COURTESY OF DAN MONICK
Up-and-coming band Thrice, made up of Teppei Teranishi, left, Ed Breckinridge, his brother Riley and Dustin Kensrue.
Caught in
headlights
In making the jump to the big leagues, Thrice drummer Riley Breckinridge admits there's still a bit of a "deer-in-the-headlights" feeling, what with all the media attention the band's been getting of late.
The Orange County, Calif., band that specializes in what an Alternative Press profile called "aggro rock with both might and meaning" has broken out of the SoCal indie scene with big expectations from their new vantage point as part of the corporate Island Def Jam Music Group.
A SoCal band gets wide scrutiny
Thrice with local opening band Push the PedalWhere: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St.
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: $16.50
Call: 589-1999
Thrice's major label debut from last year, "The Artist in the Ambulance," has already fostered two video/focus tracks in "all that's left" (with its screamworthy chorus verse of "we are the dead") and the just-released "stare at the sun" ("and I won't close my eyes/ 'til I understand or go blind"). They're just two of the 12 short, bracing songs on the album, an impressive effort featuring the Breckinridge brothers (Riley and bassist Ed), guitarist Teppei Teranishi and the intense vocalizing of Dustin Kensrue.
The band started in the summer of 1998 in Irvine, Calif., and over the years, has garnered a devoted following that includes both metalheads and emocore enthusiasts.
But with Sunday's Honolulu concert, and subsequent trips over to Japan and Australia, a five-week tour of Europe, and a headlining U.S. tour, the members of Thrice will feel even more closely scrutinized.
"That deer-in-headlights feeling is one I totally understand," Breckinridge said. "We started this band as just something to do -- we weren't working or in school at the time. But it's just been growing and growing, along with the demand for our time. But we're just taking things as they come, although I think we have to change our goals, since they've always been rather modest and short-term."
While Thrice is his brother's first band, Breckinridge has a background in high school and college-age groups. When asked if the Breckinridge family was particularly musical, he answered "my dad is a huge jazz fan, mom plays the piano and my grandfather was a really good piano player. Ed started playing guitar, but switched to bass with this band. I was actually was an athlete in high school, but got hurt in my senior year when I was playing baseball. I had to find another thing before I got bored to death, so drums were my out."
HE SAID the band plans to play a good amount of the new album in concert, including the opening track "cold cash and colder hearts." "It's one of my favorites and I think one of the best songs we've ever written. It shows that our music has a pretty good dynamic, really aggressive and mellow parts and Dustin shows off his vocal range, going from falsetto to screaming. He's been blessed with a pretty resilient voice and he knows how to take care of himself on the road."
The guys in Thrice come off as a pretty thoughtful lot. The title of "The Artist in the Ambulance" comes from cult underground author Al Burian, who's made his name as the editor of his own slice-of-life fanzine, Burn Collector (the first nine issues since collected into book form). Plus the band is donating proceeds from the album sales to the Syrentha J. Savio Endowment. Their friend Mark Beemer (whose photography is featured in the CD booklet) lost his wife to breast cancer, so he started the trust that provides free early cancer detection to the needy.
"He just got his first check at the end of last year, and it was a pretty good sum of money, twice as much as he made in the first year. He was blown away and he wrote us a real nice e-mail, thanking us for our support for his charity. It was cool thing to do that we felt was worthwhile in making a difference."
While Thrice's journey may take them far afield of their SoCal compatriots, they'll keep them close to heart. "The first time we were in Europe, we were part of the Deconstruction tour, sharing the bill with bands like TSOL, Strung Out and NOFX. We all share a common scene, where we came from, and we decided to sign to a major label for better exposure and distribution. But we won't forget our roots and, given the chance, we'll always play with them forever."
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