Getting It All Out
Thursday Give a Lesson in Catharsis

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>> Thursday's Geoff Rickly delivers in LA. >>

>> Los Angeles, September 9, 2003 >> “We want to send this one out to our friends at Island Records,” singer Geoff Rickly told the capacity crowd at LA’s landmark El Rey theatre.

The look on many of the faces in the crowd was memorable, much like the rest of the evening; would Rickly take a shot at his band’s newfound benefactors?   Was this going to be a shot at an industry gone amuck?  That seemed to be what most of the fans expected.

“We want to thank them for giving us the time and support to make the record we wanted to make,” Rickey continued.  “Thank you.”

Not what we’ve come to expect from artists these days.

But this wasn’t your normal LA Tuesday night.  This was far more about substance rather than show, the scene rather than being seen.  Instead of a room full of industry people watching their cell phones, this was a packed house of true fans, hungry for new music from one the underground’s best ‘new’ bands, Thursday.

>> Rickly gets out there with the fans. >>

Their last full-length, Full Collapse, hit like a tidal wave on the emo-core landscape, with anyone who took the time to listen immediately recognizing the impact it would eventually make.  Though Full Collapse never caught the attention of mainstream rock radio or media, it, along with relentless touring and a breathtaking live show, placed Thursday firmly in the minds and mini-discs of fans nationwide.

When the eventual happened and Thursday signed to Island Records, it inevitably spawned the requisite questions about compromise and catering to mainstream radio.  This Tuesday, a week before the release of their major-label debut, War All The Time, answered those questions and more.  Working new tracks in seamlessly with the old, Thursday didn’t look or sound like a group that had been off the road for a considerable amount of time, this being only their second show in support of the new record.

>> Thursday Rocking the El Rey. >>

Most of the fans in attendance had apparently heard War All The Time, nearly in it’s entirety, via the Internet.  They knew the words, screaming and singing right along with Rickly.  Stunning in their intensity, new tracks like “For The Workforce, Drowning” - which also appears on the upcoming Take Action! 3 compilation – and the first single, “Signals Over The Air” left an indelible mark on the crowd.  Equally impressive was “Understanding In A Car Crash” from Full Collapse, the track that put Thursday on the radar.

With local punk luminaries such as The Vandals singer Dave Quackenbush in attendance, Thursday showed little, if any, uncertainty in their live set.   With guitarists Steve Pedulla and Tom Keeley creating dynamic, cascading melodies supported by the tight rhythms of bassist Tim Payne and drummer Tucker Rule, Rickly, whose voice often recalls The Cure’s Robert Smith, roams free with lyrics that question today’s standards and challenge the listener to rethink their motives.

>> Thursday's Geoff Rickly let's it out. >>

Now that they’ve cracked radio and music television with “Signals Over The Air,” without compromising their collective integrity, Thursday are well on their way to stardom, though it will be on their own terms.  In between the El Rey show and a sold-out show the following night in Pomona, CA, we spent some time with guitarist Tom Keeley, nearly two years after we spoke with him the first time, to find out how far Thursday have come.

VOX: So, one week until the new record comes out – what’s the mood in the band as the release approaches?  Are you nervous?  Excited?
Tom Keeley: Both, really…I’m completely excited to finally get it out there, and I suppose there’s some nervousness that goes with that.   At the same time, I’m a bit over it – I need it to come out.  The anticipation is almost unbearable.

VOX: Is some of it based on how the fans will receive it?
Tom: Sure, I guess.  I know there’s some concern about whether we’ll sell out, now that we’re on a major label, but it’s a non-issue as far as I’m concerned…I understand why it’s an issue for some, but you know, the record’s out there on the ‘Net, so they know what’s coming.  I’m not worried about it in that regard.  For me, it’s just been so long since we released anything that it’ll be nice to have it out there, play the songs and see what happens.  I was psyched when we played our first show  - I mean, to me, I just want the chance to hopefully make someone feel as passionately as I remember feeling about the bands I saw.  I know how those bands made me feel, and that’s what I want to do.  I love nostalgia, and that feeling, seeing someone out there who is singing along, feeling the passion, and remembering how that felt for me…there’s nothing else like it.

>> A Relaxed Moment Behind the Glass House in Pomona, CA. >>

VOX: Are you guys back into a comfort level with the live show?  Is everything rolling along like you’d expected?
Tom: I don’t know…I think we’ll need about three more shows to tell.  The first show, in San Francisco, there were a lot of bugs, and everything felt a little foreign. It’s just from a period of being off the road for so long.  We had come to the end of the Full Collapse tour cycle…
VOX: Well, you guys sounded great last night.
Tom: Thanks, that was a good show, especially with it being only the second night out. It’s like that; the first week it’s one night off then one on, then maybe two on and one off night.  Then, after about a week, everything is back where you expect to be.

VOX: Other than the obvious, how is War All The Time different from Full Collapse?
Tom: The making of the record was a lot more chaotic, that’s for sure.  With Full Collapse, it...wasn’t easy, but I think we figured out things pretty quickly and had sort of an idea of what was going to be going on.  With this record, we had a lot more time, but we seemed to have a lot more disorganization, and a lot more…friction, I guess.  I mean, we had loads of ideas coming in from everywhere, and when you spend 14 hours a day in a practice space…not every day, but some days it was that long.
VOX: Was any of it dictated by the label or did you guys take on any pressure, knowing that you needed something for the label?
Tom: Absolutely not.  This is the first major-label deal we have, so I really don’t have a frame of reference, but we would only have considered doing it if we did it on our own terms.  We had to maintain full control, full creative control, of what we were doing.  The only difference here is that hopefully more people will get to hear what we do.
VOX: So it’s really about the distribution channel?
Tom: Yes, basically.  We have our own standards to live up to, that we set for ourselves, and we knew then that the next record we made had to sound the same, regardless of what label we were on.  I think the results would have been the same.  It was just tougher this time, getting back into the swing of writing and putting songs together.  We knew that some of the songs we were working on would never make it to the record and some were gone pretty quickly.  I think we’re pretty neurotic anyway, so we weren’t going to put anything but the best we possibly could out there.

