Thursday | |
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 Thursday in 2006. From left to right: Tom Keeley, Geoff Rickly, Andrew Everding, Tim Payne, Tucker Rule and Steve Pedulla. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Website | thursday |
Thursday is an Americanpost-hardcore band formed inNew Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1997. The band consists ofGeoff Rickly (lead vocals), Tom Keeley (lead guitar, backing vocals), Steve Pedulla (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Tim Payne (bass), and Tucker Rule (drums).
The band's debut albumWaiting (1999) featured original guitarist Bill Henderson, who left in 2000 and was replaced by Pedulla. Thursday gained popularity with their second albumFull Collapse (2001), and the band's major-label debutWar All the Time (2003) debuted at number 7 on the USBillboard 200. The band releasedA City by the Light Divided (2006),Common Existence (2009) andNo Devolución (2011) before announcing an indefinite hiatus following Australian tour dates in 2012, which Rickly later confirmed was a full disbandment.
Thursday reunited in 2016, touring for the next few years and breaking up again in 2019. In 2020, Thursday announced another reunion at Chicago'sRiot Fest in 2021.[7] In 2024, the band released "Application for Release From the Dream", their first new song in 13 years.
The band is considered influential in the post-hardcore music scene in the 2000s, and is credited as one of the key bands to popularize the darkeremo sound andscreaming vocals which came to prominence at the time.[8]
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Thursday was formed in 1997 by vocalistGeoff Rickly, guitaristTom Keeley, guitarist Bill Henderson, bassistTim Payne, and drummerTucker Rule. The band began playing basement shows inNew Brunswick where they were students atRutgers University and the surrounding New Jersey and New York areas, playing their first official show on December 31, 1998 in Rickly's basement alongsideMidtown,Saves the Day andPoison the Well.
The band recordeddemos to hand out at shows, and in the summer of 1999, teamed up withMP3.com for their first official release, the1999 Summer Tour EP, which featured demos of songs that would soon be found on their debut album,Waiting. The album was released on November 8, 1999, on northern New Jersey–basedEyeball Records without any singles or support from television or radio.
In 2001, Thursday signed to independent labelVictory Records.[1] After signing, they were warned by their friends that they had "gotten ourselves into a situation that we would regret".[9] The group was unsure what they meant, but thought things would turn out fine due to their contract with the label. They initially thought that part of the contract meant they could sign with a different label they wanted to. However, they realized the deal had stated they could only leave Victory if it was to join a major label, which they thought was "a far-fetched idea to say the least."[9] Later in the year, they released their second albumFull Collapse through the label, eventually reaching number 178 on theBillboard 200.[1] Before appearing onWarped Tour,[10] the group visited Victory's offices and learned about Thursday-brandedwhoopee cushions that the label was planning to sell at the tour. VocalistGeoff Rickly discussed this matter with Victory founder Tony Brummel, and according to the band, responded that Victory "was a big company and that they didn't have time to run everything by the band."[9]
On several occasions, the group attempted to have better communication with the label in regards to promotion. On one occasion, Brummel informed them they were not living up to his expectations. Sometime afterward, the group was touring withSaves the Day. Brummel became more positive in his interactions, frequently calling the band "just to say hello, or to ask how record sales at shows were going."[9] The group were disappointed that his positivity "wasn't there from the beginning. ... Instead of Tony's relationship with us being based on a love for music, it was based entirely on numbers."[9] The band's new-found popularity and disgust with the label led to internal problems, which almost led the band to disband. The situation caused the creation of theFive Stories Falling EP, a release the band used to fulfill contractual obligations with Victory Records. At live shows, the band routinely told fans not to purchase theEP, but instead to download "Jet Black New Year", the only new studio recording found on the EP, with the rest consisting of live performances of fourFull Collapse songs.[11] While all the interactions with the label were occurring, the group were being contacted by major labels. The group, who "didn't understand [anything] about major labels", pondered about other independent labels they would join.[9] However, due to their contract they wouldn't be allowed to move to another independent label. Throughout 2001, people from major labelIsland Records had been to the band's shows since they became a full-time touring act. Soon after, the label expressed interest in signing the band.[9]
