Thumb (band)

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Thumb was a German Rapcore band formed in November 1993 in Gütersloh. According to the band's official website they appear to have ceased in 2005 into various side projects; Steffen has joined H-Blockx, Jens is in Taetowier Studio, Jan-Hendrik is in Hudson, Claus is in Alternative Allstars and Axel is in Waterdown.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 Members 4 Links

[edit] Biography

The first home-made tapes were recorded and copied in 1994. Lupe was the last to join the band in October scratching his way to create a new version of Thumb. Record companies began to show an interest and EMI signed a deal in March 1995. Six months later on 14th September Thumb’s debut was in the shops. A new star had entered the crossover arena. Genre-related bands Bad Religion, Dog Eat Dog, Henry Rollins and Foo Fighters kept the band company in the next two years at live gigs in Germany. Then it was time for the five to set to work in January 1997 and write the songs of their second album Exposure.

The album duly appeared on 5th May that year and proved to be a great surprise, because Thumb had changed direction. Thumb’s new sound is sharp-edged and at the same time so earthy that the critics are not the only ones to stand there open-mouthed. They have effortlessly succeeded in escaping the crossover stereotypes. The fans appreciate this move and the ensuing live shows lift Thumb above routine into a success story. Their path even leads them to America where they play in front of nearly 180,000 during the 1998 Vans Warped Tour. They played alongside greats like the Deftones, Bad Religion, NOFX and many more at thirteen shows in three weeks. Needing to recharge their batteries, they take a long break - and very nearly don't return from it.

Preparations for the third album slowly got underway at the start of 2000 but were abruptly interrupted when guitarist Axel Hilgenstöhler left the band half way through the year, the shock was compounded by the band's creative crisis. The band was on the brink of disintegrating, however, they were saved when new guitarist Axel Praiat along with the new blood coursing through the band's veins took things upwards again. Everything written and recorded up to that point was axed. Claus looks back on this phase: "It wasn't just a question of finding a new guitarist who could fill the gap. We wanted to be writing proper songs as an ensemble. In the past three years we have kept trying to do just that, but we never really came up to our own expectations." Their new-found strength virtually gave them wings. Anyone who thought that Thumb had reached the apogee of their creative career with Exposure soon had to think again. Whereas their old crossover companions had by now almost all retreated from the scene the Gütersloh crew were back with a heavyweight crossover/hardcore/alternative steam hammer unequalled in its genre and in its home country.

The new album showed progress. Thumb were coming in through the front door and they hadn't bothered to unlock it either. Beefy, powerful, with plenty of groove, intelligent arrangements and blazing anger in their belly they are forcing their way into the limelight. The sound was very dense. There are many ways to approach it and many small discoveries to be made about it. "Thumb's idea was never basic rock," explains Claus. "We always aimed to go deeper. Of course, we needed the sound to back that up. The first release from the third album, 'Down Like Me', is a typical example which shows that Thumb songs are more than just music to stomp to." 'Down Like Me' literally drives its way through the loudspeakers. PHAT! Steffen pushes the song forward with stoic, primal force, Axel's guitar work is mean and insidious, Jan Hendrik offers a nice soft pillow to cry on, Claus joins in with furious polyphonic arguments, and Lupe strings together chains of nuances to fuse the sound together. All this is crowned with psychedelic sounds within sounds and electronic elements reminiscent of Portishead. This single is a tailor-made opener, but the rest of the songs - this much we can guarantee - are in no way inferior."

