ESPN.com - The Ghost Inside's Vigil roots for LA Kings

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Monday, April 29, 2013
The Ghost Inside's Vigil roots for LA Kings

By Lynn Hoppes

The perks of living in the city where the LA Kings practice. #goodtalk vine.co/v/bxuuilT9XI2
— Jonathan Vigil (@JonathanVigil) April 26, 2013

Lead singer Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside will have to rely on his computer for results of the NHL playoffs, which begin this week.

See, Vigil is a big fan of the Los Angeles Kings. And the hard-core band from Los Angeles is in Asia for the next three weeks.

"I'm obsessed," said Vigil, who helped form the band in 2004. "I'll be able to watch the games from my phone backstage at the shows. I love when kids yell out the score to me during the set. Having the Kings win on days of our shows is awesome."


	Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside has been hooked on hockey for the past eight years.

Vigil didn't start out loving hockey. Like many kids growing up in Southern California, his first love was baseball. But eight years ago, a friend had some extra hockey equipment and asked Vigil to play a recreational game. And he was hooked.
Playbook had a few minutes with Vigil to talk hockey and music.

Was it really love at first sight with you and hockey?

"Yep. I skated that first time and fell in love. It's all I think about. It's so awesome."

And it seems fans and the Kings notice your love.

"I'm not sure who runs the Kings' Twitter feed, but they sent me a message one time talking about our new record. That was pretty awesome to see that. This one time on Twitter at the Philly show, I said I'd kiss the fans if the Kings won. As I got off stage, fans told me the Kings had won! I didn't think people were checking Twitter during a show. I did kiss a few -- on the cheek."

How is your hockey playing these days?

"It kind of sucks when I'm on tour all the time. I play in several leagues throughout the area. But now I get to play only when someone can't make it. I hear people say, 'Oh, you're in town. You want to play for this one dude?' I started out in roller hockey but I then picked up those skates eight years ago. Once I played ice hockey, I couldn't go back. It was so much fun."

What's it been like being on the road?

"It's been priceless, for sure. We started out in the local scene and things have picked up for the past two to three years. We're all over the world. Europe. Australia. New Zealand. Japan. A lot of people save up their time and money to go to these places and we get to play there. And people, many of them who don't even speak English, listen to something we created. It's kind of crazy."

You seem pretty well-grounded.

"I'm all about straight edge. That means I don't do drugs or drink. That's pretty important to me. It's all about the connections at the shows. You're there with complete strangers and you create a community and you're there to have a good time. This is all I wanted to do. I get to travel the world for a living and play music. I know this is not something that happens to everybody. I've been very fortunate."