In late May 2002, the group announced they had signed to Island Records,[12] following a bidding war between other major labels.[13][nb 1] Up to this point,Full Collapse had sold 111,000 copies.[17] On September 9, the group's signing to Island Records was made official following negotiations of anexit agreement with Victory Records. The agreement required parent companyIsland/Def Jam to buy out Victory's contract claim for the group's next two albums.[18] Rickly said as a result of the deal, Victory Records received $1,200,000, which meant the band would be "[paying off] that bill for as long as we were on the new label."[19] In addition, their next two albums were required to feature the Victory logo.[20]
With expectation building for their follow-up album, Rickly wanted their next album to be "really aggressive and progressive ... and have all these boundary pushing ideas".[19] In September and October, the group went on the Plea for Peace Tour,[21] and were planning to work on their next album following its conclusion. They said they had accumulated a lot of ideas but were unable to work on them due to touring. In mid-November, the group began writing new material.[22]
After an entire writing and recording process that took only six months, the band issued their third album andmajor label debut,War All the Time, on September 16, 2003, to critical acclaim and strong commercial performance.War All the Time was the first release to featureAndrew Everding on keyboards, though he would not become an official member of the band until December 2004, when he was officially welcomed into the band at a Christmas holiday show held at theStarland Ballroom inSayreville, New Jersey. The album's title, coupled with it being released approximately two years after theterrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led many critics to believe it was a political album; however, Rickly has denied this on many accounts, instead claiming that he is speaking aboutlove being awar.[23] The album spawned two singles: "Signals Over the Air" and "War All the Time", though the latter received considerably less attention due toMTV banning the video for controversial material involving a fakenews feed that appeared to be real and teenagers being weapon targets.[24]
Thursday toured extensively to supportWar All the Time, featuring dates with acts such asAFI,Thrice, andCoheed and Cambria. On these tours, Thursday performed many in-storeacoustic sessions at variousTower Records stores and other record stores. The band also recorded a live acoustic session for Y100 Sonic Sessions, a radio program on the now defunctPhiladelphia-based radio station,Y100. The live acoustic version of single "Signals Over the Air" was used on Y100 Sonic Sessions Volume 8. The band released two EPs: the first wasLive from the SoHo & Santa Monica Stores Split EP and sold exclusively oniTunes, and the second was a promotion found inRevolver, called theLive in Detroit EP.
The band went on an indefinite hiatus in 2004, citing label pressure, extensive touring, and health problems as the reasons. However, Thursday returned for a charitable performance to saveNew York City'sCBGB, on August 25, 2005, which was streamed live through the CBGB's website.
In fall 2005, five Thursday demo songs were stolen from theiPod of the tour manager forMy American Heart, a band Rickly had recently collaborated with for their song "We Are the Fabrication". The band issued a statement on their official website stating that they were disappointed the unfinished products leaked, but that they were glad that people take that much interest in their music. The band confirmed the title of one demo, "At This Velocity" and promised it would make their upcoming album.[25] Three other songs ("The Other Side of the Crash/Over and Out (Of Control)", "Telegraph Avenue Kiss", and "Autumn Leaves Revisited") would also make the album, while the remaining demo would later become the song "Last Call" on their fifth studio album,Common Existence. Thursday had originally toyed with the idea of adouble album to follow upWar All the Time but the idea was scrapped, reporting on their website that they believed "not evenThe Beatles could properly fill two discs with enough worthy material".
Thursday released their fourth album and second major label release,A City by the Light Divided, on May 2, 2006, on Island Records in the US andHassle Records in theUnited Kingdom. The album was produced byDave Fridmann, becoming Thursday's first full-length album not produced bySal Villanueva. The title was created by Geoff Rickly by combining two lines from the poemSunstone byOctavio Paz. The album was available for preview on the band'sMySpace page on April 18, 2006, two weeks before it was officially released.A City by the Light Divided was generally received well by critics, spawning two singles: "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" and "At This Velocity", though the latter received considerably less attention. The band left Island Records in early 2007.[26]
At their 2007New Year's Eve show at theStarland Ballroom, the band announced that they will be writing and recording new material in 2008.[27] During a private show they performed on May 3, 2007, inNew York City, long-time friend and artist manager, David "Rev" Ciancio proposed to hisfiancée on stage. Thursday also held a performance on May 5 atThe Bamboozle under the fake name Bearfort. Thursday cancelled all tour plans until their fall tour withCircle Takes the Square andPortugal. The Man in support ofKill the House Lights, a DVD/CDcompilation album andlive album. featuring demos, unreleased songs, footage of live performances, and a documentary about the band. The album was released on October 30, 2007, by their former label Victory Records.
