Breakout band: Rearview Ghost

Rock group brings raw sound to Riverfest’s stage Friday
By Patrice Stewart, Staff Writer, The Decatur Daily

Rosia Fiore worked behind the scenes to plan the 15th annual Riverfest with the Decatur Jaycees, the service organization that sponsors the festival at Ingalls Harbor.
She’ll play several roles this weekend: coordinator, volunteer and ... lead singer.
Between helping coordinate the VIP area and bands’ sound and lighting needs, she will take center stage Friday night at 7:45 to perform with the band Rearview Ghost
As a member of the Riverfest entertainment committee, Fiore helped book North Alabama bands, including her own, though they will play for free.
“We are really big on trying to work together with other bands. It’s great to have a lot of area bands help out and know that after the event’s bills are paid, the rest of the money goes to charities,” she said.
Fiore’s fiancé, Phillip “Flip” Cooper, plays bass and helps manage Rearview Ghost.
“I’ve been to Riverfest four years in a row, usually eating while volunteering because Josia put me to work, but this will be my first time to play it,” Cooper said.
Despite the possibility of passion and jealousy that hurt some partnerships, Cooper and Fiore find their relationship works within the band.
“Honestly, it’s probably the best way for me to have a relationship,” Cooper said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get out of band mode and into normal relationship mode, but we get to do everything together.”
The band also includes guitarist Craig Shadix and drummer Eddie Carpenter. Cooper, who grew up in New Hope, knew Carpenter from their teen band days.
Fiore describes herself as “the baby of the group,” because this is only her second band, while the others have been playing since they were about 15 in bands such as Bad Karma, 40 Cycle Hum and Horse.
While there have been some changes in band members, the name Rearview Ghost has stayed the same.
The current members are spread across the Valley, with Shadix in Hartselle, Carpenter in Huntsville, Cooper and Fiore in Madison and co-manager Russ Housman in Tanner, where the band rehearses. Their day jobs range from computer shipping and banking to graphic design to playing “Mr. Mom.”
After hours, however, they can be found rocking out on stage in the Valley. They’ve played at Sammy T’s, Crossroads Music Hall, The Station and Sports Page, and participated in the “Rock the Boat” event in Huntsville last year.
“Request that we play some places in Decatur next,” Fiore said.
How would you describe your music?
“We have a ’70s kind of hard rock sound. We’re not too heavy, but we don’t back off because have female vocalist,” Cooper said. “We don’t try to make it too pop; we try to stay who we are, although we do different kinds of music: blues-based, hard rock, some with a kind of pop-Southern rock feel — but we are primarily a rock-and-roll band that’s not afraid to venture off and do other things.”
Fiore describes their music as “a very raw rock sound — vintage with a modern flair.”
Cooper said he has a problem with a common trend in music today — bands sounding alike.
“We don’t try to pigeonhole ourselves with just one sound. We want to branch off and do what we feel like doing — from Motown to Metallica,” Cooper said. “If it’s good music, we don’t care what genre it is.”
How to you write your original music?
Fiore said they write most of their songs “the way we feel like writing them.”
She and Cooper, who started the band three years ago, write the lyrics, she does the melodies and harmonies, and Shadix adds some guitar riffs.
“Sometimes we’ll take three songs and combine the parts we like from each to make one song,” Fiore said.
What’s your favorite song?
“I’ve got mixed feelings on that,” Cooper said. “ ‘Open Book,’ the one we shot a video for, is our crossover song, and people who like pop rock or maybe even country will like it.”
But Cooper prefers the group’s heavier stuff, like the ’70s hard rock feel of “Fade,” which will soon be on a compilation CD put together by Valley Planet. And people who like harder rock favor “Karma Queen,” he said.
“Then there’s our blues-based song, ‘Fly,’ which isn’t completely finished yet, but I’ve had people try to buy it from me,” Cooper said.
A Nashville keyboard player who toured with Fleetwood Mac is set to play keyboard on the recording.
What was it like to shoot a music video?
“It was extremely cold and windy and a long day, and I had to sing over and over again and warm up with a bottle of whiskey,” Fiore said, “but it was a lot of fun.”
They shot the video (see it at myspace.com/rearviewghost) on the rooftops of downtown Huntsville.
How do you record your music?
“Releasing an album is a tough thing to do this day and age, but we are trying to put together a full album. We want it to be good and solid, and if it takes us a while longer because we want to write some new songs, so be it,” Cooper said.
The group has been recording along the way at Tombstone Studios in Nashville and Soundworks Studio in Decatur with Dave Pittman.
Their next recording session will be with producer Dave Anderson at Muscle Shoals Sound, where legends like the Rolling Stones, Paul Simon and Bob Seger recorded hits.
They plan to return to a more organic-sounding recording — back to reel-to-reel and tape, with fewer computers, Cooper said. They also plan to release a record on vinyl.
“You can cheat your sound with computers, and it seems like something’s missing or stripped away from the soul of the music,” Cooper said. “Dave has a modern feel for things, along with microphones and other gear from the ’60s and ’70s that I’m really excited about.”
What else are you working on?
Cooper hosts a radio show on WTAK 106.1 every Wednesday night at 10 showcasing area talent.
“If anyone has a band and a good recording, let me know, because we are trying to build a local music community, and there are a lot of talented bands around here,” he said.
Three months into it, he has played nearly 300 artists from North Alabama, and this week was dedicated to Riverfest bands. After its Riverfest gig, the band will play Oct. 3 at Whiskey’s in Huntsville.
Sound
Rearview Ghost describes its sound as ’70s hard rock — vintage with a modern flair. But bassist Flip Cooper says, “If it’s good music, we don’t care what genre it is.
Members
Craig Shadix, guitar (pictured above, at left)
Flip Cooper, bass, manager (center)
Josia Fiore, vocalist (seated)
Eddie Carpenter, drums (right)
On the net
myspace.com/rearviewghost
Want your band featured?
E-mail abrunty@decaturdaily.com for more information.
If you go
What: 15th annual Riverfest, featuring music, children’s area, raft race, barbecue contest and more, presented by Decatur Jaycees
When: Gates open at noon Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: Ingalls Harbor, 701 Market St. N.W.
Cost: Admission is free until 4 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday. Evening sessions cost $10 per person; $15 weekend passes are for sale at the Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Call 341-0301 or see www.decaturjaycees.com.

Riverfest schedule
Friday
Noon: Gates open
4-5 p.m.: Dusty & Dusty (Southern rock tunes by Dusty Winsett and Dusty French)
5-6 p.m.: Mike Roberts (Huntsville-based acoustic and rock singer/songwriter who plays with the band 5 O’Clock Charlie)
6-7:15 p.m.: Blackeyed Susan (Huntsville-based party band)
7:45-9 p.m.: Rearview Ghost (Huntsville-based modern hard rock band)
9:30-10:45 p.m.: Lynam (Birmingham-based rock band)

Saturday
10 a.m.: Gates open; raft race for canoes and kayaks
Noon-2 p.m.: cooking demonstration and book signing with Chris Lilly, author of “Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book”
3-4 p.m.: Trinity Mountain Boys (Trinity-based bluegrass, folk and country band)
4-5 p.m.: Barbecue awards ceremony
5-6 p.m.: Kosmic Mama (Huntsville-based R&B/rock/blues band)
6:30-7:30 p.m.: Black Label (Huntsville-based rock/alternative/metal band)
8-9:15 p.m.: Eyes Around (Huntsville-based rock/alternative/indie band)
9:45-11 p.m.: Bishop Black (Decatur-based Southern rock group)