Lovers of music, magic, and mystery are in for a supernatural treat with the launch of GHOST NOTES, a deeply engaging, new documentary series that deftly fuses the mystical worlds of paranormal phenomena and music.
Believed to be the first of its kind, Ghost Notes is the collective brainchild of three self-styled, paranormal explorers: Ohio-based musician and tattoo artist Chad Wells, his wife Michelle Wells and Chad's band-mate Aarika Watson.
"I’m surprised that a documentary series like this hasn’t already happened," said Chad. "Music and the paranormal are extremely interlinked. When we feel the music, it feels like magic is happening - you get vibes and chills. The same thing happens in a spooky room or historic place."
"I’ve read interviews with Keith Richards from 1967 and he talked about how none of us really write the music. We just put up the antenna and catch what comes through. That’s an older outlook from a lot of musicians but it’s not talked about much. We want to take credit for what we have written but a lot of the time it just writes itself." Chad Wells
Music Channels of a Different Kind
Chad and Aarika are both vocalists in the Psychedelic Rock band Cricketbows and the acoustic offshoot Wells & Watson.
"As musicians on stage, it’s very tribal," explained Chad. "We create a massive electromagnetic field around ourselves with amplifiers, guitars, stage lighting. We kind of put ourselves in a box that allows for a flow-through of whatever you are opening yourself up to. That’s why we can get on a stage and play together and not have to think about theory or where it’s going. We just make it up as we go along and create fully formed songs with verses, choruses, and bridges. When we write music, we often just improvise and words come out that I wouldn’t have sat down and written myself - so that’s coming from somewhere."
Chad, Michelle, and Aarika recalled experiencing paranormal phenomena and other influences as children. When they began to share their personal stories, so began their collective experiences of undeniable paranormal activities.
"We’ve had so many strange, unexplained things happen in and around the Cricketbows band and in our personal lives," said Chad. "Michelle and Aarika would often find themselves on some little adventure in the back of a venue we were playing, or at a studio, we were recording at, and together they birthed the idea of doing a paranormal show."
Ghost Notes Sneak Peek
The Ghost Notes pilot episode introduces the show’s concept with an exploration of a reportedly haunted former speakeasy in Dayton, Ohio, uncannily attached to Chad’s business premises, Wells & Co. Custom Tattoos.
The investigation team conducts an experiment with a Spirit Box - a research device used for contacting spirits through the use of radiofrequency and white noise. It is believed that spirits can manipulate this energy to relay messages and answer questions.
"I think it (Spirit Box) allows Michelle and us to get into a place where her brain is interrupted by the white noise and puts her into a natural meditative or trance state without even trying. And there’s the sense that happens where we kind of just feel the right direction to go with the questioning. It tends to work in a way similar to automatic writing. Michelle is not hearing our questions or sensing what we are feeling. She is giving us something which is automatic. Like nature, it looks like wild chaos but as you come in, there’s order there."
The pilot episode also features Wells & Watson perform and record two songs; one is akin to a "Stream of Consciousness" improvisation based on cryptic graffiti found on the wall of the speakeasy; the other a cover of the dark, 80's closet classic "Silent Running", originally recorded by Mike + The Mechanics in 1985 (now streaming).
Incidentally, the first word the Ghost Notes team picked up on the Spirit Box was ‘success,’ which also happens to be the first word of the first song that Cricketbows played together as a band. An encouraging start to an extraordinary journey that is a clear-cut case of 'definitely meant to be'.
An Amusing Twist
"The problem with this whole thing for me is that I am 100% a skeptic," said Chad, "which is a good thing. But I can also feel myself getting swept in the drama of those moments of, ‘What was that? Was that a knock on the wall?’ I almost had a hesitance of going into this in case I was proven wrong - or proven right."
However, Chad has a completely open mind when it comes to the realm of the collective consciousness or energies that are available to everyone. "We try to feel our way and use our intuition. Even though I am a big skeptic, I was raised by a mother who was into numerology, astrology, etc so I see synchronicities everywhere, I see numeric clues everywhere, I can hear a word and it triggers my intuition. But Michelle and Aarika have it better than I do."
While many TV shows, books, and movies have conditioned us to believe that the paranormal realms are all dark, scary, dangerous places, the Ghost Notes team has had largely positive experiences with their new spirit friends and look forward to seeing where their unfolding destiny will take them. They are also respectful of the places, people and beliefs they encounter, apply safety and protection measures, and proceed with caution.
"The (Ghost Notes) show is not just for the sake of a show," said Chad. "It’s for the sake of our personal, spiritual and artistic growth. We would love to take this coast to coast and experience different places and different things. A big part of it for us is creating in those spaces. That’s why it’s important to put ourselves in new places to continue to create and explore things that are interesting and fascinating."
Coming to a Streaming Platform Near You?
The Ghost Notes team’s long-term goal is to produce a weekly series but will initially aim for twice-monthly episodes to ensure quality content. And you never know - Ghost Notes may eventually find itself on a streaming platform near you!
In the meantime, if you know of a haunted place that you would like to see investigated, the Ghost Notes team would love to hear from you: ghostnotesparanormal@gmail.com.
Watch Ghost Notes Pilot on YouTube - Ghost Notes
Follow Ghost Notes - Facebook Instagram
‘Silent Running’ - Wells & Watson - YouTube Spotify Facebook
Cricketbows - cricketbows.com Facebook Spotify