Thursday announced on April 2, 2008, via aMySpace bulletin and their official website, a newsplit album with Japanesepost-hardcore bandEnvy.[28] The band debuted a song from the album live during their show inPoughkeepsie on April 24, 2008, and the album,Thursday / Envy, was released onTemporary Residence Limited on November 4, 2008.[29]
The band announced on September 30, 2008, that they had signed withEpitaph Records, regarding their new label the band stated: "It's a great feeling to have a label encourage you to be more socially conscious and politically active."[30] Thursday released their fifth full-length album,Common Existence, on February 17, 2009, on Epitaph Records. In a March 2009 interview, Rickly explained the album's title refers to humanity's shared experience, and that many of the songs were influenced by the words of his favorite poets and authors: "Almost every song on the record is connected to a different writer. The first song, "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" is influenced byDenis Johnson'sResuscitation of a Hanged Man. Another song is based on a book [Martin Amis']Time's Arrow. The whole record also has a lot of themes fromRoberto Bolano, a poet who wroteThe Savage Detectives and a few other things. The song "Circuits of Fever" is very influenced by [writer]David Foster Wallace."[31]Cormac McCarthy has also influenced Rickly.[32]
Thursday headlined the 2009Taste of Chaos Tour with support fromBring Me the Horizon,Four Year Strong,Pierce The Veil,Cancer Bats and a local act.[33] The band was not well received on this tour, as the majority of the audience members showed up at tour dates mainly for opening act Bring Me the Horizon, with guitarist Tom Keeley approximating about 90% of the audience would leave before their set, and described the tour as an "awful experience."[34] Rickly said the tour was "stupid" and found it difficult to share a stage with Bring Me the Horizon, who would call the crowd "faggots" during their sets.[19]
Thursday began recording their next album in July 2010, at Tarbox Road Studios inFredonia, New York with Dave Fridmann, who had also produced the group's two previous albums.[35] Their sixth album and second release for Epitaph Records,No Devolución, was released on April 12, 2011.[36] Vocalist Geoff Rickly commented on the style of the new album, stating, "In style, this record feels like a radical departure from our earlier records but in substance it feels like a return. The songs are more vulnerable than they've been in a long time. [...] It's very atmospheric and mood oriented so far."[37] Rickly also stated that the primary lyrical theme is devotion.[38] Thursday debuted "Turnpike Divides" at their annual holiday show on December 30, 2010, at the Starland Ballroom.[39]
On November 22, 2011, Thursday posted a statement on their official website and theirTwitter account reading "Thanks & Love", expressing their intention to stop producing music together. However, the statement about the status of band was ambiguous, not stating explicitly in the article whether they were breaking up or on an indefinite hiatus.[40][41] The following is excerpted from the article:
Despite the fantastic year that the band has enjoyed, creatively, things haven't been as easy for us on a personal level. Without diving into detail, it's fair to say that this year has been an endless series of personal difficulties. We haven't had any falling out and are all still close. I'm sure that we will continue to create, in some capacity, together. We've talked about turning Thursday into something else: a non-profit, a band that only records sporadically, a collection of other projects… Underneath it all, the personal circumstances involved make it impossible to continue Thursday in the spirit that has made it special. So, we stop. For now, at least.[40]
The band's final show took place on March 5, 2012, at theSoundwave festival inPerth, Australia.[42]
In January 2013, Geoff Rickly stated during an interview that Thursday had in fact disbanded, and that the term "hiatus" was misleading as it had only been used in case the band did ever decided to play a show again. He did, however, indicate that there was a possibility for the band to play shows in the future, but no new material would ever be produced.[43]
Since their disbandment, Rickly formed the bandNo Devotion in 2014 with former members of the bandLostprophets, and continued with his side-projectUnited Nations. Tucker Rule became the touring drummer for the British boy bandThe Wanted, the pop-punk bandYellowcard and worked as a hired musician as well as studio drummer.[44]
