Holy Ghost! Learn Live Lessons From LCD Soundsystem

After playing seven shows in a row, including a four-night stint in their hometown of New York, lifelong friends and bandmates Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser of Holy Ghost! are exhausted. Millhiser compares their touring experience to the first day of school, as it's the first time Holy Ghost! have fervently toured as a live band.

Frankel and Millhiser are protégés of James Murphy, frontman of LCD Soundsystem, and have been a part of the DFA Records family since 2004, when Murphy produced the one and only record from their now-defunct rap sextet, Automato. In 2007, the guys formed Holy Ghost! as a duo and released the 12-inch Italo-disco-inspired single 'Hold On' to minor acclaim and ended up playing DJ sets all over the world. This month, they finally released 'Static on the Wire,' their first EP for DFA, featuring four club anthems, including the infectious 'I Will Come Back.' In a stroke of luck, Murphy and company have taken them under their wings.

"We did some touring with Automato but nothing on this scale," Frankel tells Spinner. "And LCD, having every one of them individually to help us out both on stage and off the stage, getting pointers on monitor mixers and 'No, you idiot, put your pants in the bunk this way,' as an opening band, it's rare to get that kind of support we're getting from them."

The group's live setup includes Millhiser on the drums and Frankel on synths and vocals with two additional touring members fleshing out the sound. The guys are almost finished with their debut full-length, which they hope to release by the end of the year. Citing an array of influences ranging from Talking Heads to Jay-Z to Canadian disco producer Gino Soccio, the record will be a fusion of pop songs. Besides working on their own material, Holy Ghost! have recorded prominent remixes for Phoenix, MGMT and recently did one for LCD's 'Drunk Girls,' giving the tune a dancier sheen.

When discussing the Google challenges of their name, Frankel says, "My dad is like, 'Figure out a way to make it easier for Google. You're shooting yourself in the leg by having this name.'" Naturally, the Wikipedia page for the religious Holy Ghost is the first hit in the search engine followed by their pages. "We're second to God himself," Millhiser jokes.

The band will be busy touring with Chromeo later in the summer, playing a few European fests and eventually stopping in Australia. For Frankel and Millhiser, long gone are the days of doing transcription work for an Al Roker Food Network program, one of their previous day jobs. "When we started and were getting the idea of putting out a 12-inch on DFA, that was next level," Frankel says. "And now three years later to go on tour with James, it's way past our expectations."

So what's in store for Holy Ghost!'s future? "We'll be back transcribing soon," Frankel quips.