After releasing its most ambitious release to date, The Alchemy Index Volumes I-IV, Thrice managed to hop onto another large tour this year, after already having headlined two U.S. tours in support of a four-EP project. Thrice is touring the United States in support of Rise Against, alongside The Gaslight Anthem and Alkaline Trio.
This is Thrice’s first support tour in quite some time. Drummer Riley Breckenridge sees it as an entirely different experience, and an opportunity to take some of Rise Against’s fans.
"One of the reasons we wanted to do this tour was because it was going to give us an opportunity to play for people that might not have seen us before," Breckenridge said. "It’s taken a while to get used to, but now we’re finding our stride."
Breckenridge and the rest of the band are finding a lot more time on this tour, considering the work is less in comparison to doing a headline tour.
"You don’t get soundchecks every night, you load in earlier, the press load is a lot less," Breckenridge said. "And we’re only playing 40 minutes, so it’s like a vacation. It’s like, ‘Holy crap – what am I going to do all night?’"
This will be Thrice’s last tour before going back home to their families and starting work on their follow-up to The Alchemy Index. Now that some of the members have families, it wouldn’t be a stretch to consider that Thrice is not all of their main priorities.
"Since the (some of the) guys have had kids, they obviously need to spend more time at home, and that’s always OK," Breckenridge said. "But the desire to create and write music is still there, and that’s still everyone’s top priority."
The band has progressed exponentially since its thrash, punk and metal days of The Illusion of Safety and The Artist in the Ambulance, so it’s always a wonder if the band feels detached from its older material.
"In the old days, it was all about playing fast and how many riffs we can stuff into a song, and the ‘feel’ of songs never entered our minds," Breckenridge said. "Now we try to play with more feel or groove, so it’s not necessarily detached. We’re just in a different space now."
As for the future, Thrice plans to take a few months off after this tour and eventually settle into sharing ideas and writing for its coming 2009 album. The band plans to release a live CD/DVD set, Live at the House of Blues, on Dec. 9.
"I saw some of the edits, and for not having a massive budget like Coldplay or My Chemical Romance, I think it came out really good," Breckenridge said. "We played the longest set we’ve ever played, and I think people will enjoy it."
In the meantime, Thrice will continue to run off of steam from The Alchemy Index, which the band members have deemed a success.
"I think we were successful in all aspects, and we’ve learned a lot from it," Breckenridge said. "We’re really energized and excited about what’s next."
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