In January 2016, former members of Thursday posted a picture of themselves hanging out to Rickly's Twitter account. This sparked rumors that the band would soon be reuniting, however Rickly quickly dispelled them by saying that their communication was minimal in the five years since disbanding and they were "just finally mending some fences and healing some old wounds."[45] Thursday's former booking agent began encouraging them to reunite the band with the freedom to do whatever they wanted and without the pressure of having to write a new album.[46]
Two months later, Thursday announced a reunion atAtlanta's Wrecking Ball festival in August 2016. Rickly said: "Five years ago, we found it necessary to end Thursday for reasons beyond our control. Earlier this year, we were able to reconcile all of our differences and spend time together. This is a vital component to what we loved about being in Thursday and we're happy to say that we'll be playing this show as the same line-up that began touring together onFull Collapse and jointly worked on every record since."[47] Thursday had no intentions to reunite before this and only agreed to perform only two days before publicly announcing their reunion, making the decision because of the festival's strong lineup and the involvement of a charity.[46][48]
In May, Thursday announced an appearance at both Chicago and Denver'sRiot Fest dates in September.[49] On June 15, Thursday announced a "homecoming" atStarland Ballroom on December 30.[50] On January 31, 2017, Thursday announced a 24-date tour for March and April 2017, the band's first full tour since 2012.[51] In June, Thursday headlined theNorthside Festival inBrooklyn, New York.[52]
The band announced in October 2018 that their reunion would end in 2019, stating, "When we stopped playing last time, it wasn't on the best of terms. This time, we get to put down touring on the very highest of notes: in each other's lives and able to pick up and play together behind closed doors whenever we want. If we are ever able to do Thursday again, it will be a new, separate chapter. Thank you all for your time, attention and friendship."[53] The band's planned final show took place on March 17, 2019, atSaint Vitus inBrooklyn, New York.[54]
However, Thursday did not play any international shows during this reunion, and due to mounting pressure from their international fanbase, the band announced in May 2019 a German show atCologne's Family First Festival. "It seemed impossible that we would all be available at the same time to play shows again, especially in any sustained way. But when our old friends inboysetsfire asked us to play this festival with them, we saw that we had a rare opportunity to accomplish two things at once: visit a country that's always been kind to Thursday and play, once more, with a band that we've admired since before we were a band," the band said.
Further shows followed inEindhoven, Netherlands, and two UK shows at London'sElectric Ballroom, withFull Collapse played on the first night andWar All the Time played on the second, which took place in December 2019.[55] The band also opened for the reunitedMy Chemical Romance at Los Angeles'The Shrine on December 20.[56]
In June 2020, Thursday announced that their first show in nearly two years would take place atRiot Fest in September 2021. The band reunited without Everding, reverting to theFull Collapse andWar All the Time-era line-up.[7] Between August 2020 and April 2021, the band shared three virtual performances entitledSignals. The first performance (V1) featured guest guitaristFrank Iero, and largely consisted of stripped-back versions of the band's songs.[57] The second (V2) was a commemorative holiday show, with guests including Iero,Jim Ward,Walter Schriefels andBartees Strange.[58] The third and final performance (V3) saw the band performingFull Collapse andNo Devolución in their entirety.[59]
In June 2021, the band shared a cover ofBruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" as part of an ongoing series of covers headed by the creative collective Two Minutes To Late Night.[60] They also played a series of live shows that same month throughout the east coast and midwest of the US, withTaking Back Sunday andPiebald.[61][62]
In October 2021, the band were featured in Dan Ozzi's bookSellout: The Major Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, And Hardcore 1994–2007. A chapter onWar All the Time was included in the book, as well as a photo of the band performing live serving as the book's cover.[63] In July 2022, the band headlined Philadelphia's This is Hardcore Fest, playingFull Collapse in its entirety.
