Any Time of the Week
It's a Thursday Kind of Day
by Rex Rutkowski
It doesn't matter what day of the week it is, says Thursday guitarist Steve Pedulla, the rockers take the same approach to music. "You learn some of the rules, try to understand them and then break them," he explains.
The New Jersey sextet continues to follow its own artistic path, moving into a new year, exploring new opportunities, the first of which is headlining the innovative Strhess Tour presented by Pure Volume. Also on the bill are the bands Murder by Death, Fear Before The March of Flames and Heavy Heavy Low Low.
The live audience seems to be ever changing for Thursday, he says, and the energy from the crowd can make for a memorable evening. It's all part of the adventure of the band with the name that represents an early start to a weekend. "We've definitely encountered our share of surprises along the way. For starters, I don't think any of us ever thought that this band would actually become our full-time career," Pedulla says. "It just happened to work out that way and we're all really excited that it did. We're incredibly lucky being able to make music for a living."
He says the group takes a cautious approach to the music industry. "We try to only get as tied up with it as we need to be. Obviously we have to get involved to make sure our records are made and presented the way we'd like," he says. "But getting too involved can definitely pull you into a black hole of sorts. It can make you lose sight of the music. We see this happening to lots of artists out there. I don't think the music industry is different than we thought it would be."
In addition to Pedulla, Thursday is lead singer Geoff Rickly, guitarist Tom Keeley, keyboardist Andrew Everding, bassist Tim Payne and drummer Tucker Rule. They pride themselves in having built a loyal grassroots following on tour and over the Internet since forming in New Brunswick, N.J., in 1997, and releasing Waiting, their debut album, in 2000 on the independent Eyeball imprint.
They followed with Full Collapse in 2001 on Chicago's Victory label, were signed to Island Records in 2002, and won a spot on the Vans Warped Tour in 2003. Their CD War All the Time was released and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard national charts on the strength of its Top 30 Modern Rock Track video, "Signals Over the Air."
Their latest album, A City by the Light Divided, is the record that Thursday has been trying to make all along, "but we had to learn a bunch along the way to make it happen," says Pedulla. "With each release our goal is to make a record that we're more excited about than the last one. We learn a lot about songwriting with each record and we try to apply what we've learned along the way," he adds.
Pedulla says the creative process is constantly evolving for the band, but in general it is quite collaborative. "The source of our creativity would have to be our daily life experiences and other art," he says. "This is also where the themes and subject matter come from. I definitely think it has evolved over the years, but the general source has been the same."
He believes that where a musician lives and grows up can impact creativity. "I think in our case it did. I'm not sure that Thursday would exist if all of us weren't actively going to the DIY basement shows in New Brunswick [N.J., where they are based]," he explains. "Some of us grew up in Central Jersey and some of us in North Jersey, near New York City. Some of the guys loved Philadelphia's Ink and Dagger and they were definitely an influence on the band."
As a band, the musicians are into a variety of genres, he says, and are constantly finding new things that inspire and influence them. "There is always something new that we want to explore musically," he says.
He believes people relate to Thursday's music because it touches on everyday experiences. "We're about compassion and communication. We've always wanted our music to be a dialogue with anyone that listened to it rather than it being about some rockers up on a huge stage rocking your world," Pedulla says. "But at the same time we're not ultra-serious. We are human and we like to have a good time."
Beyond entertainment, he is hopeful that people take a sense of compassion and hope from Thursday's music, whether it is live or on CD. "We definitely hope that we're more than just entertainment to people, not that there is anything wrong with entertainment," he says. "We just like to try to add a little bit of depth to it if possible."
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