Post-hardcore quartet Thrice have been bringing their wares to the masses since first forming in Irvine, CA, back in 1998. Since then, the band has released five full-length albums to date, the latest being, the conceptual opus, The Alchemy Index.
An epic four disc outing, it has been split into two parts. Vol. 1 and 2 saw release late last year whilst Vol. 3 and 4 surface in April.
During the album’s laborious production, it also saw the band split from their label
Island Records.
Joe Matera recently spoke to the band’s guitarist
Teppei Teranishi for this interview for
UG.
Ultimate-Guitar: What led the decision to release the new album The Alchemy Index in two parts? Parts 1 and II were released back in October while parts III and IV see release in April.
Teppei Teranishi: There are several reasons to it but the main reason is that we wanted people to really grasp the whole project as we wrote and recorded the whole project as one. Originally the idea we had was that we wanted to release four different EPs where each theme had a separate EP to itself. But after much thought, we decided to make it an actual record. Then we thought that to give people too many songs all at once was a little too much. Especially when it’s a concept album like this as we wanted people to grasp that concept. And in this day and age, where people have iPods and can skip around with songs and choose to just listen to their favorite songs, to give 24 songs like that to people all at once, I think in a way, they would feel they didn’t have time to listen to whole the record. So it was very important that people got the whole product on a whole.
Since it was quite a big undertaking, how did the songwriting process develop and did it differ from previous albums?
It was a very long process, the whole writing and recording process took us over a year. And because we did it all ourselves, that gave us a chance to do things a little differently. In the past we’d written a bunch of songs and done a bunch of pre-production and then gone into the studio and tried to bang them out. But this around we wrote and recorded as we went since we were doing it completely ourselves. So we would get together with a rough idea or a framework for a song and build the song that way up.
The band is no longer with Island Records, so does going down the independent route free you up creatively?
Yes and no. I mean we always felt we had a freedom when we were with Island. They were really good about everything as we were really clear with them from the beginning that we were not going to compromise ourselves artistically. But in the end, that was the same reason why we parted ways. They let us do what we wanted but it felt to us that they couldn’t do anything with it, which, really was fine with us, as we kind of agreed to that in the first place. But the parting of ways was the best way to resolve it. And we’re very happy with where we are at now.
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| "It was very important that people got the whole product on a whole." |
The Alchemy Index, is based on the four elements of nature; earth, air, fire, and water. What does the title and concept represent to the band on a personal level?
We felt the title is kind of fitting because it is the nature of our band, which has been an amalgamation of a bunch of different things for all of us personally. And we just thought it was an interesting way to title the album to represent those pieces that make the band and the way we’re spreading them and pushing them further in every direction.
When it comes to gear what did you use for the recording?
I used a Vox AC-30 a lot and a Marshall JCM-800 head particularly for some of the heavier stuff. I also used a lot of single coil guitars on this record. And even on the heavier stuff where I think you normally you wouldn’t expect to hear a single coil. I’ve been kind of digging the articulation that they have and I think it works really well, even with the heavy stuff. Effect wise, I used a bunch of different delay pedals but not too much modulation stuff. We all use that kind of Phase and Chorus-y kind of effects but only on the Water EP because we felt those effects actually sounded very water heavy. And on Air for example, there is a lot of reverb and a lot of delay.
You’ve been noted for playing humbuckers, particularly in regards to your Les Pauls, that you used in the past, why the change to more of the single coil sound?
I still use the Les Pauls, but I think my tastes are definitely evolving and changing. I’m definitely shying away from the more metal like Bogner/Mesa-Boogie kind of sound. I actually just got a ‘59 Bassman reissue and am loving it, as its sounds are so natural. What I really appreciate about the Bassman too is that it allows every guitar to be what it wants to be. While a lot of time with the more modern type of amps, you can play a Les Paul through it or a Fender Telecaster through it, and though they will both sound different in some ways, in the end, they all kind of sound the same. While with the Bassman it tends to bring out the character of each guitar much more.
What about when it comes to playing live, have you also changed the set-up?
I was using the AC-30 in conjunction with JCM-800 but I’m thinking of dropping those and going with the Bassman live for now. Guitar wise, I’m playing a Les Paul, a Fender Tele and an Epiphone Casino which I love because of the combination of the hollow-body and the P90s which makes it sound really cool. I also am using a Baritone Jaguar. In fact, pretty much all the Fire EP songs were recorded with that Baritone guitar.
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| "It was a very long process, the whole writing and recording process took us over a year." |
Thrice do a lot of work for charity organizations, is this something that the band feels is on equal footing with its music?
It is something that our band has done since day one. The first couple of records we put out on were on Sub City Records, a label that works with bands and gives money from parts of their record proceeds to charities of a band’s choice. And we thought, that was really cool and so it attracted us to it. It is something we enjoy doing for forever and we like doing it even if we weren’t on Sub City. We feel really fortunate to be able to do what we do for a living. And there are so many people in the world who are less fortunate than us so we wanted to give something back. But we try not to talk too much about it all other than the fact that we’re trying to raise awareness of the charity of our choice.
You’re currently about to head out on tour, so what can fans expect hear live?
We’re actually going to be doing something different with our set lists. Usually we will put together a set list A and a set list B, and just really rehearse the crap out of those. And try and get them tight and make sure the songs are seamless and all. But this time we are going to pout together a big pool of songs, about 30 plus songs, and we’re going to try and go with the flow and make a different set list every night. And we will see how that goes. This way it is going to keep the songs a little more organic and spontaneous. And it will also keep things fresh for us too.
You have also a side-project called Black Unicorn with your friend and guitar tech Chris Jones?
That is I guess a side, side, side project. We get bored on tour and just sit around and play guitar and so we decided to put together some songs so that when we get home, we can put them together in our spare time. And that is basically what that is all. I’m not really pushing anything with it and so don’t see any recordings happening any time in the near future.
Interview by Joe Matera
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