In September 2022, the band joinedMy Chemical Romance as a guest on their North American tour for seven shows.[64] On their last night opening, Thursday performed "Jet Black New Year" withGerard Way, who features on the original song.[65] Rickly then performed "This Is the Best Day Ever" with My Chemical Romance, a song he featured on.[66]
On April 12, 2024, the band released their first new song in 13 years, "Application for Release From the Dream", and revealed plans to record and release more music in the future.[67]
On December 6, 2024, the band released another new song, "White Bikes". Geoff Rickly said, "The lyrics deal with the loss of a dear friend, who was one of the first people I ever played music with. Before he disappeared on his bicycle, he asked me to meet him but I never made it to the meeting spot. Now whenever I see a white bike on the side of the road I think of him."[68] It was recorded inHansa studios inBerlin, and includes Norman Brannon ofTexas Is The Reason on guitar. The music video for White Bikes was created by Duran Levinson and Nick Scholey.[69]
Thursday used adove logo which is featured on much of the band's artwork and merchandise. The dove is believed to have been conceived by guitarist Tom Keeley on atour bus sometime beforeFull Collapse was recorded. Lyrics from the song "Cross Out the Eyes" on the album reference a dove twice, but it is unknown if these lyrics were inspired by the dove art or vice versa. The logo debuted on the cover art forWar All the Time in 2003, appearing on the artwork for all of Thursday's album andsingle artwork until 2011, where it was notably absent on the cover art for their sixth and final albumNo Devolución.
The band also used a second logo, a redbullseye with a smallchevron below it. This logo first appeared on the cover art forA City by the Light Divided in 2006, and featured on merchandise related to the album. It can also be seen faded in the background of the cover forKill the House Lights.
Additionally,Shepard Fairey (creator ofObey) created artwork for the band with a new dove logo, which has been used on other works by Fairey.[70]
Thursday's musical style has been described aspost-hardcore,[43][71][72][73]emo,[7][54] andscreamo.[74][75][76] The band has rejected those labels in the past; guitarist Pedulla has stated that they have "always described ourselves asmelodic hardcore."[74]
Early on, Thursday was influenced by such bands asthe Smiths,the Cure,Joy Division,[38][73]Fugazi,Drive Like Jehu,[77]New Order,Quicksand,[78]Saetia,[79]Refused,[80]Lungfish,Circus Lupus,Rites of Spring, andEmbrace.[73] In a 2014 interview withVice Media, Rickly said that Thursday's sound was based upon how many local shows in the New Brunswick scene featured artists with sonically dissimilar sounds, particularly citing one featuringRainer Maria andConverge.[78] Over time, the band has absorbed elements of bands as varied asSigur Rós,[81][82]My Bloody Valentine,[76][83]Mogwai,[83][84]Godspeed You! Black Emperor,[84]Sunny Day Real Estate,[85][86]the Appleseed Cast,[86]At the Drive-In,[76] andJawbox.[87]
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...we wanted to play our own brand of hardcore that reflected our influences, likeJoy Division,The Smiths andThe Cure.
Geoff Rickly: Drive Like Jehu and Fugazi were the two bands we all agreed on when we started Thursday.
But then we saw Sigur Rós at Radio City Music Hall, and they just blew us away. So the next day, we started recording 'Division Street' and decided to bring in some of their noisy qualities into our music.
I think with this record, it wasn't really the band discovering new influences. These are influences that have been there forever, sneaking in little by little. But this time it came more to the forefront, sort ofMy Bloody Valentine orMogwai kind of things.
But we've also been listening to a lot of different stuff that's coming out in music but with our twist. What you are listening to constantly affects how you're playing. We've been listening to a lot of mellower stuff, but what's weird is that it's been coming out a lot heavier. On tour we listen to a lot ofGodspeed You! Black Emperor and Mogwai, not that they are really mellow, a lot of it is heavier in a different way
AsDiary andLP2 kept selling, so did Sunny Day Real Estate's influence on newer bands in the late nineties. 'I think one of the things we loved so much about them was how dynamic their music was', says Steve Pedulla of the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Thursday. (...) 'I think the way the two guitars interact with each other definitely influenced us as well.'
With Sunny Day Real Estate and Jeremy Enigk, that dude and his band are legendary and have influenced us and countless others in our genre and even outside of our own. It's the same with Appleseed Cast ...
it recalls bands that I listened to growing up:Jawbox andFugazi—truly great bands. I think they put their own stamp on it. It's like, these are our influences ...
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