Gray Ghosts formed from the ashes of Kite Flying Society and Down with Leo.
“We've got eight songs done, with about three to four more in the half-formed stage,” said frontman Dustin Illingworth in late 2008, as the band recorded at Black Box Studio.
The Gray Ghosts lineup: Illingworth (Kite Flying Society) on vocals and guitar, Frank Green on lead guitar and vocals (Down With Leo), Kevin Gossett on bass (the Ex-Friends), Kelly Duley (Kite Flying Society) on keys and violin, Matt Bennett on drums (The Bloody Hollies), Brian Dahl on drums, and Melanie Gilbert on vocals and keys.
The band split in early 2010. Drummer Brian Dahl joined Little Deadmen in 2011, and Illingworth relocated to Orange County, where he ended up splitting his residence with stints in San Diego.
Illingworth formed a new band called Tide Pools, whose debut full-length Grief is a Wilderness (2013) was inspired by and dedicated to Illingworth's late girlfriend Amy Cole, who accidentally drowned in the bathtub in 2010.