March 2, 2009

2009 Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour Giveaway

Enter the 2009 Rockstar Taste of Chaos giveaway and you could win a skate deck autographed by Thursday, Bring Me the Horizon and all the other RTOC bands, as well as Ernie Ball gear, Rockstar energy drinks, CDs from RTOC bands and more!

CLICK HERE to enter!
Posted on 03/02/2009 12:10 PM Comments (4)

February 27, 2009

Special Announcement!

We would like to make a special announcement!!

On March 2nd at Lupo's in Providence, RI, as part of the Rock Star Taste of Chaos tour, for the first time EVER, we will be performing Full Collapse in its entirety!!

This album is a fan favorite and the album that to this date, has out sold every other record in our catalog. As a thank you to a city that has shown love for us from a long time ago, we'd would like to perform this as a very special event.

Buy your tickets HERE!

If you have a ticket stub from tonight's show in Worcester, MA, you can get into this special show on 3/2 for only $10!

Common Existence in stores now!  CLICK HERE to buy it on iTunes!
Posted on 02/27/2009 4:11 PM Comments (0)

February 18, 2009

"Resuscitation of a Dead Man" Video Premiere

The "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" video has premiered on MySpace!  Check out the video below and make sure to stop by Thursday On MySpace to let us know what you think!

Resuscitation Of A Dead Man


Make sure to grab the brand new album Common Existence in stores now!  Pick it up by heading to iTunes or you can grab it at your local Best Buy for only $7.99!
Posted on 02/18/2009 11:12 AM Comments (0)

February 17, 2009

Common Existence in Stores TODAY

Hey Friends!!!

Our new record, Common Existence, is in stores TODAY!!!  We are  insanely proud of it and will be playing a ton of these new songs on  the Taste of Chaos tour.

 Spin says of the new record, "Fridmann simply brightens the bands darker corners... Things really start to rev up on latter half tracks such as 'Circuits of Fever' which  crackles with colorful chaos" and over in the UK, Q magazine raves, "[Thursday] deliver their most solid release to date".  Pshhhhhh.  No big deal.  But seriously, we really love this record and think you will too.

 Also, for all you Doves Club Members, we're launching the website today!

Lots of love,
Thursday
Posted on 02/17/2009 8:07 AM Comments (0)

February 12, 2009

COMMON EXISTENCE Now Streaming

Common Existence is now streaming on MySpace . Head over to our page to give the album a listen before it hits stores on 2/17.

Don't forget to pre-order the album over at MerchDirect to get a limited edition t-shirt.


Posted on 02/12/2009 10:34 AM Comments (0)

February 10, 2009

Making of "Resuscitation of a Dead Man"

AbsolutePunk has an exclusive behind the scenes look at the video for "Resuscitation of a Dead Man," showing everything that went into the videos creation.

CLICK HERE to head over to AbsolutePunk and watch the making of "Resuscitation of a Dead Man."
Posted on 02/10/2009 1:50 PM Comments (0)

February 9, 2009

European Tour Announced!

Thursday Announce European Tour


Critically acclaimed post-hardcore pioneers Thursday, have announced a European Tour in April 2009. The tour, which is set between April 11th and April 19th, will take them through six European countries and the majority of the shows will be part of the “Give It A Name” traveling festivals, with Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, Innerpartysystem and Thursday’s label mates Escape The Fate. 

Thursday will be touring in support of their highly anticipated new album, Common Existence, due out on February 16th (2/17 in the US) on Epitaph.  Recorded with producer/mixer Dave Fridmann (A City By The Light Divided, Mogwai, MGMT, Flaming Lips), Common Existence marks Thursday’s fifth studio album which is already receiving rave reviews in the European music press. Rock Sound UK stated that "Each song on the album is fantastic, a few are even spectacular", granting the album an 8/10. Highly acclaimed Q Magazine called Common Existence the bands “most consistent body of work to date” (4/5).    

The European tour follows their headlining appearance in the “Rockstar Taste of Chaos" Tour in the US, in which they are joined on stage by Bring Me The Horizon and Cancer Bats.

Thursday European Tourdates:

11/04/09 Munich (DE) - Backstage (Give It A Name Festival)
12/04/09 Cologne (DE) - Live Music Hall (Give It A Name Festival)
13/04/09 Vienna (AT) - Flex (Give It A Name Festival)
15/04/09 Bologna (IT) - Estragon
16/04/09 Zurich (CH) - Volkshaus
17/04/09 Belgium (BE) - Groezrock
18/04/09 Manchester - (UK) – Academy (Give It A Name Festival)
19/04/09 London (UK) - Brixton Academy (Give It A Name Festival)
 

For More Information:
www.Epitaph.com
www.Thursday.net
www.myspace.com/thursday 
Posted on 02/09/2009 12:27 PM Comments (0)

COMMON EXISTENCE Listening Party and Signing

Thursday Listening Party and Signing– Friday Feb 13th 7:00pm

Tuesday, February 17 will see the release of Thursday's latest album Common Existence and to celebrate the band will be at Fingerprints in Long Beach, CA for an intimate listening party and signing. Immediately following this kickoff the guys will be heading out to headline the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour.

