The Total Sound Of The Undergound

Lelahel Metal

Deflecting Ghosts began as a solo project born from urgency and resilience, but evolved into a powerful full band—driven by raw emotion, personal loss, and an unshakable love for music.

1. Deflecting Ghosts began as a personal project for Luke but has since evolved into a full band. Can you walk us through how this transformation happened and what it meant for the music?

Well, this project was never meant to be my main focus. It was never meant to start. EveriKnee my last band wasn’t progressing as fast as I would’ve liked. We released a music video and another single and played one show in almost two years. I’ve invested so much time and money in this music that I couldn’t wait anymore. So, I started Deflecting Ghost as a solo project because I could release music a lot quicker and easier because I would do all the instrumentation, and I could do all the recording myself at home. I could write songs, record them and send them to get mixed, and release music. Life got in the with our previous drummer, who is my best friend of 25 years, but at this point in my life, I can’t wait any more. This is my last shot, and I need people who are as dedicated as I am and are willing to put in the work. I’m going to keep going, and I can’t let anything get away of that. So I dissolved EveriKnee, the first band. We transitioned into Deflecting Ghosts and kept moving forward. Deflecting Ghost had built a better following and had more recognition than the other group. So I just stuck with that name. A lot of the songs that we are working on are currently band songs from the previous band, and we just moved it over to this name so we can move forward with a fresh start and put out Broken to come out strong. Hopefully, it works. There are a few new songs and the song that’s Being mixed right now was a Deflecting Ghost song that ties together with Passion and Lost my Mind.

2. Your new single "Broken" is described as a turning point between denial and self-confrontation. What inspired this song, and why was now the right time to release it?

Broken road back in 2010. I had just gotten clean for the last time. I had an extreme drug addiction for over a decade and to the point of my heart stopping 5 times and I had 2 heart attacks before the age of 23. I had just gotten out of rehab at that point. I overdosed on the plane to go to rehab. I was in a coma for 11 days and got my life straight.

Then Started a band Bled Bone Dry. We were doing really well for ourselves and going places. And things just kind of fell apart, and I was having a kid and they were partying too much. When that fell apart didn’t know where I was at. Didn’t know what I was doing. Didn’t know who I was. I mean, I’d only been clean for a few months after 10 years of addiction. When I was 15 My brother died along with three of our close friends. I just went off the deep end for a while. I did drugs the entire time.

Then all The sudden I’m a dad and I have to be a functioning member of society and a responsible adult, which I knew nothing about that. I knew how to do drugs and play music. That was it. Broken is about that struggle and finally sacrificing myself to be the person I needed to be for my kids.

Broken was originally an acoustic song that I wrote. I actually forgot how to play it for a long time. It was my best work. I found a recording of it and I have been Working on it ever since. And now finally, I have it ready and Inhabe to thank my wife Rhema for her support and her pushing And with our new drummer, he was able to pick it up and just really bring the parts of this song to life.

I knew that We needed to come out strong. I thought this was the perfect song for that and I hope it does well. And I have lots of other songs that I’m working on at the moment and we’re gonna keep pushing forward.

3. How do each of your individual backgrounds—Luke's classical roots, Rhema's history of resilience, and Austin's precision—come together to shape the band’s overall sound?

I was good at the guitar when I was young. My 8-year-old self could probably outplay me today. I’m getting it back, but I believe that’s a lot of the reason for the sound of my music, plus my rock background of the 90s to 2000s. I was in metal bands with my brother when I was 13, and we played until his death when I was 15, which was my turning point from 2001 to 2009. I lost him and a dozen good friends, and I was in the car minutes before my brother and 3 friends died because I got sick. So I got out of the car. When I got with Rhema, who was my first girlfriend, I dated her right after my brother’s death, and my drug addiction separated us, and I didn’t see her for 20 years. She was kind of the driving force that made me feel like I should go for it. She even learned to play bass because I needed a bassist, and now writes the bass lines, and Broken was the first one she wrote the bass line herself. She and I have both had traumatic life-changing events that are completely different from one another, but our love for music was the same. It’s what got us both through the hell that was our life. So it’s been amazing being able to teach her and play with her. Austin always played drums with his sister, who he is married to. They opened up for my first band back in 2009. I had heard him play, but I didn’t know how well he could play. He sat behind the drums one. Night and I knew he had to be the drummer, and things were going to be different. He is amazing and brought my music to life. All of us came from completely different backgrounds, but all three of us have experienced terrible tragedies and traumatic life-changing events, but we all have one thing in common, and that is our love of music and the hope that our music could reach people in a way that helps them get through whatever it is they are going through.

