Tobias Forge, the brainiac behind GHOST, just spilled the beans in a chat with Riff X‘s “Metal XS” about why their 2025 world tour is going full “Amish mode” with Yondr phone-lock pouches. When asked if their device-free film shoot for “Rite Here Rite Now” at LA’s Kia Forum last year inspired the move, he didn’t hold back: “Yeah, totally. Look, I’ve been feeling like we’re all stuck in some dystopian TikTok scrollathon during shows lately. It’s like trying to have a romantic dinner while your date live-streams their pasta. I’m over here pouring my spooky heart out, and half the crowd’s filming me like I’m a cryptid on Discovery Channel.”
(Fun fact: Forge once claimed his height was stunted by smoking too young. Guess those 17 years of cigs left him vertically challenged but theatrically gigantic.)
He doubled down: “At those LA shows? Magic. People actually looked at us. Wild concept, right? It’s like when your dog finally notices you’re home. Suddenly, we’re all vibing like it’s 1999—pre-smartphone apocalypse. Even my teenage daughter thought this idea would bomb harder than a GHOST album at a gospel convention. Joke’s on her—tickets are selling faster than Satan at a Black Mass.”
As for the 2025 stage spectacle? Forge played it coy: “Can’t spoil the surprises, but imagine our usual satanic pageantry meets Cirque du Soleil on a budget. Oh, and no, this isn’t about stopping leaks—we’ll flood your feeds ourselves. It’s about y’all remembering how to clap with hands, not just screenshot thumbs.”
For the uninitiated, Yondr pouches lock your phone with a fancy magnet—think Hannibal Lecter’s mask for iPhones. Graham Dugoni, Yondr’s founder, basically invented adult time-out corners for tech addicts. Artists from Jack White (who probably stores vintage amps in his pouch) to Alicia Keys (piano fingers need no selfies) swear by it.
Forge isn’t alone in his phone rage. SLIPKNOT’s Corey Taylor once ranted, “Why film the whole show? You’ll never watch that potato-quality clip!” Meanwhile, Sebastian Bach—yes, the guy who played a rocker on Gilmore Girls—yells at crowds like a metal dad: “PUT THAT PHONE AWAY OR NO DESSERT!” Even Bruce Dickinson of IRON MAIDEN (who flies planes for fun) once called a texting fan a “wanker” mid-concert. Classy.
And let’s not forget GUNS N’ ROSES’ 2016 reunion show—phone-free chaos that made Duff