Preorder Common Existence at the event and get a booklet for the band to sign and a limited edition Rob Dobi poster. There will be limited space available at this event and you must RSVP to attend. RSVP at (562) 433-4996.

Fingerprints Records
4612 E 2nd St
Long Beach, CA 90803

Posted on 02/09/2009 11:57 AM Comments (0)

January 23, 2009

Taste of Chaos tickets on sale now!

Amidst all the excitement over the Thursday record we are hearing that some of you are finding Rockstar Taste Of Chaos tickets on various ticketing sites for way more than the $25 range they're supposed to be at - be sure to go through the ticketing links on TasteOfChaos.com for your tickets - we know times are tough so we want to make sure you're getting the absolute best deal!

Check out our MySpace blog for tour dates and ticket information!
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=2772519&blogID=465896195


Posted on 01/23/2009 10:36 AM Comments (0)

January 22, 2009

Thursdaydoves.com

Tucker talks about the thursdaydoves.com



Ready to purchase?  Want more info?  Click the banner.


Posted on 01/22/2009 12:59 PM Comments (0)

January 21, 2009

New Song AP Cover & Pre-Order

Head on over to Altpres.com for 2 very exciting Thursday updates.

Go to http://altpress.com/features/306.htm to see a live video for "Friends In The Armed Forces" a new song off Common Existence.

You can also check out us on the cover of AP



It hits news stands on Feb 3rd. Be sure to pick it up then.

Also if you haven't already you can Pre Order our new album, Comon Existence now by clicking the photo below.  There is also a limited edition T-Shirt that will only be available with this pre-sale. Once the album is out on February 17th, the shirt will no longer be available.



Thursday
Posted on 01/21/2009 7:39 AM Comments (1)

January 19, 2009

Taste of Chaos Tickets and Common Existence Presale

The presale for our new album “Common Existence” has begun! Head over to our merch store to order.


There is also a limited edition T-Shirt that will only be available with this presale. Once the album is out on February 17th, the shirt will no longer be available.


If you haven’t heard “Resuscitation of a Dead Man” yet, it’s here on www. myspace. com/thursday and you can download it at iTunes.


You can also order the album along with the full Thursday experience, by joining the Doves Club www. thursdaydoves. com .
This gets you a 1 year subscription to the club, including the following;

* Official Fan Club Laminate

* Access to member's only website that will feature exclusive content, a private message board, and access to various contests and special promotions

* Members also gain access to the "Thursday Singles Club". Through the "Singles Club" members will receive an exclusive limited edition Thursday seven–inch EP which will feature brand new studio recordings. Each seven–inch will be hand numbered and signed. These will only be available through the "Singles Club" and will not be reprinted. Throughout the year we will also be posting other exclusive Thursday recordings.


* Access to ticketing pre-sales

* Digital download of "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" (first single from "Common Existence")

* Early entry into the venue (when available)



Click here for more details:


www. thursdaydoves. com




Amidst all the excitement over the Thursday record we are hearing that some of you are finding Rockstar Taste Of Chaos tickets on various ticketing sites for way more than the $25 range they're supposed to be at - be sure to go through the ticketing links on TasteOfChaos. com for your tickets - we know times are tough so we want to make sure you're getting the absolute best deal!



Here are the dates for the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour. Come check us out wiht w/ Four Year Strong, Bring Me the Horizon, Peirce the Veil, and Cancer Bats.




Feb 14 Palladium Los Angeles, California

Feb 15 San Jose Civic Auditorium San Jose, California

Feb 16 Senator Theatre Chico, California

Feb 18 House of Blues San Diego, California

Feb 19 Rialto Theatre Tuscon, Arizona

Feb 20 House of Blues Las Vegas, Nevada

Feb 21 In the Venue Salt Lake City, Utah

Feb 22 Fillmore Denver, Colorado

Feb 24 Eagles Ballroom Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Feb 25 Bogart’s Cincinnati, Ohio

Feb 26 Armory Rochester, New York

Feb 27 Palladium Worcester, Massachusetts

Feb 28 Webster Theatre Hartford, Connecticut

Mar 2 Lupo’s Providence, Rhode Island

Mar 3 Northern Lights Clifton Park, New York

Mar 4 Nokia New York, New York

Mar 5 Starland Sayreville, New Jersey

Mar 6 Electric Factory Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mar 7 Rams Head Live Baltimore, Maryland

Mar 9 Agora Theatre Cleveland, Ohio

Mar 10 Fillmore Detriot, Michigan

Mar 11 Pageant St.
Louis, Missouri

Mar 12 Aragon Chicago, Illinois

Mar 13 Myth Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mar 14 Beaumont Club Kansas City, Missouri

