Thrice

Thrice
Teppei Teranishi and Dustin Kensrue of Thrice performing at Indio, CA
Background information
Origin	Irvine, California, U.S.
Genre(s)	Experimental Rock[1] Post-hardcore[2] Melodic hardcore[3] (early material) Art rock[4] (newer material)
Years active	1998—present
Label(s)	Sub City Hopeless Island Vagrant
Website	Thrice.net
Members
Dustin Kensrue Teppei Teranishi Eddie Breckenridge Riley Breckenridge

Thrice is an American band from Irvine, California. The group was founded in 1998 by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school.^[5]

Early in their career, the band was known for their "powerful, driving beats and buzz-saw riffs,"^[6] mainly due to the release of their second album, The Illusion of Safety (2002). Thrice released their third album The Artist in the Ambulance in 2003, showing off their musicianship by intricating music stylings such as complex time signatures as shown in "Silhouette."^[7] Their fourth album Vheissu (2005) was portrayed by many critics as being experimentally unique, using non-conventional Thrice elements in the process;^[8][9] it introduced a new sound to the band's post-hardcore roots. Following this was The Alchemy Index (2007/2008), which only furthered Thrice's reputation as illustrious musicians and songwriters.^[10]

Throughout the band's career, they have been known to donate proceeds from album sales to charitable or non-profit organizations.^[11][12]

History

First Impressions and Identity Crisis

Dustin Kensrue and Teppei Teranishi knew each other from school and had played in a band together, the name of which is unknown. Teppei recruited his skate park friend Eddie Breckenridge to play bass, who then brought his brother Riley on as a drummer.^[13] In 2000, Thrice announced to participants at Power Chord Academy that they had come up with the name Thrice out of desperation and an inside joke;^[14] when a friend had told Dustin that he had beaten the Game Boy video game Frogger twice, Dustin replied he had beaten it "thrice."

In 1999, the band self-released an EP titled First Impressions which was the product of a two-day session at A-Room Studios with Brian Tochilin.^[15] Only 1,000 copies were made and the band members sold them out of their cars.^[15] Working with Death by Stereo's Paul Miner, the quartet recorded 12 tracks, and by April 2000, the group had released Identity Crisis on Greenflag Records. A portion of the album's proceeds were donated to a local charity called Crittenton Services for Children and Families.^[16] More support gigs and local buzz followed, and Thrice sparked the interest of Hopeless/Sub City's Louis Posen.^[17] In 2001, Posen signed with the band, reissued Identity Crisis, and sent the group out on tour with Samiam. Tours with Midtown and Hot Rod Circuit followed.^[5]

The Illusion of Safety

Thrice re-entered the studio with producer Brian McTernan to record its Hopeless/Sub City debut, The Illusion of Safety. The album was released in February 2002 and the band toured extensively to support it, opening for Further Seems Forever and Face to Face before embarking on its first headlining tour later that year. The band again donated a portion of the album's proceeds, this time choosing a non-profit youth shelter in South Central Los Angeles, A Place Called Home. The band's donations were matched by their label.^[18]

The album received generally positive reviews and garnered the attention of several major labels. The band eventually signed with Island Records, who had agreed to match Thrice's charitable donations in the same manner that Hopeless/Sub City had.^[18] That fall, the band toured with Hot Water Music and Coheed and Cambria before returning to the studio.^[5]

The Artist in the Ambulance

In 2003, the band released its Island Records debut, The Artist in the Ambulance. The album's title is in reference to Burn Collector by Al Burian and is meant to reflect the band's desire to do more than make music and contribute to society through their charitable donations.^[12] A portion of the album's proceeds were this time donated to the Syrentha Savio Endowment, a financial aid organization for breast cancer patients. First pressings of the album were packaged in a digipak-style case with postcards containing lyrics and notes from the band.^[19]

The album spawned two singles, "All That's Left" and "Stare at the Sun." Both songs, and their accompanying videos, received modest airplay and the band found themselves playing at larger venues as the year progressed. A co-headlining fall tour with labelmates Thursday and opener Coheed and Cambria sold out across the United States,^[20] as well as a stint on the Honda Civic Tour with Dashboard Confessional, The Get Up Kids, and Hot Water Music.^[21]

Throughout 2004, the band continued to tour in support of The Artist in the Ambulance. Island Records issued a promotional disc (that features an alternate version of "The Artist in the Ambulance") in early 2004 that would become the basis for If We Could Only See Us Now, a CD/DVD package outlining the group's career.^[22] Named after a lyric from "So Strange I Remember You," the CD portion contained live tracks from a performance at the Apple Store and various B-sides. A slot to promote the CD/DVD came on the 2004 Vans Warped Tour.

