To take the jump from
underground unknowns to one of the hottest up-and-coming bands seemingly
overnight can be a heavy burden to bear. For Thursday, it just presents
a wider array of people to expose to their distinct brand of emotionally
driven rock.
Hailing from New Brunswick, N.J., Thursday is comprised of guitarists
Steve Pedulla and Tom Keeley, Tucker Rule on drums, Timmy Payne
on bass and vocalist Geoff Rickly. After releasing their debut EP,
“Waiting,” the band caught the attention of Victory Records,
which released its first full-length album “Full Collapse.”
Although originally released with little attention, “Full Collapse”
went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed albums of
2001, thanks to the video “Understanding (in a car crash),”
which flooded MTV and radio stations across the country.
Such an overnight success would tear apart most bands, but Thursday’s
unique situation of being on the road when they crossed the line
into mainstream music helped the band’s members deal with their
newfound exposure.
“It’s funny, because in that short span of time we’ve
been on tour completely steadily, so we saw it happen day by day,”
Rickly said. “It would start with 20 more kids at a show, then
30 more kids, so for us we’ve kind of gotten used to it.
“It hasn’t been as frightening as it could have been.”
Thursday, now on its ninth national tour in support of “Full
Collapse,” has seen its music taken from tiny hole-in-the-wall
venues that drew a modest amount of fans to the headlining spots
in tour packages such as the Warped Tour, radio and underground
festivals all across the country and currently the headlining spot
in the Plea for Peace Take Action tour.
The tour serves as a benefit to help provide funding for the National
Hopeline Network (1-800-SUICIDE), a toll-free national hotline that
people can call when considering taking their own life.
For Rickly, being on the tour has a special meaning to him.
“Part of it for me was that the person who most got me into
hard-core, he actually took his own life a few years ago,”
Rickly said. “I think after a conversation with his mother,
it led me to believe if there had been a national suicide line at
the time, then maybe he would have had someone to talk to because
he didn’t have a long-distance plan.”
Sharing personal accounts that help to shape Thursday as people
as well as a band has been a trait that sets the band apart from
many mainstream acts. During their most recent show at Tremont Music
Hall, Rickly went on to share a story of a childhood friend who
suffered abuse at home, a story that went on to become the basis
for their song “Concealer.”
“Sometimes I start saying something and then realize halfway
through that I can’t imagine having to say what I’m saying,
but by then it’s too late,” Rickly said.
The kind of disclosure and intimacy Rickly brings to the stage stems
from the fear of Thursday becoming an automated job and the songs
losing their life.
“I had this one professor once who said that the only really
good moments in live performance are the moments when you can’t
control yourself,” Rickly said.
Their music certainly caught the eye of Island Records, to which
Thursday recently signed. For most bands, the idea of leaving an
independent label can be hard due to being lost in the proverbial
corporate machine, or even worse, losing their street credibility.
For Thursday, however, there seems to be no love lost for Victory
Records.
“It’s a hard decision,” Rickly said, “because
you know that some people are going to take it as ‘they’re
going to a major label, they’re trying to sell out.’ Ultimately,
for us Victory had all the drawbacks of a major label. They were
selling us; they were pushing us in commercials that we hated or
telling us not to take tours with bands that we love, like Converge.
They didn’t want us to do anything but tour with pop-punk bands.”
Although officially invested in the world of mainstream rock, Rickly
doesn’t seem worried about underground music dying out.
“There will always be bands that are just starting out; there
will always be clubs that are basements and illegal venues that
are doing really counter-culture music, and I think it’s only
better if you can get more people into that and get more people
involved. You can make a stronger community,” Rickly said.
For more information on Thursday, as well as
MP3 downloads, future tour dates and a tour diary, visit its Web
site at www.fullcollapse.com. |