Mar 15 Expo Five Louisville, Kentucky

Mar 17 Revolution Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida

Mar 18 Hard Rock Orlando, Florida

Mar 19 Tabernacle Atlanta, Georgia

Mar 21 Verizon Houston, Texas

Mar 22 Sunset Station San Antonio, Texas

Mar 23 Palladium Ballroom Dallas, Texas

Mar 26 Knitting Factory Boise, Idaho

Mar 27 Roseland Portland, Oregon

Mar 28 Showbox Seattle, Washington

Mar 29 Knitting Factory Spokane, Washington

Mar 30 Commodore Vancouver, British Columbia

Apr 1 MacEwan Hall Calgary, Alberta

Apr 3 Event Centre Edmonton, Alberta

Apr 4 Odeon Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Apr 5 Burton Cummings Winnipeg, Manitoba

Apr 6 Outpost/Community Auditorium Thunder Bay, Ontario

Apr 8 Sound Academy/Kool Haus Toronto, Ontario

Apr 9 Metropolis Montreal, Quebec



Thanks



-Thursday


Posted on 01/19/2009 1:05 PM Comments (0)

January 9, 2009

PRE-ORDER COMMON EXISTENCE NOW

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

The presale for our new album “Common Existence” has begun!   Head over to our merch store to order.
There is also a limited edition T-Shirt that will only be available with this presale. Once the album is out on February 17th, the shirt will no longer be available.

If you haven’t heard “Resuscitation of a Dead Man” yet, it’s here on www.myspace.com/thursday and you can download it at iTunes. You can also order the album along with the full Thursday experience, by joining the Doves Club www.thursdaydoves.com .   This gets you a 1 year subscription to the club, including the following;

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

* Official Fan Club Laminate
* Access to member's only website that will feature exclusive content, a private message board, and access to various contests and special promotions
* Members also gain access to the "Thursday Singles Club". Through the "Singles Club" members will receive an exclusive limited edition Thursday seven–inch EP which will feature brand new studio recordings. Each seven–inch will be hand numbered and signed. These will only be available through the "Singles Club" and will not be reprinted. Throughout the year we will also be posting other exclusive Thursday recordings.
* Access to ticketing pre-sales
* Digital download of "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" (first single from "Common Existence")
* Early entry into the venue (when available)

Click here for more details:
www.thursdaydoves.com

Thanks

-Thursday
Posted on 01/09/2009 3:08 PM Comments (0)

December 23, 2008

"Resuscitation of a Dead Man" Now On iTunes!




Head over to iTunes to pick up our brand new track "Resuscitation of a Dead Man."

CLICK HERE to get it now!

Make sure to check us out on the 2009 Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour!
Posted on 12/23/2008 9:50 AM Comments (0)

December 17, 2008

Taste of Chaos VIP Contest



Want to get the VIP treatment at this year's Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour?  Head over to the Thursday and Cancer Bats VIP Contest Page to enter and get all the information!

The Grand Prize includes tickets to the Taste of Chaos show of your choice, VIP passes and lots of other great prizes, plus there are 4 Runner Ups!

CLICK HERE for details and to enter!
Posted on 12/17/2008 1:42 PM Comments (1)

December 10, 2008

Release Date, First Song and Pre-Sale

Hello everyone!

We’re having the best time on tour with Rise Against in Canada. Thank you to everyone who has come out to see us.

There is a LOT to talk about so let’s jump right in.

RELEASE DATE
We have an official release date for our new record on Epitaph!!!
“COMMON EXISTENCE” OUT ON FEBRUARY 17TH, 2009!

HEAR NEW MUSIC
The first song, “Resuscitation of a Deadman” from “Common Existence” can now be heard on our myspace page.
http://www.myspace.com/thursday

ALBUM ARTWORK
Check out the cover artwork;


 
EXCLUSIVE TICKET, ALBUM AND THURSDAY “DOVES” CLUB PRE-SALE

As you may already know, we will be out on tour in the US in 2009 on the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour (tour dates are at the end of the email.) For the NEXT 24 HOURS ONLY you can pre-order tickets through our online pre-sale. There are 3 advantages to ordering through our sale;

  1. Lower service charges than regular ticketing outlets
  2. Get a ticket before the show sells out
  3. and the best of all, this is the ONLY way to join the THURSDAY “DOVES” CLUB!

OFFICIAL THURSDAY DOVES FAN CLUB

The Thursday Doves is the OFFICIAL Thursday Fan Club. You should receive your fan club merchandise by mail when the fan club goes live in 2009. The Thursday Doves members will also receive access to a member's website with exclusive content, exclusive access to the site, private message board, contests and promotional opportunities throughout the year.

As part of the "Thursday Doves" you will be enrolled in the "Thursday Singles Club" Including an Exclusive limited edition Thursday seven-inch EP hand numbered and signed with unheard brand new studio recordings. These will be only be available through the “Singles Club” and will not be reprinted. Throughout the year we will also make other exclusive Thursday recordings available for download via the “Doves Club.”