4. You mention that music is about survival, truth, and connection rather than fame. How do you keep that mindset intact while navigating the pressures of the music industry?

Music is everything to me. I’ve been a homeless drug addict in Seattle and also have millions of dollars at my disposal during my first marriage to living paycheck to paycheck, barely getting by because of how much I’m investing in music at the moment. One thing I’ve learned throughout all is that you can be just as miserable having anything you want as you can when you have nothing, eating soggy spaghetti noodles just to fill your stomach. The one thing that I had no matter what and never sold or traded, no matter how bad I got, was my guitar. It came with me everywhere I went and had always been there when I needed it. It was the only thing that made me feel okay, and playing it was the only time I ever felt like I was where I belonged. I just want to make a living doing what I love because I spend around 60 plus hours a week working on music. The last thing I do at the end of the day is bounce down everything I’ve worked on so I can listen to it at work and not want to do with it by the time I get home. Everything I do revolves around music, and I just want to play whether it’s by myself or in front of 10,000 people. It is the only thing that has gotten me through this life. When I’m not playing music, I’m a zombie. I don’t know how to even act around people, or I don’t know what to do with my hands. I’m just uncomfortable in my own skin when I go extended periods without playing. Music is who I am; it’s the reason for my existence. So I’m just going to keep playing if I make a living great if not I’ll keep playing. The music industry is tough these days so I’m just going to keep doing what I love and the way I want to do it.

5. "Broken" was mixed and mastered by heavyweights like Adrian Breakspear and Maor Appelbaum. How did those collaborations come about, and what impact did they have on the final track?

I stumbled across Adrian on Submit Hub. Getting mixing notes from him for my first band’s first release, I went back to him for the next release, and then when I just started working together outside of Submit Hub, I go to him about everything I can, and he now mixes all my songs. He has even done a piano and viola song I wrote. I haven’t released it yet, but I will soon. It’s called The Haunting. I think he liked the music I wrote, and so we have been in contact since the first song almost 2 years ago. Which was shocking that this wellestablished Grammy-nominated and Aria Award-winning producer wants to work with me. I’m always negative about my stuff and never think it’s good enough, so it’s been pretty encouraging to have someone of his stature who doesn’t need to mix my music to go out of his way and has been so patient and awesome to work with. He mixed Passion of the Scorned for me, and that’s when Maor Appelbaum came across it on Instagram and was interested in doing a master for me. So when I finished Broken, I got a hold of him, and he mastered my song. I didn’t even realize who all he worked with and that he has plugins through Plugin Alliance that I owned until I already sent my track to him. I started looking up stuff about him and realized he had mastered a song for my favorite band Ice Nine Kills, who I’m going to see for the second time live this week. He also worked with Starset and Ill Nino, Sepultura, and I was shocked because this guy asked to work on one of my songs.

I record everything at home. And until this last song, I didn’t have the greatest equipment, and so some of the quality of recording wasn’t the best, so it’s cool he took a chance with me. I have upgraded all my equipment and built a vocal booth in my room that eliminates 30db and got a new amp and guitar and mics, so the tracks for Broken were good recordings, and I think it made a difference in the sound. But Adrian did awesome with Passion. They both really brought Broken to life. I sent him over 50 tracks, I think, for that song. I couldn’t have imagined it any better; it’s exactly how I heard it in my head back when I still played it on acoustic. Which I plan on releasing the acoustic version sooner than later.

6. There’s a raw emotional quality to your music. How do you manage to be so vulnerable in your songwriting while still maintaining control over the final product?

Well, first thing I do is write the music, and it will change, and I will rearrange things or add parts later. I never start the lyrics until I have the intro verse and chorus parts written. Once the music is done, I just start singing and let the music guide me. Music is my only release; it’s the only way I know how to let go of all the pain and suffering I’ve experienced throughout my life. So it’s all about how the song makes me feel, and I don’t know what is coming until it’s written. Music is the boy thing that keeps me alive, and that it’s literal. Without that release, I completely lose myself, and it’s a dark road I go down. Some songs are harder to sing than others, but I’m not ashamed of who I am or the things I’ve done because I know who I am today, and I have nothing to hide. And if my pain can help others, then I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and I’m doing it right.

7. Rhema What was it like working as a couple in a creative context, and how does your personal relationship affect the way you collaborate musically?

