Crossing over

Jose J. Santos

Many bands have had their moment in the rock music spotlight, and

it’s possible one of the next groups to hit the national stage will

have roots in Costa Mesa.

Thrice, whose lead singer Dustin Kensrue and drummer Riley

Breckenridge are Costa Mesa residents, released their third album,

“The Artist In The Ambulance,” last Tuesday. Thrice is spending the

summer playing the Warped Tour in support of their major-label debut.

The video for the record’s first single “All That’s Left” is in

regular rotation on MTV, and Thrice songs are being played on major

radio stations across the country.

The path to this point has been a five-year process for the

four-piece (bassist Eddie Breckenridge and guitarist Teppei Teranishi

round out the lineup). All the small gigs, hours of practice and long

nights in small vans are starting to pay off for the group.

If “The Artist and the Ambulance” breaks, Thrice could take their

place alongside Social Distortion and No Doubt as rock powerhouses

who were born in Orange County.

BIG TIME

The process of recording “The Artist and the Ambulance” began in

February and lasted for seven weeks. The band worked in studios in

Maryland with album producer Brian McTernan and recorded drum tracks

in New York with engineer Michael Barbiero, a music industry veteran

who’s worked on Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “Appetite for Destruction” and

Metallica’s “ ... And Justice For All.”

“It was really cool. Our first full-length record we recorded in

eight days, our second we did in three weeks,” Riley said. “To have

several weeks to record was great.”

Thrice took advantage of the time. A typical recording day would

see the band starting at 9 a.m. The band would work for three hours,

take a lunch break, then return for another four or five hour

session. After dinner, they’d come back for another four to five

hours.

“If we were on a roll, recording time would extend,” Riley said.

The results of these sessions are a set of songs that are

musically complex, lyrically eloquent and emotionally visceral.

WRITE NOW

Thrice’s songwriting process is “really democratic,” Riley said.

“Everybody writes music on the guitar. We all bring in riffs,

chord progressions and different parts. One guy will bring in one

part, then we’ll all add our personality to it, we see what works and

what doesn’t work,” Riley said.

“It’s a long process, but everybody pretty much has equal say.”

When the band formed in 1998, their influences were a lot less

varied than they are now. Their early songs were solidly rooted in

hardcore punk rock.

But over the years, even though their music has remained true to

their hardcore beginnings, their tastes in music have altered.

“Everybody’s grown up and our influences have gone in different

directions,” Riley said.

His brother Eddie has taken a liking to jazz while Kensrue has

found a love for folk music and singer-songwriters. Riley is a metal

fan and listens to electronic music.

“The Artist In the Ambulance” is the first Thrice album to reflect

the varied influences of the band. Songs like “Under a Killing Moon”

and “The Abolition of Man” blast with the rage and force of heavy

metal precision.

Then there are quieter moments in “Cold Cash and Colder Hearts”

and the title track that find Kensrue pushing his vocal range.

Strings rise and fall in the background, creating a nice contrast to

the full-on roar of Teranishi’s guitar theatrics.

VIDEO, VIDEO

The band got a taste of big-league production values when making

the video for “All That’s Left.” Working with visual artist Doug

Aiken, who’s directed videos for rock veterans R.E.M. and current New

York darlings Interpol, Thrice has made a highly stylized

call-to-arms. Images of waving flags and youthful insurgence,

compliment the bands’ guitar assault.

The video’s concept was refined over a series of phone calls while

the band was on tour. When the day of shooting arrived, the band

found themselves surrounded by makeup artists, hair stylists and

catering people, a first for a band whose first two videos were done

guerrilla-style.

“In the past, people who shot our videos said, ‘Just bring your

stuff and set up.’ We’d play the song a whole bunch of times and then

they’d cut and paste it together,” Riley said.

DIFFERENT WORLDS

The making of “All That’s Left” is an example of the difference in

lifestyles Thrice has experienced since signing to a major label.

Riley said the big difference between the indie-world and major-label

world is the amount of press the band has been doing to promote

themselves.

“We’re definitely a lot more busy,” Riley said.

Even though Thrice has moved on to Island Records, Riley said

there is no denying the importance of working their way through the

independent music scene.

“We wouldn’t have signed to a major label without doing it

ourselves first,” Riley said. “You have to build a base before you

take that step .... I’m glad we built a foundation on an indie label

and hopefully the fans will stick with us.”

DYNAMIC FUTURE

“The Artist In the Ambulance” reflects a band that has found its

own sound. But don’t blink, the band is already writing material for

the next record and while it’s not certain where the sound will end

up, Riley said there is no doubt it will continue to evolve.

“We definitely want to keep an element of heaviness and

aggressiveness,” Riley said. The band is experimenting with dynamics,

incorporating more sonic contrasts of quiet and loud. They’re also

trying out odd time signatures and experimenting with electronic

sounds like recent Radiohead material.

“We don’t know where we’re going next,” Riley said. “We’re all

going to write, we’re all going to write what feels good.”