TICKET OPTIONS
For each show on Thursday's headlining ROCKSTAR TASTE OF CHAOS TOUR there will be four (4) ticket options available:

1. VIP ALBUM RELEASE EVENT TICKET

- A ticket to the Rockstar Taste of Chaos show of your choice
- “Common Existence” CD (the new album from Thursday)
- Digital download of “Resuscitation of a Deadman” (first single)
- Meet and greet with Thursday after the Rockstar Taste Of Chaos show
- Fan Club Laminate
- 1 Year subscription to the Thursday “Doves” fan club:

2. VIP ALBUM RELEASE WITH GUITAR EVENT TICKET

- A ticket to the Rockstar Taste of Chaos show of your choice
- Signed First Act Guitar with the artwork from "Common Existence"
- “Common Existence” CD (the new album from Thursday)
- Digital download of “Resuscitation of a Deadman” (first single)
- Meet and greet with Thursday after the Rockstar Taste Of Chaos show
- Fan Club Laminate
- 1 Year subscription to the Thursday “Doves” fan club


3. VIP ROADIE FOR A DAY EVENT TICKET

- Everything in the VIP Album Release Event Ticket (option 1 listed above)
- Official Roadie tour jacket
- Digital camera (no flash photography while on stage)
- Meet up with tour manager half hour before band goes onstage.
- Introduced to band (Quickly)
- Real Thursday tech takes Roadie-for-a-Day on stage (Must be quick, short changeover between bands)
- Hands off a guitar to Steve, Tom or Tim in between a song (Thursday tech shows them the proper way of doing so.)
- Stays out of the way on the side of stage while watching the show for the rest of the set.

4. REGULAR EVENT TICKET THAT INCLUDES:
- A ticket to the Rockstar Taste of Chaos show of your choice

PRE-SALE NOW!!!
Go to www.thursday.net to pre-order now!

 

IN SILENCE VIDEO
If you haven’t seen our video for “In Silence” from the split EP with EVNY, it can now be found on our YouTube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/thursday

 

Thank you!

Thursday
www.thursday.net

 

RTOC 2009 Tour Dates:

SAT    2/14/09    Los Angeles, CA    Palladium
SUN    2/15/09    San Jose, CA    San Jose Civic Auditorium
MON    2/16/09     Chico, CA    Senator Theatre
TUE    2/17/09    OFF     
WED    2/18/09    San Diego, CA    House of Blues
THU    2/19/09    Tucson, AZ    Rialto Theatre
FRI    2/20/09    Las Vegas, NV    House of Blues
SAT    2/21/09    Salt Lake City, UT     In the Venue
SUN    2/22/09    Denver, CO    Fillmore
MON    2/23/09    OFF     
TUE    2/24/09    Milwaukee, WI    Eagles Ballroom
WED    2/25/09    Cincinnati , OH    Bogart's
THU    2/26/09    Rochester, NY    Armory
FRI    2/27/09    Worcester, MA    Palladium
SAT    2/28/09    Hartford, CT    Webster Theatre
SUN    3/1/09    OFF     
MON    3/2/09    Providence, RI    Lupo's
TUE    3/3/09    Clifton Park, NY    Northern Lights
WED    3/4/09    New York City, NY    Nokia
THU    3/5/09    Sayreville, NJ    Starland
FRI    3/6/09    Philadelphia, PA    Electric Factory
SAT    3/7/09    Baltimore, MD    Rams Head Live
SUN    3/8/09     Columbus, OH    Newport
MON    3/9/09    Cleveland, OH    Agora Theatre
TUE    3/10/09    Detroit, MI    Fillmore
WED    3/11/09    St. Louis, MO    Pageant
THU    3/12/09    Chicago, IL    Aragon
FRI    3/13/09    Minneapolis, MN    Myth
SAT    3/14/09    Kansas City, MO     Beaumont Club
SUN    3/15/09    OFF     
MON    3/16/09    OFF     
TUE    3/17/09    Ft. Lauderdale, FL    Revolution
WED    3/18/09    Orlando, FL    Hard Rock
THU    3/19/09    Atlanta, GA    Tabernacle
FRI    3/20/09    OFF     
SAT    3/21/09    Houston, TX    Verizon
SUN    3/22/09    San Antonio, TX    Sunset Station
MON    3/23/09    Dallas, TX    Palladium Ballroom
TUE    3/24/09    OFF     
WED    3/25/09    OFF     
THU    3/26/09    Boise, ID    Knitting Factory
FRI    3/27/09    Portland, OR    Roseland
SAT    3/28/09    Seattle, WA    Showbox
SUN    3/29/09    Spokane, WA    Knitting Factory

 


Posted on 12/10/2008 12:12 PM Comments (1)

December 9, 2008

New Track From COMMON EXISTENCE On MySpace

We've posted a brand new track today on MySpace. Head over to our page to check out "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" from the upcoming release Common Existence in stores February 17th!

Make sure to check us out on Taste of Chaos.
Posted on 12/09/2008 10:51 AM Comments (0)

November 18, 2008

Join The Thursday Street Team



Check it out!  Join the brand new Thursday Street Team and help promote the band while earning some some awesome prizes from Thursday and Epitaph!
Posted on 11/18/2008 4:34 PM Comments (0)

October 27, 2008

Signing With Epitaph

THURSDAY SIGNS WITH EPITAPH

New Jersey’s Post-hardcore pioneers, Thursday, have signed to Epitaph with plans to release their fifth full-length album this spring. 