Rhema “Working as a couple creatively came very naturally for us. It’s a part of our relationship and who we are individually. When we write and play music together, we are communicating and continually discovering things about each other where words simply fail. I feel as if we both have freedom to express ourselves with a shared gratitude and appreciation for that freedom. Making music together has given me an outlet for anxiety , has helped me cognitively as well as boosted my self-confidence and self-esteem. After recovering from stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma (breast cancer), the treatments and surgeries left me broken , hopeless, and struggling with the lingering side effects from chemotherapy. Which included memory and concentration difficulties as well as body image issues, low self-esteem, and depression. When Luke and I reconnected, I knew he had something special musically, and I wanted people everywhere to hear his music. I believed in him and his music so much that I offered to help any way I could. That’s when he taught me to play bass. Which in turn helped me in so many ways that I never knew were even possible! It would take forever to show him how grateful I am for that, which is how long I plan to play bass and write music with him.”

8. Austin, your drumming brings a dynamic backbone to the band. How do you approach balancing technical skill with emotional expression in your playing?

Austin “Many years of playing snare drum and timpani in orchestra have helped me become more expressive. In my opinion, drums serve as a band’s dynamic leader regardless of genre. I spend a lot of time in a song through jamming and listening to recordings. When I can stop counting and internalize the sections, the dynamics really emerge on their own. Developing chemistry with Luke and Rhema has also helped determine what each song needs”

9. Your upcoming live debut at the Sunflower Festival marks a major milestone. What can audiences expect from your first full-band performance?

I think people won’t know what to expect. I think people are going to be a little shocked. They always seem surprised once I start playing and singing. This time with the chemistry we have as a group and the dynamics and the different types of songs we have. We bring back some of that 90s 2000s vibe with a little bit of a modern rock feel that people generally seem to enjoy. I’ve been compared to System of a Down to Metallica to Tool and Chris Cornell to Five Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace as well as some newer artists. Which is fine because it looks like that style of music is coming back.

10. Previous tracks like "Lost My Mind" and "Passion of the Scorned" laid the groundwork for your sound. How does "Broken" build on those earlier releases?

Broken was written long before those two, but all of those songs I wrote on my acoustic. I play differently on my acoustic, and I write songs differently. I like to write on my acoustic and electric at different times. Then everything ends up on the electric; writing songs on the acoustic gives my songs some variation. The more I release, the more people will know which songs I write on an acoustic as opposed to the electric. Broken and Passion and Lost My Mind also kind of have the same theme. Running from struggles and finally realizing it’s time to make a change before it’s too late. Passion and Lost My Mind were part of a trilogy; there are three songs. Lost My Mind was the second song, and Passion was the third. Death is Calling was the first of the three. I held onto it because I felt I should, and I’m glad I did because it’s a very powerful and fast-paced song that I think is really cool. I recorded 7 or 8 harmony tracks and synthesizers; there are 3 different main guitar parts doubletracked throughout the song that really just make it sound really cool. It’s in the process of being mixed now, and Adrian should finish it this week, and I’ll send it to Maor Appelbaum this week for mastering. I will plan on a release set around 4 to 6 weeks after Broken. I’m excited for that one too, and I think people will really like this one.

11. Many listeners resonate with your themes of pain, struggle, and self-redemption. What do you hope people take away after hearing your music?

 I hope people start to see that music is about feeling and healing, and that it’s good to feel things, and pain is a part of the process. Music is no longer real these days, and people don’t seem real, but I’m here to bring that back, bring back the feeling and emotions, and the love of music for what it is. Not to see how weird of screams you can make or how fast you can play ridiculous guitar solos or how many hands you use to play the drums. I’m here for the love of music because I feel it, I feel every beat, every chord, and every word to my very core because of what it does to my soul. The music scene has changed, and people listen to music differently, and it’s sad to me. I’m going to stay real, and people are going to have to get used to hearing it because I’m not going anywhere.

12. Looking beyond “Broken,” what’s next for Deflecting Ghosts in 2025? Any plans for an EP, album, or more live shows?

I’m hoping for a lot more shows if we can find them, and my plan is to have a new release every 6 to 8 weeks through the rest of this year until I have a full album’s worth, and then I’ll release more. Death is Calling is almost complete, and then we will start recording the next one. So keep your eyes and ear peeled because Deflecting Ghosts is here to stay, and we are going to make waves in the music scene because I plan bringing rock music back.

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