Ghost Funk Orchestra, a psychedelic soul band from Westfield, New Jersey, is performing at the Norman Music Festival on April 28.
Members include: Billy Aukstik, trumpet; Jeremy Stoddard Carroll, bass; Stephen Chen, baritone saxophone; Mario Gutierrez, drums; Romi Hanoch, vocals; James Kelly, trombone; Joshua Park, guitar; and Brian Plautz, flute and saxophone. However, not all the band members will be at the festival.
Band leader and guitarist Seth Applebaum said they are excited to be playing the festival for the first time.
“We’ve never played in Norman before,” Applebaum said. “We’ve gotten asked to do it in the past, but we just didn’t have the time or the opportunity to get out to Oklahoma.”
He also said that they are excited to be performing in a festival that’s free to attend “because that seems pretty rare.”
“It’s an exciting lineup,” Applebaum said. “We know a few people out there, but it’s mostly going to be new faces.”
Applebaum said that after sharing some of his music with his friends, they inspired him to start performing live and create Ghost Funk Orchestra.
“It started as a recording project only and then over time, the live aspect took over,” Applebaum said. “As people have encouraged us and the shows have gotten better, it’s motivated us to keep making the live band a priority.”
Applebaum also said they are constantly trying new things with their music and that the group wants to challenge themselves.
“We’re always experimenting, we’re always trying to push our boundaries and test the limits of our abilities,” Applebaum said. “We don’t want to get complacent with things that we know how to do.”
One of Applebaum’s favorite songs he’s written is “Seven Eight” because of its uniqueness.
“It’s kind of an odd tune, but it’s become a staple of the live show,” Applebaum said. “Not the most danceable or intuitive to play. It took a lot of effort for everyone to figure out how to play it and make it their own.”
Applebaum’s favorite part about performing is the audience reactions.
“We have a lot of fun onstage, but when the crowd is really reacting to us and they’re giving us extra motivation to play harder, that’s my favorite thing,” Applebaum said.
Ghost Funk Orchestra will be playing Friday April 28, at 10 p.m. on the Monster Energy West Main Stage.
This story was edited by Silas Bales and Emma Blakley. Nikkie Aisha and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