 

For the last decade, Thursday has released groundbreaking, essential albums like 2001’s fan-favorite Full Collapse and 2003’s breakthrough release War All the Time, and played riveting shows, garnering hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide.  As the band approaches their tenth anniversary, Thursday has dug deep to recapture the original fervor and fire to make their most honest and sincere record to date. 

 

Having had their share of ups and downs with record companies in the past, the band was determined to find a label that was as passionate about their artists as the band is about their music.  The group signed with Epitaph Records in September based on their parallel values and the label’s reputation for its dedication to their bands. 

 

“One of our biggest concerns was that we find a situation where we could be free to just be Thursday,” explains Thursday frontman, Geoff Rickly.  “Epitaph have continually voiced their desire to help us become the band that WE have always wanted to be.  It's a great feeling to have a label encourage you to be more socially conscious and politically active.  It's a great feeling to have a label owner push you to explore the most experimental and challenging aspects of your band's music instead of dissuading you.  It's a truly great feeling to be working with a label that all of our friends have had so many great experiences with.” 

 

As Thursday enters the next phase with an enthusiastic group of kindred souls behind them, they are approaching their next effort with the same humility and passion that has elevated the band throughout their career.  A reaffirmed socially conscious ideology and years of both experience and hindsight have found the band with their most authentic voice yet.  Never ones to back down from their beliefs, Thursday is devoted to bring their fans their most thoughtful, inspiring album ever.    

 

“We've always believed that music has the power to change lives and that all of us who have been lucky enough to make music for a living have a responsibility to try and make the world a more compassionate and livable place in any small way that they can” Geoff adds.  “We hope that with Epitaph's help and guidance we can do our part.”

 

Stay tuned for more details regarding Thursday’s forthcoming album.


Posted on 10/27/2008 2:44 PM Comments (0)

April 25, 2008

Thursday's Geoff Rickly Spills About Side Project, EP, More: Buzznet Exclusive




Thursday
have been through it all – and then some.

The post-hardcore band – which hails from New Brunswick, New Jersey – got its footing in the late-'90s while playing countless gigs in frontman Geoff Rickly's basement. Those shows became the stuff of legend as Rickly and his mates went from underground heroes to unlikely major-label stars, dishing up two efforts on Island Records. Hit singles followed, as did a video that was banned from MTV, and larger-than-life tours with AFI, Thrice and even The Cure.

Well, now the band has come full-circle, as it finds itself once again unsigned and much sought-after.

"I'm having such a good time," Rickly said when Buzznet caught up with him for an intimate, exclusive in-studio chat in New Jersey on Tuesday. "I'm broke ... but I'm having such a good time, and I'm doing all this stuff with all these great people."

What types of stuff, and what great people, you may ask? Well, longtime fans have probably caught wind of Thursday's surprising plans to put out a split EP with Japanese hardcore band Envy (due this fall on indie label Temporary Residence). Thanks to the messageboards, they might also have heard about Rickly's new side project with Daryl Palumbo (Glassjaw) and Ben Koller (Converge): United Nations, a power-violence band (not to be mistaken for grind, by the by).

But not until now has Rickly gone on the record to talk about those projects, and to shed some light on Thursday's future label plans. LoudHawk.com Productions' Will Angelos, who sings for experimental punk-hardcore band Autonym, conducted our disgustingly in-depth interview, and also chatted up Rickly about the band's well-known feud with Victory Records, why leaving Island Records was a "godsend," and what's in store for the future (including tour plans and – no joke – sharing a stage with Method Man).


[Click the above picture to watch the full exclusive video with Thursday's Geoff Rickly.]

Buzznet: So you guys are doing a tour with Envy. When I first heard about it, I was really surprised. [But] then I listened to Thursday and Envy back to back, and something about it really worked for me. How did you guys come about doing that?

Geoff Rickly: Envy's been [one of] our favorite bands for a long time. A lot of stuff on [2006's] A City by the Light Divided was sort of influenced by Envy in a certain way. ... I had known them a long time ago. When we were more thrashy, I was mildly interested in them, but not as much as when I heard [Envy's 2003 album,] A Dead Sinking Story, and [2001's] All the Footprints [You've Ever Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead]. Those two records, when I heard them, it reminded me of the whole culture we started in – doing basement shows with Saetia, and You and I, and Usurp Synapse, and GoGoGo Airheart, all these bands that used to fill me with so much love and excitement that I don't really get from as many of the bands that we tour with now.  I like a lot of the bands that we tour with now – and we've been lucky to tour with bands like The Cure and stuff, you know, amazing. But it still didn't give me that same feeling that I had when I was in the basement and it was just a bunch of kids screaming their hearts out and, like, trying to make something new. And when I heard Envy, I was like, "Oh, sh--, this is it. This is what we're trying to do. But here's this band that's taking it that next step further, like, to where they're actually kinda creating a new genre and, like, just making something super-beautiful out of it."

