Dialup Ghost is a Punk, Rock, and self-described “Country-ish” band that has been making records that blur genre lines to create a unique sound in the Nashville music scene. Their new record, “May You Live Forever in Cowboy Heaven,” released in October of 2024, showcases their love of indie rock balladry, the slacker rock heroes of the 90s, and the many other artists they namecheck directly in their lyrics and on the inside cover of their CD.
I was fortunate to meet with the Lead Singer and Songwriter of Dialup Ghost, Russell Finn, at Living Waters Brewery recently to talk about the new record, the band’s writing process and, of course, Russ’ favorite bands.
One of the things I’ve learned from other interactions with Russ around Nashville is that, at some point in any conversation with him, you will often hear the exclamation, “You don’t know (insert artist here)?” You will then receive a thorough history lesson on the unknown artist. By the end of the conversation, you will have five or six new bands to check out, and they will all be incredible.
I opened our conversation at Living Waters by asking Russ about his experience with the Church. He was raised by a Catholic mother and attended a Southern Baptist Church in a small town outside Evansville, Indiana. The image he describes is familiar to those raised in the church. It includes the weekly rigor of attending Youth Group on Wednesday and Sunday School flowing into the Main Service on Sunday.
Russ also spoke about formative negative experiences related to church life, starting with the guilt he felt from the threats of sin and hell. “I think I totally have Catholic guilt,” he said. “My mom was very much like, ‘If you commit a sin, any sin small or big, and then if you were to die without asking for forgiveness, you go to hell.’”
This sense of fear culminated in Russ leaving the church in his early 20s after a college-age leader told him he was not a Christian because he supported LGBTQ+ rights. For Russ, this was an easy decision.
He told the leader, “Fine. Like, if that’s what you say, if that’s what it takes to be a Christian, then fine, I’m not a Christian.”
He then qualified this by paraphrasing one of his favorite moments from “Huckleberry Finn,” in which Huck is faced with whether to risk his own life helping his friend Jim escape slavery or complying with authorities and return to Jim to a life of enslavement. Huck decides at that moment to help Jim no matter what.
In response to a leaflet that claims he will go to hell for aiding and abetting a runaway, he said, “All right then. I’ll go to hell.”
This ethic seeped into every answer Russ gave: loving and supporting his friends and their marginalized communities is more important than abiding by a cruel system that dehumanizes them. He said, “I surround myself with those people who are, I guess, the underdogs in this cruel world, and I feel the need to just stick up for them.”
This ethos can be found in all of Dialup Ghost’s music. I asked Russ specifically about one of my favorite songs of theirs, “Transphobes and Fascists Hate Our Guts (So What?),” in which the band sings very bluntly,
“Transphobes and fascists hate all our guts
For what? For what? For what?
Janey and Lilly are sisters to me
You fuck with them, you fuck with me.”
When I asked about this song and why he wrote it, Russ replied with a level of bluntness I found admirable: “I directly call out specific politicians and right-wing influencers, and that’s because they have rhetoric that says my friends are bad people, but I know my friends personally, and they’re not bad people.”
Over the course of our conversation, Russ often boiled down these tense political questions to their simplest essence. For him, the starting point is that the world demonizes his loved ones.
In response, he will do whatever he can to protect them and proclaim their dignity and worth through Dialup Ghost’s music. This idea permeates their new record, “May You Live Forever in Cowboy Heaven,” which focuses on rejoicing and holding those you love close.
The song “Small Deck” imagines a scenario where Russ invites his friends over to help replace the deck in his backyard and pass the afternoon together. The song “Disc Golfing” lovingly tells the story of a great day out on the greens with friends. Everyone should hear the joy radiating from the speakers as Russ yells, “DISCCCC GOLFINGGGGG,” in the chorus as Jordan’s lead guitar line slices through the mix.
In Dialup Ghost’s music, these moments of joy are hard-earned, not idyllic oases separate from the political landscape we live in. They are made possible because of the perseverance and support the band has for one another during these hard times.
The priority of love over everything creates community and genuine care and understanding among the people we are called to serve. Maybe that’s why it rings so true when, on the album’s final track, the entire band sings in unison, “You will live forever in Heaven.”
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Samuel Shepley is currently a junior at the University of Belmont. He is double majoring in English and Faith and Social Justice.
