Theatric rockers Ghost are gearing up for a world tour that kicks off April 15 in the United Kingdom before traveling across Europe and eventually North America. The band will be touring in support of a new album, “Skeletá,” which is set for an April 25 release.
Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge recently did an interview with Planet Rock and explained the reasoning behind the decision to make the tour a “phone-free experience.” Guests will keep possession of their phone, but they will be secured in Yondr pouches which only unlock once they leave a designated no-cell phone zone. The pouch can also be unlocked at specific stations inside each venue.
“I really wanna underline that the ban has nothing to do with, let’s say, copyright control,” Forge explained. “It’s not that we wanna sit on all the material and we don’t want anybody to monetize videos; it has nothing to do with that.”
Forge referenced the band’s feature film debut, “Rite Here Rite Now,” which was filmed over two nights in 2023 in Los Angeles. “The ‘Rite Here Rite Now’, the film, the essence of messaging in that film was exactly that, but also I, but us collectively, working, making that film… We filmed two shows in L.A. in front of audiences where they had to put their phones into pockets,” he said. “You don’t give it away. You have your phone; you don’t have to worry about that. If you need to call, you can go out. If you need to take a photo, you can take a photo of yourself out in the lobby; that’s fine. But what ended up happening was that we had such an engaged crowd that seemed joyous in a way that… I had to go back years and in time since I last saw a fully engaged crowd where everybody’s actually watching. They don’t have to watch me, but they’re watching the band.”
Forge continued: “I don’t wanna turn this into an ageist thing where I’m gonna tell 14-year-olds everything was better back then. But I swear that the experience of shows and the making of memories, the making of magic, was much more powerful. Some of the best shows I’ve ever been to, I have maybe not even seen a picture from that because they all live here [in my head]. They live in my core. That’s the memory I have of that. And that is an experience I wish for… Obviously, the part of our crowd that are older and more aware, maybe this becomes a little bit nostalgic then. But I really believe that the younger portion of our crowd will, as they did in L.A., come out saying, like, ‘That was not only a great concert; that was also an overwhelming experience.’ Because I do believe that you will feel that.”
Several musicians including Jack White and Alicia Keys along with comedians Dave Chappelle and Jerrod Carmichael have all used the Yondr pouches in an effort to either get audiences more focused or to protect their material.
Forge’s full interview can be viewed below.