Buzznet: They juxtapose hardcore with like, an almost Explosions in the Sky vibe or something at certain points.

Rickly: I completely agree. And [2006's] Insomniac Doze, for me, they went too far to the post-rock side. Like, when I heard that, I was like, "Oh no, this is too pretty, it doesn't have as much of the chaos." Which is sort of ... those things balancing each other – for people that are familiar with Thursday, they might be surprised to know that that's sort of something that we always try to do, balance a certain kind of … contrast beauty and ugliness. And when I heard Insomniac Doze, I was like, "Oh no, this is, like, too pretty. There's just some power missing out of it." A lot of those songs were great, but then the [2007] EP [Abyssal] … so good.

                                                                                            ***

Rickly: When we sort of blew up in a way that we didn't expect, one of the things that happened was, suddenly, it was like, "Well, there are all these things we can't do anymore, because the label's like, 'That doesn't make sense.' " Whether it's, like, Island or Victory, you know, "That doesn't make sense. We can't put this in this record store. Really, do something better for your career." And you kind of get used to that, like, "OK, well, I have to think about my career now." And it's sort of ridiculous, 'cause Thursday never thought about their career, never cared at all.

Like, all of a sudden, after we're already doing well, we're going to worry about our career? At that point, it should just be having fun with it.  And so, when we left Island and parted ways, and they were actually super-cool with us – let us out of our contract before it was done. That was ... honestly, that was like a godsend. We were like, "Let's try and remember how fun this can be. What would a dream be? Well, maybe we should do a split with Envy. Do you think that would happen?" Nobody in America knows who they are. They have a big underground following, but, like, you ask the average person about Envy, they have no idea.

Buzznet: So how did you hook up with Temporary Residence?

Rickly: Well, that was just, like, this really cool thing. I went to see the "TRL 10" [Temporary Residence's 10th anniversary] showcase. They did a weekend of shows at the Bowery Ballroom [in New York], and it was just so good, and [label founder] Jeremy [deVine] made a few announcements from stage, and I thought, "He seems like a really nice guy. I can see how much he really cares about this music. I'm just going to go thank him." So I walked up and started talking to him, and we kinda just hit it off, and then he realized, you know, what band I was in and stuff, and he was like, "That's cool that you're actually, like, a cool guy, not some kind of a douchebag or something."

So we just started going out and getting root-beer floats and hanging out talking about music. And he was kinda also fascinated because he has an unhealthy obsession with Victory Records. [He wanted to find] out [Rickly laughs], "What was it like?" Everyone wants to know the inside scoop on Victory. So he kept asking me ... we kept saying, "We need to do a Thursday/Envy tour." And then the split came about. I'm so psyched, because he sent me a care package of vinyl. And I gotta say, Temporary Residence vinyl is the nicest vinyl you'll find. So nice; he does white with, like, black splatters ... one side is engraved.

Buzznet: You're going to do a limited-edition splatters and stuff like that [for your EP], right, for certain pressings in their Web store?

Rickly: Yeah, I'm stoked about it.

Buzznet: Is a tour with Envy possible later down the road?

Rickly: Well, that's the thing we were talking about. Like, we're really close with Converge too, and we were, like, "Dude, [a] Thursday/Converge/Envy tour would be the jam. We gotta make that happen." So hopefully – I mean, the thing is, when this is coming out, we're supposed to be in the studio recording a full-length. So we're like, "Sh--." The [timing] for it is a problem for us, but we'll figure something out."

Buzznet: Is the split going to be a teaser for where [your] sound is headed?

Rickly: A little bit. We may reuse one of the songs from the split, but we're not sure yet. I think it's a pretty good indication of the path we're following. I don't know, I think the full-length is going to be pretty exciting, though. Going to try some different stuff.

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Rickly: It's funny 'cause every record label that we've signed to, we've said, "But we need to have artistic control." And they give it to you, but they just tell you what they want anyway. "It's up to you, but this is really what you should do." And then you're like, "Well, now that I have that in the back of my head, like, either I'm going to give you what you want, or I'm going to go in another direction on purpose." And either way, you're not doing what would naturally come. You're reacting to something. And with War All the Time, that's totally what we did. 'Cause they were, like, "You should totally – Full Collapse was so great. If you did that with maybe one or two hits on it, that'd be awesome." And we were like, "Pssht, let's make a heavy record. Screw Full Collapse – it was all New Wave-y and stuff in parts. Forget about that." And then, with A City by the Light Divided, they're like, "We're just thinking really cinematic, like, U2 Joshua Tree." And we were like, "Man, let's make it fuzzy and claustrophobic and crazy."

You just can't help but be influenced by what people want from you. So now we're just, like, "Well, nobody wants anything from us, so we can just do what we want." And then it's really cool to have people approach you about doing stuff together, like Jeremy at Temporary Residence and stuff. I just feel like a fan again, getting to do what I would like to do.