Vheissu

Teppei Teranishi (right) and Dustin Kensrue (left) of Thrice performing at a Fopp instore signing in Southampton, UK.

Thrice spent much of the first half of 2005 working with producer Steve Osborne on the follow-up to The Artist in the Ambulance. Thrice released Vheissu in October 2005 with "Image of the Invisible" as the first single. The album's title was taken from the Thomas Pynchon novel V.,^[23] and featured a wider variety of instrumentation than used in the band's previous albums, including the use of strings, electronics, and a Rhodes Piano.^[24] Many of the album's lyrics also feature biblical, spiritual, and abstract themes. For Vheissu, the band chose a tutorial program for underprivileged children called 826 Valencia to receive proceeds from the album sales.^[23]

The band toured extensively in support of the album, including headlining the 2006 Taste of Chaos tour and performing "Image of the Invisible" on Jimmy Kimmel Live.^[23] In April 2006, the band released "Red Sky" as the second single from the album.^[25] The accompanying video was directed by Tim Hope, who had previously directed videos for Coldplay and Jimmy Eat World.^[26] Instead of releasing just a single, Thrice opted to release the Red Sky EP in support of the single, which included two previously unreleased tracks and four live tracks.^[25]

The Alchemy Index

In September 2006, the band announced plans for a new album (later titled The Alchemy Index) on their official website. The album was conceived as a series of 4 EPs, each of which represents an element of nature: earth, air, fire, and water. The band maintained a studio blog titled Alchemy Index throughout the recording process.^[27]

During the recording process, the band announced that they were leaving Island Records, citing a difference of opinion on the band's future direction as the reason for the split.^[28] The band joined Vagrant Records on August 9, 2007.^[29]

On October 12, 2007, Thrice released the first two songs from the Alchemy Index in their entirety through the band's MySpace page.^[30] The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II was released on October 16, 2007 and sold 28,000 copies in its first week. It debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart,^[31] and it topped at number five on the iTunes top-selling albums.^[32] To promote the new album, Thrice toured with the bands MewithoutYou and Brand New, and followed with a series of Canadian shows with bands Say Anything and Attack in Black. The second half of the project, The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV - Earth & Air, was officially released on April 15, 2008, but was leaked onto the internet on April 9, 2008.

The final song on each disc is written in the form of a sonnet, depicting the relationship of man with each of the particular elements. Each of these songs is in iambic pentameter, with a concluding rhyming couplet. These final couplets also contain the same vocal melody and chord progression as each other, although they are in different keys.

Thrice recently wrapped up their Spring 2008 tour with Circa Survive and Pelican.^[33] The May 28, 2008 show at the House of Blues in Anaheim was filmed for a live CD/DVD titled Live at the House of Blues. The live album spans 2 CDs and a DVD with live footage and an exclusive interview in which the band answers fan-submitted questions.^[34] In Fall 2008, they embarked on a Rise Against tour, alongside Alkaline Trio.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Live albums

Singles

Note: All singles have a music video except for "The Artist in the Ambulance."

Side Projects

• Dustin Kensrue released a solo album on Equal Vision Records on January 23, 2007, titled Please Come Home. The album opened at 142 on the Billboard 200 with 5,800 copies sold.^[41]
• Dustin Kensrue provided guest vocals and Teppei Teranishi played guitar/provided production on The Out Circuit's album Pierce The Empire With a Sound.
• Teppei Teranishi is in a side project with Chris Jones called Black Unicorn. Chris Jones also played drums and electric guitar on Dustin's solo album.

References

External links

• Thrice's page @ Vagrant Records
• Thrice.net
• Riley Breckenridge Interview
• Thrice Fan Site