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Thornley, Thornley Come AgainDetails
Title: Come Again
Release date: 5 April, 2004
Record label: Roadrunner
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"Once you start writing a song, just get out of the way and let it write itself," says singer and guitarist Ian Thornley. "That's the only way to do it." By "getting out of the way," what Thornley means is not cluttering every song with unnecessary flash and flourishes, so that what comes through most clearly is the melody — something simple, direct and deeply emotional.
"On this record, melody is king."
But the songwriter makes sure King Melody is kept company by such courtiers as heavy guitar riffs, ass-kicking drums and emotionally intense vocals. "It's what rock music should sound like — simple and to the point, but of a really high caliber," says drummer Seiku Lumumba. "When we play for other people, seeing that response — just seeing them with their mouths open — feels so good. I can't wait for people to hear this record."
For Thornley, this new band is the culmination of more than a decade's worth of playing and writing. After moving to Boston to study guitar in the early ’90s, the young Canadian began jamming with a group of American musicians who eventually coalesced into the band Big Wreck. "I became the singer by default," he says, chuckling. "I was writing the stuff, and couldn't find anyone to sing it whose voice I could stand listening to." Big Wreck recorded two albums for Atlantic Records, and experienced wide success with the 1998 track "The Oaf (My Luck Is Wasted)." But as much as Thornley enjoyed the instrumental complexities Big Wreck's songs afforded him, over time he found himself drawn to a more direct mode of expression.
"With Big Wreck, we did a lot of experimenting, taking it outside and bringing it back in," he says. "With this band, it's just song, song, song. I just want to stack the record with as many great songs as I can."
He adds, "A lot of it has heavy parts — and I mean heavy. But it's all in the context of a song, a sweet melody. To me, that's the most important thing." The range of material is impressive, stretching from the can't-get-it-out-of-your-head hookiness of "Keep a Good Man Down," which Thornley describes as Beatlesque "but in a cool way," to the Sabbath-style riffs of "Piss It Away," to the slow and beautiful "Lies That I Believe" — "a real epic rocker," in Thornley's words.
As for the lyrics, Thornley draws heavily on his personal life, although only a few are, in his words, gut-wrenchers — "you know, about feeling all the pressures of life, little things like that." He smiles mischeviously. "There's definitely a singer/songwriter vibe going on, except I am screaming it at you. Some of it is screaming because I've got to get it out, and others because I just like to scream.”
"There's a lot of screaming on the record..."
He began work on this new project as Big Wreck began winding down in 2002, finding a valuable ally in Nickelback's Chad Kroeger. The two had known each other since the late ’90s, when Big Wreck took Nickelback along to open a big Canadian tour. Thornley later contributed slide guitar to "Good Times Gone," from Nickelback's 2001 smash, Silver Side Up. Kroeger returned the favor by signing Thornley to his 604 Records (also home to Theory of a Deadman), which in turn led to the U.S. deal with Roadrunner.
Thornly
Meanwhile, Thornley was busily turning his songwriting project into an actual band. He literally ran into Lumumba, a much-in-demand session drummer who was living at the studio Thornley was using. "I had a writing room, and Seiku was in the next room," he says. "He's got his bed and his TV and everything in this little room." "That's how we met," says Lumumba. "He had some stuff he needed some drums for, I put them down in a miraculously short time." Next onboard was the much sought after bassist, Ken "The Worm" Tizzard; and the final puzzle piece fell in place with the arrival of Tavis Stanley. After working with several guitarists, Thornley decided on this aggressive young bar-band vet.
While Thornley is excited about the release of the new album, he's even more stoked at the prospect of getting out on the road. "Bruce Springsteen was my first concert — my dad took me — and I was like, 'That's what I want to do,'" he says.
"I love getting onstage and boiling people's minds. Because when you have, like, 5,000 people who are all your buddies… That's a real buzz."
MEMBERS
Ian Thornley - vocals & lead guitar
Tavis Stanley - guitar
Ken Tizzard - bass
Seiku Lumumba - drums
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