Buzznet: You also get to work again with people who care about music. Even in the independent realm, it's hard to find people ... it's getting so cutthroat now, and people have families ... it's getting harder and harder to find those people who are trying to treat music like an art form.

Rickly: It's super-hard. We have, you know, a few married guys in the band, and [bassist] Tim [Payne] has, like, a daughter and stuff, so it's totally so hard. But you just try to do your best, you know what I mean? Because if you end up, like, making something you don't like and being a jerk to everybody, then what's the difference between that and a day job?

Buzznet: I've met people who I've felt confused by why they work in music. It seems like it should be something you want to do because you love it.

Rickly: Well, that's the thing that gets me about messageboard culture. "Well, how many records did they scan? I didn't think this record was very commercial." There were actually comments from a band that, like, has made quite a name for themselves using stuff from, like, us and Saves the Day and some other bands, where the singer was like, "The problem with that last record that Thursday made was that they made it for themselves and not for the fans." And I didn't think, like, "What a jerk," I thought, "That sucks. Do you even think that way? I know you're not having fun. And if you're not having fun, then seriously, couldn't you make more being an accountant? 'Cause that sounds like what you're thinking about is money." I don't want to do that, I don't want to be an accountant, I wanna be in a band.

Buzznet: So you're feeling the art aspect more.

Rickly: Yeah, man, I'm having such a good time. I'm broke, and I have, like, the smallest apartment ever. I don't own a car or anything. But I'm having such a good time, and I'm doing all this stuff with all these great people, and I'm collaborating with artists I love and doing other bands with people I love. It's so great, you know?

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Rickly: United Nations has 10 songs recorded. Three of them are still missing bass tracks, and one of the members who has a billion other bands has recorded about half the stuff. So we're pretty close. I think that band will release the record this summer. I hope, at least. It's going really well. We're already ... the first record I going to be a full-length on Eyeball [which released Thursday's 1999 debut, Waiting], and then we're already doing a 7-inch on Deathwish.

Buzznet: Are you going to try to tour behind it?

Rickly: I don't think that band will ever tour, just because all the bandmembers have so much going on.

Buzznet
: Any one-offs, possibly?

Rickly: I'm hoping there's a show. That'd be super-fun. We're trying to figure it out. We actually have some weird stuff in the works. I was actually thinking too, like, that there's ... there's all these weird themes on the first record, and I was thinking [about making] a United Nations record called United Nations Plays Pretty for a Bunch of F---ing Babies, and do all-children's versions of the songs, like lullabies, like sing-alongs, like the Kidz Bop version. And this is the thing – everybody keeps saying [United Nations are] grind. It's not really grind, it's power-violence. But I think a kids' power-violence record would be so rad."

Buzznet: You gotta convince all these members that are doing so much other stuff, "Guys, you need to make time for this Kidz Bop record."

Rickly: "We gotta do the Kidz Bop version, it's crucial ..."

Buzznet: "... the other record's not coming out unless you do this too." So you have a few Thursday shows coming up, and you're going to be playing with Method Man and Bobby Valentino.

Rickly: Oh, that's so sick.

Buzznet: Are you going to do a little collaboration onstage? Is that what you guys were working on today?

Rickly: Yeah, that's exactly what we were doing. Weirdly enough, either it's sampled from our record or it's almost exactly the same thing – on the new Wu-Tang record, there's a guitar part that was on "Telegraph Avenue Kiss" on our last record. All these people kept sending it to us, and we were, like, "Weird. Did the RZA sample us, or did he just play, like, the same thing over one of their songs?" It's so close that we couldn't tell.

Buzznet: That's pretty awesome if the RZA is even listening to Thursday.

Rickly: I probably have my head up my own ass ... he's like, "That? That's Creedence, man – I don't know what you guys are talking about." Yeah, he's like, "I just sampled it – you guys ripped it off."

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Rickly: Because I've been working on the United Nations stuff, I've gone back to my record collection and listened to a bunch of stuff, bands we used to play with. I was re-listening to, like, Portraits of Past. There's so much good stuff out there, I totally think kids should go digging and look around on all the servers and stuff and try and find some old mid-'90s crusty stuff, 'cause it rules.

Buzznet: Speaking of, you're friends with Ronen Kauffman, right? Have you read his book "New Brunswick, New Jersey, Goodbye"?

Rickly: Yeah, I did. He had me on his podcast ...

Buzznet: … yeah, I think I heard that ...

Rickly: ... and so he gave me a copy of the book. I live about two hours away by train, and I finished it by the time I got home.

Buzznet: It was unbelievable.

Rickly: It's really fast and really intimate.

Buzznet: I kind of miss that age when it was 'zines and they were really big.

Rickly: That's crazy to me, dude – the whole scene was 'zines and stuff.

Buzznet: My first show was H20, but even so, as I grew into that ... it made me wish for something that I had never had. Is it that much different now?

Rickly: Yeah.

Buzznet: Was it way better back then?

