Ghost Hounds

Ghost Hounds is the Pittsburgh-based blues-tinged rock band masterminded by Thomas Tull, a guitarist, songwriter, and entrepreneur who started the group around the time he struck gold with Legendary Entertainment, a production company responsible for The Hangover, The Dark Knight Rises, and Jurassic World. Once he sold his interest in Legendary Entertainment, Tull returned to music, forming a new incarnation of Ghost Hounds, recording the 2019 album Roses Are Black, and lining up opening gigs for ZZ Top, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Seger.

Tull formed the first version of Ghost Hounds while he was living in Los Angeles in the 2000s. In 2009, he completed an eponymous album with the assistance of producer Nile Rodgers, but the success of Legendary Entertainment and all that came with it forced him to put his band on the back burner; his bandmates Ty Taylor and Nalle Colt went on to a group called Vintage Trouble.

About a decade later, Tull revived the Ghost Hounds, adding a new crew of collaborators. He brought in David Grissom, a veteran of gigs with John Mellencamp and the Allman Brothers Band, and Kevin Bowe, who played with Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, to woodshed the material for a new album. The pair helped compose the songs on Roses Are Black, which was recorded with producer and engineer Vance Powell, who previously worked with the White Stripes, Arctic Monkeys, and Chris Stapleton; engineer Eddie Kramer also contributed.

Armed with an album's worth of songs, including a cover of Cliff Richard's '70s smash "Devil Woman," Tull set out to assemble a band to execute his vision. He wound up with keyboardist Joe Munroe, guitarist Johnny Baab, bassist Bennett Miller, drummer Blaise Lanzetta, and vocalist Tre' Nation. This version of Ghost Hounds cut Roses Are Black, releasing the album in on November 5, 2019, pointedly picking a Tuesday for a release — the traditional day for new releases in the U.S. prior to the 2015 global standardization of Friday New Release Day. The group supported the record's release with opening gigs for ZZ Top, Bob Seger, and the Rolling Stones.