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Thumb (1995)
  1. Haunted
  2. Victim Of Your Lies
  3. Red Alert
  4. Fascism Sucks
  5. No More Blood
  6. Fed Up
  7. Skin Deep
  8. Deny
  9. Consumer's Rap-Sody
  10. It Ain´t What You See
  11. Boredom
  12. (All The Way) Down

• Thumb Encore (1996)
  1. Red Alert ´96
  2. Aside
  3. Haunted
  4. Victim Of Your Lies
  5. Red Alert
  6. Fascism Sucks
  7. No More Blood
  8. Fed Up
  9. Skin Deep
  10. Deny
  11. Consumer's Rap-Sody
  12. It Ain´t What You See
  13. Boredom
  14. (All The Way) Down
  15. I Don´t Wanna Hear It
  16. Victim Of Your Lies
  17. It Ain´t What You See (Live)
  18. Skindeep (Live)
  19. Fascism Sucks (Live)
  20. Haunted (Live)

• Exposure (1997)
  1. Break Me
  2. Sell Myself
  3. Seize The Day
  4. Values
  5. Thank You
  6. Remember
  7. Dad
  8. Reality
  9. This Life
  10. Exposure
  11. Cavemen In Disguise
  12. Aside

• Maximum Exposure (1998)
  1. Break Me
  2. Sell Myself
  3. Seize The Day
  4. Values
  5. Thank You
  6. Remember
  7. Dad
  8. Reality
  9. This Life
  10. Exposure
  11. Cavemen In Disguise
  12. Dad (Live)
  13. Red Alert (Live)
  14. Exposure (Live)
  15. Thank You (Live)
  16. No More Blood (Live)

• 3 (2001)
  1. Upside & Down
  2. Down Like Me
  3. Stupid
  4. Lie To You
  5. Youth
  6. Thumbtune
  7. Break My Back
  8. Fade Away
  9. Migraine
  10. Suck Me Dry
  11. Shorty
  12. More
  13. Confidence

[edit] Singles

• Red Alert (1995)
  1. Red Alert
  2. Fascism Sucks
  3. Haunted

Notes: Their first single to be ever taken from their first album. Today you could say that you could tell that this was their first time in a studio..........

• No More Blood (1996)
  1. No More Blood (Intro)
  2. No More Blood

Notes: This single goes along with a picture they took for the P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The message was: "You should rather go naked than wear fur!" and thats what they did! It was all about the message: "Don't wear fur!"

• Red Alert 96 (1996)
  1. Red Alert '96
  2. Haunted (live)
  3. I Don´t Wanna Hear It (Minor Threat Cover)

• Aside (1996)
  1. Aside
  2. It Ain't What You See
  3. Boredom

Notes: "Aside" was supposed to build a link between the first and second albums. They wrote the song right after finishing "Thumb" it represented the type of songs that could be expected on "Exposure".

• Sell Myself (1997)
  1. Sell Myself
  2. Dad
  3. Thank You

Notes: The idea for the "60s-happy-world-look" came up long before we even decided which song to release.

• Seize The Day (1997)
  1. Seize The Day
  2. Sell Myself (live at Rock Am Ring´97)
  3. Values (live at Rockpalast, E-Werk, Cologne)
  4. Cavemen In Disguise (live at Collosseum, Munich ´97)
  5. Dad (live at Collosseum, Munich ´97)

Notes: The recordings for "Caveman In Disguise" and "Dad" were made on our tour with the Rollins Band.

• Break Me (1998)
  1. Break Me
  2. Die Wellt Ist Eins
  3. Red Alert (live at Roskilde 97)
  4. Exposure (live at Roskilde 97)
  5. Thank You (live at Roskilde 97)
  6. No More Blood (live at Roskilde 97)

Notes: After being on the road for almost all of 1997 and 1998 this single was a great chance to present the live recordings from that period.

• Down Like Me (2001)
  1. Down Like Me
  2. Break My Back

• Youth (2001)
  1. Youth (Radio Edit)
  2. Upside & Down
  3. Down Like Me (Steddybeats Remix)
  4. Youth (Extended Version)
  5. Multimedia

Notes: Also included is a "Down Like Me" remix by Steffen and a large multimedia package containing tons of pictures, 2 videos, a biography and more!

[edit] Members

• Axel Praiat (Guitar)
• Jens Gössling (DJ)
• Steffen Wilmking (Drums)
• Jan-Hendrik Meyer(Bass)
• Claus Grabke (Vocals)

[edit] Links

• Official Website