Rickly: I don't know if it's better or worse. I'm glad that I got to go through it because, for one thing, it was like this ... it was almost like a puzzle, when you collect the pieces, and you never felt superior to the scene. You felt like, "This is so much cool stuff going on. There's so many people that are involved, and so many people that are excited, and we're all building this together slowly."

I feel like the thing that gets lost a little bit with the messageboard thing is, it's so much easier to be like, "Yeah, I've heard this, it sounds like this, it's total bullsh--. " From somebody who has listened to a 15-second clip of one song is all of a sudden ... and then it just ends up being the people with the loudest voices win. The thing that was great about 'zines was you'd read through, and if the person was smart and had something to say, you'd listen to them. If they were just, like, negative and stupid, you'd throw out the 'zine. So it was kind of the opposite from what it's like on messageboards now. I mean, I kind of appreciate how funny a lot of this stuff is. And in that way, this is way more entertaining, what we have now. But I also kinda feel like it's hard for people to talk meaningfully about anything.

Buzznet: [The '90s New Brunswick scene was] this big community that was built altogether, and not to be the bitter younger guy, but I feel so out of the loop. I'm like, "How can I meet all these dudes that built this cool underground community?" when now, if a show's not pay to play, I don't know why a band would do it.

Rickly: That stuff went on back then. There were all these pay-to-play things, and the whole basement scene was such a reaction to that. "I'm not going to f---ing pay to play. Come here, you can sleep on the floor."

There's actually this DIY organization that's trying to make an index and a directory online. I'm trying to get Thursday involved with them for helping people just fund that thing as a resource. Maybe it doesn't need to be a messageboard or anything like that, but at least a place where you can go and connect and find people and resources that you need. 'Cause it's weird, like ... I really just want that feeling back a little. And not from me, 'cause I've been through it, but I feel like there are so many young kids out there that don't even know that that could exist. That it's a possibility.

Buzznet: I'm 23 and I missed a lot of it. I thought I had experienced a good amount of it as basement shows were dying out, but it wasn't anything like Ronen described it.

Rickly: It's funny, man – every so often, there'll be a hater who's like, "Yo, Thursday's not punk rock, man. Lifetime, basement sh-- [is real punk rock]." And you're like, "F--- you, I know you never saw Lifetime in the basement. I've seen them in all these basements.  Those are my friends. Don't talk about it if you don't know."

Buzznet: So, in terms of the messageboard, do you want to describe how the Thursday sound will be going for the Envy split and forward, so later on they can hear it and tell you how wrong you are?

Rickly: That's pretty much all that ever happens. I've decided I'm not going to describe our sound anymore. Somebody was telling me that on Lambgoat, kids were like, "Yeah, Envy's real lush." 'Cause I described them as lush. And I was like, "What's wrong with 'lush' as a way to describe it? Is that a bad vocabulary word? Do people not like 'lush'?" 'Cause when I was a kid, I remember reading about shoegazer bands, and that was everything – they were all "lush." I remember being, like, "I like 'lush' as a description."

Buzznet: So you're basically saying, if anyone hears you describe anything as "lush," to basically ignore you?

Rickly: If I ever try to describe anything again, ignore me. I'm like, "Mmm, this peanut butter on this sandwich is creamy. " Everybody's going to be, like, "Creamy? What, are you crazy? Peanut butter? It has peanuts in it – how could it be creamy?"

Buzznet: With [the 2007 compilation] Kill the House Lights, you went back to Victory. Was there a trepidation going back to a certain extent?

Rickly: There wasn't really a trepidation. We were like, "Well." [He shrugs.] We were like, "It could go terribly wrong. So if it does, let's not worry about it."

Buzznet: A lot of [the songs,] the rights were with Victory.

Rickly: Well, yeah, a lot of those songs were Victory songs, and we wanted to use them, and we also just kind of had the feeling like, "Well, [2001's] Full Collapse is a really important record for us, and 'Jet Black New Year' is a really important song, which is on another release [2002's Five Stories Falling EP]. This sucks that we can't even talk to the people who control those and own them." And I think, when we were, like, attacking Victory and trying to get off, at a certain point, both of us stopped being, like, reasonable, and started being total a--holes.

Buzznet: I remember the [notorious promotional] Whoopee Cushions [Victory made for the band] ...

Rickly: Dude, I remember when I found those Whoopee Cushions. I was so bent out of shape, man.

Buzznet: At some point, you had to have found them a little bit funny.

Rickly: I kept them. It's so ridiculous, I had to.

Buzznet: [What about your next label home?]

Rickly: I think we'll probably sign in the next month. We've got it down to, like, three people. Two of them we really, really love, and it's really hard to choose between. The other is great too, just probably not for us.

Thursday will perform at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Friday; and at Montclair State University's Montclairfest in Montclair, New Jersey, on Saturday. Also, don't forget Buzznet's interview with Thursday drummer Tucker Rule from earlier this year check out parts one, two, three and four.

Posted on 04/25/2008 8:21 AM Comments (15)
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