. Might seem clich� to say these things but looking back at the last 15 years, that's all it really took. OR you can just sign up for Sonicbids; hear they are giving those deals away all the time. Would have saved us SO much time!