>> Rickly brought the crowd to their knees as well. >>

VOX: The first single is “Signals Over The Air.”   It’s got to feel great that you’re actually getting airplay from West Coast rock radio, especially because it’s really in response to demand from listeners.
Tom: It’s amazing, especially because it was never an option before.  We weren’t even on the map before.  I think basically it’s come from the video getting some play, which is really odd because we made the video for like a thousand bucks or something like that.  I don’t know what to call mainstream radio anymore, and I can’t figure out why they embraced it, but I guess they have.
VOX: Can you tell me about the song?
Tom: I really don’t want to paraphrase Geoff on this, but I have talked to him about it, and what I get from it is that it’s mostly about gender identities and sexual identities, and how alienating they can be for some people.  I know that some of the things were alienating for me.  For men, it’s like, you have The Man Show, and Howard Stern or whatever, and you’ve gotta want to drink a beer and watch sports and objectify women in order to be a ‘real man.’  Sex is something you’re supposed to take from a woman, not something you share.  For women, you’ve got the fashion magazines and stuff like that, and none of that is based in nature or what you’ll find naturally out there.  I guess, I mean, we don’t fit in with the archetype for men or follow all the rules.  We’re definitely not all in the typical rock star mold…
VOX: I did notice that while everyone has their tattoos nowadays, I didn’t see any on you guys.
Tom: I don’t have any.  Tucker has two little ones, and Geoff has one small one…Tim has a couple, but he doesn’t show them off.  It’s weird, I was thinking about this the other day – at one point, Geoff and I dyed our hair black, and I was thinking, why did I?  Why make such an effort to appear a certain way when I’m not that?  This has nothing to do with who I am, you know?   With the tattoo thing, styles can be what people latch on to, instead of what you’re creating.  What you’re creating almost becomes secondary.  It becomes more about the style than the substance, and I’ve always shied away from that, and I think we all have.

VOX: On your website, you guys offer up some recommended reading and viewing – are you guys all avid readers?  Is it the sort of thing where one of you comes across a great book and you all end up reading it?
Tom: Geoff is an avid, avid reader.  Andrew is as well.   Steve and I are a bit more of casual readers.  When I sit down to read, especially on the tour bus, I get through the first couple of pages and then I’m ready to move on to something else.  When I do find a book that I’m really into, I tend to read it a few times.

VOX: You’ve been put, for better or worse, in the ‘Emotional Hardcore’ category, which really has found a bigger scene and seen plenty of development.  How do you guys view yourselves, and what are you listening to?  Hall and Oates?
Tom: Yeah, totally.  It was one of my first experiences with music, and as I said I’m a sucker for nostalgia, so it’s more for fun than anything.

>> Geoff kept the fans pumped. >>

The whole ‘emo’ thing is weird to me – it’s sort of the conversation of conversations.  Is it real?  Is it not real? Do we want to be called that?  At some point you realize it has less to do about what we want to do than what we do.  I understand where it comes from, but it really is just a form of convenience…a category to get put in.  I used to think it was derogatory, but now I don’t really care.  Then you hear stuff like ‘screamo’ and I think, how stupid – does this mean that band is more emotional than these other bands because they scream?  Does screaming make your music more emotional?

I remember when I first heard the term, about seven years ago, before it was a journalistic phrase, and I took it in a very tongue-in-cheek way.  It may be one of the elements of the music, but it’s not the whole thing.  It’s one of those things I don’t get.  I’ve read some of the postings on our message board, and a few of the people who have heard the new record are saying, “There’s not enough screaming!”  I guess I don’t get it.  Is there a certain amount that has to be there?  Are you listening to what’s there or is it just a desire for white noise?

VOX: Thursday has averaged about one release of some sort every year for the last four – should we expect a new record next year?
Tom: I guess you’re right…hmm…probably not.  Most likely not this time.  We toured for two years on Full Collapse, so it may be a while.  I thought War All The Time would have come out last year, but it didn’t.  We did get a lot out on this record.  Every time you do a record you sort of cleanse yourself and get it all out.  We’re not the sort of band that can force it.  You have to wait for it to come to you.

VOX: This is obviously a very critical time in your musical careers – what’s your ultimate hope for this record?
VOX: Let’s see…there’s so many.  I hope people who listen to it, who’ve been part of our family of fans before, will stay with us, and feel like they’ve had an honest exchange with us.  For some people who are hearing us for the first time, I hope they’ll join the family.  I hope that they’ll experience some of things I went through when I first came upon punk and realized there was music I could relate to.  It’s all about helping someone have the same feelings I had back then, hopefully.  With the state of affairs in music today, it’s possible.  Two years ago there weren’t bands like us on the radio.  Now there’s that chance that maybe someone who is stuck somewhere, listening to the radio, maybe in between two songs they can’t relate to, they’ll hear ours and be able to feel like there’s something there they can identify with.

And if not, maybe they’ll say, “What’s up with these guys?”  And maybe they’ll find out.