Christian Serpas and Ghost Town have reached two big milestones as one of the Gulf South’s most prolific country-rock bands. After decades of gigging hard – including sharing the stage with some of the biggest names in country music – they’ve hit the 25-year mark as a band, a rarity in music that speaks to a track record of success. Longevity means something.
What’s more, the band recently learned—while performing at the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans this spring—that they were being inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
“I was thrilled to hear about it,” explained frontman and acoustic guitarist Christian Serpas. “It makes us think back on everything that has happened.”
Serpas said the concurrent induction and 25th anniversary gave rise to nostalgia trips. The bandmates looked back over years of creating their version of country rock and sharing it during 2,000+ live performances at festivals, clubs, casinos and major music venues across the Gulf South. Based in Mandeville, Louisiana, Christian Serpas and Ghost Town have opened for/shared stages with Kenny Chesney, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Montgomery Gentry, Blake Shelton, Zac Brown Band, and “nearly 100 other national artists.” They’ve received numerous awards from local and regional organizations and publications and have done dozens of television and radio appearances.
When receiving the award, Serpas said it brought back a flood of memories. He’d shared many great times with bandmates Jeff Oteri (drums, vocals), George Neyrey (guitar, vocals), and Don Williams (bass guitar, vocals).
“We thought back on all the great people we’ve met, all the shows we’ve been a part of,” he said.
Described once as playing “twangified rock ‘n’ roll,” Serpas and the band have willingly adopted this descriptor. Their music is part Elvis, part pure country, part rockabilly and part Southern rock. It’s uniquely Ghost Town. And as an energetic lead man, with his vintage-style shirts and towering stature, Serpas does a good job of keeping the retro vibe alive.
“I collect Elvis records,” he explained in a not-at-all unexpected confession. He likes the music and still loves the older music format of vinyl records. It’s tangible. It brings back memories. “I like the smell of the old records and to look at the artwork on them…I like the hunt. I like to go in a store and flip through the records.”
His passion for music began in childhood.
“The soundtrack in our house was…my mom listened to Elvis, and my dad listened to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.”
Soon, Serpas branched out into listening to all sorts of country – including Hank Williams Jr. and Sr., and Johnny Cash – and then into rock legends such as Led Zeppelin and The Ramones.
“I always liked guitar-based stuff, but it all started with Elvis,” he said.
There was room for all these influences to coexist when Serpas started Ghost Town.
“‘Folsom Prison’ was the first song we ever played when we got together,” Serpas reminisced, “and we still play it.”
Serpas recalls his thoughts when he formed the group. His goals seemed big at the time, but they have now been surpassed many times over.
“If I could just get a CD, I could put on my shelf among my CD collection, that would be so great,” Serpas had hoped long ago. “And now, we’ve got nine of them!”
In the beginning, Serpas said his two major influences were Dwight Yoakam and The Derailers. He could never have dreamed that his band would soon be near them in a shared space.
“Within about three years,” Serpas said, “we were opening for Dwight Yoakam and were in Austin playing with The Derailers.”
Serpas willingly admits that part of their success in the biz was due to timing. They broke onto the scene in 1999 when the surge of 90s-era interest in the country was still afire. The big names toured widely to packed stadiums and festivals, and Serpas and the guys were a hot commodity during that heyday. They still perform full-band shows and many scaled-down duo shows. They’ve pulled back some and become more selective in recent years.
“The band now just plays festivals and special events,” Serpas said. He’s recently focused on the duo shows in restaurants and other venues in south Louisiana and South Mississippi. Nightclubs are no longer appealing, however, due to the late-night hours.
Serpas said the biggest payoff over the years of being road warriors is the little moments of true awareness.
“There are little transcendent moments you hit every once in a while onstage,” Serpas said. “I remember a House of Blues show. The floor was packed, and the balcony was packed. As we were playing, I said to myself: Take this in. Remember this.”
Another instance was when he opened for Merle Haggard. Serpas said they came offstage worn out and sweating from playing hard. They’d been told not to interact much with Haggard, so they were surprised when he walked over after their set.
“Hey boys, I really liked what y’all did,” Haggard said.
“When I grasped his hand,” Serpas recalls, “I thought, ‘You’re shaking Merle Haggard’s hand; do NOT forget this.'
And of course…he hasn’t.
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