Every time I play with passion, I start breaking strings.

In a world of audio and visual over-stimulation, it’s hard to focus on…well, anything. With a constant barrage of myspace friend requests from bands (about 10 a day) it’s hard to find anything worth listening to. As a musician, I feel it’s only fair to at least give each of those bands a shot. They took the time to write and record these songs, post them to the ‘space, and hope someone hears it and actually likes it. Every single request I get, I go to those bands’ pages and listen to at least one song. 9 times out of 10, I get first-chorus deep, and click the little “x” on the page tab. There’s just so much mindless, meaningless bullshit. It’s all the same cookie-cutter nonsense. I think the only reason I waste my time on it is because I’m a musician myself. I expect the same respect I give.

When I was 17, I was excited about most music. Though when I was 17, I suppose most things were pretty exciting. Things still held promise for me. Life after high school was supposed to be great. Turning 18 meant I was a man. I could make my own decisions. Drinking was always such a thrill. Smoking a bowl after work, coming home, and trying to act sober until I made it behind my closed bedroom door was exciting. Then I graduated, turned 18, and thought I was a man. I tried to take on the world. I had no respect for anything or anyone. I was the shit, and I knew it. I did whatever I wanted. Then the world pushed back and fucked me up. Turns out, being able to vote and not having a curfew doesn’t make you a man. Drinking and drugs suddenly have consequences other than your parents grounding you. You don’t just wake up one day and magically have your shit figured out. Most of life is bullshit, and you have to wade through it until you die. There’s little moments of awesome that make up for it, though. Unfortunately, the ratio of awesome moments to bullshit is probably about 1:100. That being said, the ratio of awesome bands to bullshit is probably about the same (a-ha! Back on topic!). I’ve grown out of a lot of the music and bands that I used to listen to with such fervor. A big part of that is as those bands were also growing and changing, it was not in a way I agreed with. However, that band that has stuck with me the most over the years (at least so far) is Thrice.

The first thrice song I ever heard was “Artist in the Ambulance.” Yes, it’s a great song. Yes, it’s meaningful. Yes, it’s catchy. Yes, it’s also a lot like everything else that was happening in rock music then. For example, here’s a mixed CD I probably would have made in 2004:

Thrice-Artist in the Ambulance

The Used-Maybe Memories

Hawthorne Heights-Ohio is For Lovers

Senses Fail-One Eight Seven

Finch-Letters to You

Taking Back Sunday-You’re So Last Summer

Brand New-Seventy Seven Time Seven (or whatever the fuck that song is called)

Etc. etc. etc. You get the point.

This CD would have had some witty or clever title -mostly wordplay or puns- that would have had nothing to do with the actual content of the CD. This CD would have lived with me, been played in whatever car I was in going where ever, for probably about a month. Then I would have made another one with similar songs from similar artists.

Thrice, however, always seemed to frequent these mixed CDs more than any other band. There was just something about Thrice. Dustin’s voice…Teppei’s leads…Ed and Riley’s ridiculously tight rhythm section…it always struck a chord with me (wordplay!). I was always into them, but never as obsessed as my peers. Thrice always intrigued me. After I had played Artist in the Ambulance to death, I got my hands…nay, cursor, on digital copies of their earlier releases Illusion of Safety, Identity Crisis, and even the rare First Impressions (thanks for that one, Jeff). When Vheissu came out, it didn’t initially impress me. I reverted back to Illusion of Safety. Songs like “Trust” “The Red Death” and mosh pit favorite “Deadbolt” always left me wanting more, like I should be working harder to get where I wanted to be. The problem was, I didn’t know where I wanted to be. I was living in a beautiful city full of life, and I wanted no part of it. I had no friends where I was, and those back in my hometown had abandoned me. I was going to school that was way too uppity for me. The students were too high strung. I was surrounded in stress. I was supposed to be doing something I loved, and I wasn’t. Thrice’s Illusion showed me that it was okay to be pissed off. Everything was fucked up and backasswards and I wasn’t the one going crazy, it was the world around me. At least that’s the way 2006, 19 year-old me felt, and 2002 Thrice felt the same.

Vheissu grew on me over the years, and “The Earth will Shake” has become one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s in the top 10 of my top 100 songs. The entire album is a beautiful and heart-wrenching experience, and will always be a staple in my music collection. Vheissu showed me there’s a much bigger world out there full of wrong and injustice, and those with heart should stand up and do something about it.

In 2007 and 2008, Thrice released The Alchemy Index, four 6-song EP’s released two at a time. Each EP represent the different elements of verve; Water, Fire, Air, and Earth. The Index was everything I ever wanted to hear. It was musicians pushing limits, defining what it meant to be an artist, and redefining everything I thought I knew about music. Index made me want to be a better person and a better musician. It made me want to grab hold of those close to me and tell them I loved them.

If The Alchemy Index were all just pieces to a puzzle, Thrice’s 2009 release Beggars is all those pieces put back together. Beggars is just as soulful as everything else Thrice has ever done, it’s just as edgy, it’s just as catchy, it’s just as meaningful, and it’s just as relevant. In my opinion, Thrice is my generation’s Beatles. In their early career, they were just kids writing good songs and having fun. 11 years later, they’ve made a difference, broke new ground, changed (and probably saved) lives. Thrice has a message of hope, love, and understanding.