Black Gold Perform Live on the Interface

Black Gold drummer Than Luu channels the ghosts of past musicians each time he hits that snare drum on his kit. That is because the snare drum in question dates back to the '40s, a reflection of his and Black Gold keyboardist/singer Eric Ronick's affinity for vintage gear.

"It's been through a lot of stories," Luu told Spinner during the band's Interface performance in our New York studio. "Dudes and maybe ladies who've played that snare drum are dead. The ghosts and their voodoo are in that snare drum. I believe that they are in those instruments, and that inspires the performance and the songwriting."

The use of instruments from the past to create a contemporary sound could possibly be one of the contrasts that define this Brooklyn, N.Y. band. "We like the idea of contrasts," Luu said. "Really, really dark, sometimes lyrically ... contrast it with a shimmery, brighter sort of production."

While the music from their latest album, 'Rush,' carries somewhat of an indie rock vibe, it also has strong melodic pop. "I really feel like when we write," said Ronick, "it's about getting in touch with what sounds right to us. Driving a song via melody is an essential thing for us that these days we don't really share with a lot of other bands."

"We're into the songwriters," added Luu. "Everything from the Brill Building people to the Beatles."

The members of Black Gold had previously logged time with other acts: Ronick has toured with Ambulance LTD and Panic at the Disco, and Luu has played for M. Ward, Rachael Yamagata and Tricky. Ronick and Luu had known each other briefly, but it was performing together after Ambulance LTD's sound check on 'The Craig Kilborn Show' that they shared some musical chemistry.

"Than just jumped on the drum kit," recalled Ronick, "and said, 'Hey why not just jam a little bit?' We did and that was kind of our first jam session. It went well and it was great from the start and so we just kept it going from there."

Music aside, they have also made some web video cultural guides that include Mexican food and vintage gear. The two have been discussing ideas for future segments.

"We we're talking about a guide to vintage T-shirt thrift shopping," said Luu. "We were hoping to do a guide to New York [or] Chinatown, to maybe some veggie restaurants."

"I wanna do a guide to New York ping-pong halls," Ronick said. "I like to frequent those."

"Rock the inner nerd man," Luu added.

"I love ping-pong," said Ronick. "It's a great game."