Jukebox the Ghost

History

In 2003, Thornewill, Siegel, and Kristin met while attending George Washington University. and formed a band called "The Sunday Mail". After two years, they decided to change their name.

After they thought they had enough new material, they renamed themselves "Jukebox the Ghost". The name was a combination of words chosen democratically, with "jukebox" originating from the lyrics of a Captain Beefheart song and "ghost" as a reference to a Nabokov novel. In 2008, they released their first album, Let Live & Let Ghosts which was recorded during winter break of their senior year of college.

Jukebox the Ghost recorded a cover of Ace of Base's "Beautiful Life" for Engine Room Recordings' compilation album Guilt by Association Vol. 2, which was released in November 2008.

After releasing their debut record, they toured with Say Hi and Nightmare of You, among others. In 2009 they toured with Ben Folds, followed shortly by a tour with Jenny Owen Youngs in the United States. The band began recording their sophomore album "Everything Under the Sun" on September 29, 2009 at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut, an indie recording studio that specializes in analog recording.

In February 2010, Jukebox the Ghost toured Europe with Adam Green of The Moldy Peaches. This was followed by more touring in the United States with the bands Tally Hall and Skybox. They took another break and started playing live shows once again in late May 2010 with the band Free Energy, and once headlined as a minor band at Lollapalooza in Chicago.

September 1, 2010 marked a major milestone for the band, as they appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. Jukebox the Ghost opened for Barenaked Ladies during the fall of 2010 from October through November, and were a featured band on the Barenaked Ladies-hosted Sixthman cruise, Ships & Dip 4, in February 2011. "JTG" also was a featured band on another Sixthman Cruise "Rombello" in September 2011, and toured with Guster soon after. The band opened for Jack's Mannequin and Motion City Soundtrack in 2012.

On June 12, 2012, Jukebox the Ghost released their third album, Safe Travels. The album marked a departure from their often-fictional narratives in favor of more personal lyrics. In an interview with Jukebox the Ghost, Ben Thornewill stated that "this record has a lot of songs that are directly from our own life experience. Whether they are journalistically accurate or not, probably not, but they come from something in our lives, not something we’re imagining.”

On May 23, 2014, they released a new single, "The Great Unknown" from their self-titled fourth record, Jukebox the Ghost which was released on October 21, 2014. As of November 2014, They have announced that they will be going on tour to promote Jukebox the Ghost. They will be touring all across the U.S. in multiple different locations.

On January 21, 2015, the band announced they had signed with preeminent pop alternative label Cherrytree Records. Cherrytree Records is a subsidiary of Interscope Records. Jukebox the Ghost re-released their self-titled album in February, 2015, under their new label. This was quickly followed by the bands performance of "Postcard" on Conan's late night show on January 26. As of January 2016, they are no longer affiliated with Cherrytree Records.

On February 17, 2015, Jukebox the Ghost and label-mates Secret Someones released a cover of Walk Like an Egyptian, which became available to download soon after. The two groups toured together in the few following months, performing mainly on the east coast of the United States.

In late March 2015 the group announced a national summer tour with Ingrid Michaelson. In early April they released the music video of "Postcard".

Personnel

Additional musicians (only on Safe Travels)

Let Live and Let Ghosts (2008)

The band released its first LP on April 22, 2008. The album was recorded in North Carolina with Ted Comerford (Army of Me). Jesse Kristin suffered from "awful tendonitis" during the recording of the album.

Since its release, the album has received praise from The Washington Post and Best Week Ever. Spin stated that "Jukebox the Ghost is a refreshing reminder that the lighthearted electricity of a fantastic pop song is still filled with live wires." It featured the singles "Hold It In" and "Good Day."

Everything Under the Sun (2010)

Jukebox the Ghost's second album was released on September 7, 2010. "Empire" the first single, was released on June 1, 2010. "Schizophrenia" "Half Crazy" and "Summer Sun" followed up as singles.

Safe Travels (2012)

The band's third album was released on June 12, 2012. The album was released digitally on June 5, 2012. "Somebody", the first single, was aired on NPR on April 9, 2012, and officially released on April 17, 2012. The second single from the album, "Oh, Emily", was released April 13, 2012 on the band's website. The album has a wide variety of instruments used on it such as accordion, bass guitar, congas and a volunteer orchestra. "A La La" was released as a stand-alone digital single.

Jukebox the Ghost (2014)

Jukebox the Ghost's fourth album was released on October 21, 2014. "The Great Unknown", the first single, was released on June 23, 2014. On April 7, 2015, a deluxe version containing solo piano covers of the entire album without vocals was released. This was preceded by a new single "Postcard" and a new record label distribution deal. "Hollywood" was released as a follow-up single.

Mistletoe

The band released a holiday EP on November 30, 2010, titled Mistletoe, containing a new holiday-themed song "This Year", as well as "Mistletoe" and two acoustic covers from Everything Under the Sun, their second studio album.

I Love You Always Forever

Jukebox the Ghost released a cover EP on April 21, 2012, titled I Love You Always Forever, after the first track on the disk - their cover of Donna Lewis' “I Love You Always Forever”. They also included their version of New Order‘s “Temptation”.

The BSide Session

The band released an EP in early 2015, titled The BSide Session, containing acoustic covers of two songs from their self-titled album.

Thump Sessions

The band released an EP on March 11th, 2016 titled, "Thump Sessions", containing six acoustic covers of songs on their previous albums.

Live Albums

Long Way Home (2016)

Long Way Home, released December 2nd, 2016, Jukebox the Ghost took their self titled record on the road throughout early 2016 recording every show for an eventual live album produced by kickstarter. The live album includes many songs chosen only by the wheel of death and does not include the normal covers of "Under Pressure" and "Bicycle Race" by Queen (more than likely due to copyright issues)