After nearly 16 years of writing, recording, and touring, Chasing Ghosts have confirmed that they’re embarking on an indefinite hiatus.
The news was confirmed today (5 May). The Melbourne/Naarm-based First Nations-led indie punk band sent an email to subscribers, seen by The Music, detailing their decision to go on hiatus. They also looked back on their career in a new interview with Wall of Sound.
In the email to fans, the band’s frontman, proud Thungutti man singer and songwriter Jimmy Kyle, explained that the decision to end Chasing Ghosts indefinitely is a “personal one,” as he and bandmates Benny Clark and Josh Burgan are fathers and therefore, their priorities have changed.
“I started Chasing Ghosts before I even owned a guitar,” Kyle’s statement began.
“I borrowed my dad’s just to write those first songs that became Confessions From a Phone Booth nearly 16 years ago. Since then, this project has taken me further than I ever imagined-across Australia more times than I can count, to New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the UK.”
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Kyle added that, across his career, he had the privilege of working alongside industry figures such as “Andy Beck on Confessions From a Phone Booth, Andrew Neufeld [of Comeback Kid fame] on I Am Jimmy Kyle, as well as Lincoln LeFevre on Homelands and Stevie Knight on our most recent record, Therapy.”
He expressed his gratitude to all who have contributed to the band’s ever-evolving sound and strong spirit, thanked the teams at Cole Clark and Fender for their support, and turned to fans to thank them, too. “Murrungbu! Murrungbu!” he wrote.
Kyle continued, “From myself and all the guys: thank you for showing up, for sticking with us through the highs and lows, for believing in what we were doing, and for finding something meaningful in the music. You helped turn this into more than just a band-you made it a community.
“Thank you for every time you came up to say hello, introduced yourself, or shared your story with me: it’s been my privilege to hear them. When this all started, I had no idea how far it could go, and that’s because of you.”
Discussing the personal nature behind the band’s hiatus, Kyle wrote, “The reason this chapter is coming to a close is a personal one. It’s time for me to be the father my son needs me to be. Our drummer Benny deserves that same opportunity, and Josh is already doing an incredible job balancing life with his two beautiful girls. Family has to come first.
“So, with that, Chasing Ghosts will be going on an indefinite hiatus.”
However sad the news is, Chasing Ghosts will be bidding farewell to their fans with two intimate final shows. The band’s last interstate gig will take place at Sydney’s Darling Nikki’s on Friday, 15 May, while their final-ever show, a hometown one, will happen at Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club on Friday, 26 June.
Tickets to both shows are now available – find tickets to the Sydney show here and the Melbourne show here.
“These will be incredibly special nights, and we’d love for you to be there with us one last time,” Kyle wrote.
Any remaining merchandise that’s online will be the last stock the band prints, so order whatever you’ve been looking at now.
Kyle concluded, “Once again, thank you: for everything. For the years, the energy, the belief, and the connection. It’s meant more than I can ever properly put into words.
“With respect and gratitude,
“Balu,
“Jimmy Kyle.”
Chasing Ghosts’ third and most recent album, Therapy, arguably one of the band’s most accomplished works to date, was released last May. The album is bold and confident, and it can easily sit alongside some of the great punk albums in music history.
