{"id":4423,"date":"2022-03-09T08:09:03","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T08:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/?p=4423"},"modified":"2022-03-09T11:51:27","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T11:51:27","slug":"blog-interview-thirsty-curses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/09\/blog-interview-thirsty-curses\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog interview: Thirsty Curses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&quot;Nothing Really Matters&quot; by Thirsty Curses (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)\" width=\"1020\" height=\"574\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OhrIcKxbcUc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Congratulations on the release of \u201cTo The Ends of The Earth\u201d how does it feel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Thanks! It feels great to be finished with it for sure. We started tracking drums in April 2021.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We were mostly finished with recording by September, but we made a couple last minute revisions\/additions in December. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was definitely the longest I\u2019ve ever taken to record an album.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But I think it\u2019s the best one we&#8217;ve done yet and we&#8217;re excited to release it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">What was the easiest and most challenging part of recording it? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">We recorded most of the album at our home studio in Raleigh, but we also spent a day at Bias Studios in Springfield, VA at the end of a tour run in August, where we tracked three songs and did some piano overdubs.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>That was probably the easiest part of the recording because the studio engineer, Mark Reiter, took the engineering reins for the day.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He did a great job, had some helpful suggestions, and was super easy to work with.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The most difficult part was just keeping the project moving over the course of eight months or whatever. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Describe your sound in three words. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">schizophrenic 90s mixtape<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">You\u2019re a band from Raleigh North Carolina how did it start for you? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The bass player Clayton and I actually grew up together in Richmond, Virginia, and we&#8217;ve played in many bands together over the years.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I moved to Raleigh in 2015 after having bounced around for a while for the previous ten years or so (Flagstaff, Austin, Moscow, D.C., Flagstaff again, New Hampshire).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When I moved to Raleigh I had a backlog of songs that I wanted to perform and record with a band.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I basically started going to open mics around town to meet local musicians.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It took a while to get a lineup together but by early 2017 we had something brewing.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Clayton moved down in 2018 and took over the bass guitar duties shortly thereafter. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">What did you all listen to starting out? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When we were growing up we listened to a lot of 90s rock and punk.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Bands like.. Nirvana, Blind Melon, Weezer, Beck, Sublime, Sonic Youth, Crass, Operation Ivy, The Clash, Dead Kennedys etc. were big for us. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But certainly bands like The Beatles and others from that era were also prominent.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>When Thirsty Curses formed circa 2017 I was personally listening to bands\/artists like Deer Tick, Jeff Rosenstock, Courtney Barnett, Hop Along, Kurt Vile, Lady Lamb, A Giant Dog, The Growlers, Parquet Courts, etc&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">What were the early writing sessions like?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Generally speaking, I do most of the songwriting by myself, or at least write the bones of the songs and then the band will help fill them out.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Sometimes the songs come quick; sometimes they take literally years to finish.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>As far as this new album is concerned, I think &#8220;Jenny&#8221;, &#8220;Your Next Move&#8221;,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>&#8220;What The Hell?&#8221;, &#8220;Tell Me The Truth&#8221;, and &#8220;Vera&#8221; were all pretty much each written in a couple hours, for example, and were generally brought about by some event in my life.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>On the other hand, I wrote the music to &#8220;Nothing Really Matters&#8221; in 2019, but the lyrics went through several re-writes.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Similarly, the music for &#8220;Whistlepig&#8221; had been floating around for a couple years, but the lyrics didn&#8217;t really materialize until 2020.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>&#8220;A Baptist and a Rabbi&#8221; was a song I started writing around 2008.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I had completely forgotten about it but during the pandemic found an old demo of it on an old hard drive and went about finishing it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">This is your fourth album, what have you learned since the first?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Man &#8211; I was kind of thinking about this the other day.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I&#8217;ve learned a lot in many areas. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I think I have become a much better musician and songwriter over the last few years, but I&#8217;ve also learned a great deal about the music industry, for better or worse.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I&#8217;ve also gotten a lot better at sound\/record engineering, etc..<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I&#8217;ve gotten to visit a lot of cities I&#8217;d never been to previously; met a lot of cool people.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>On the other hand, I&#8217;ve had some rough moments too, but those are maybe even more instructive, ultimately.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I think being in Thirsty Curses has helped me grow and change in many ways and I&#8217;m grateful for that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Do you have any funny stories from the recording sessions for this album?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">We had played a show in DC the night before we spent a day at Bias Studios in Northern Virginia.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We didn&#8217;t have anywhere to stay that night and didn&#8217;t want to spend money on a hotel, so we ended up sleeping in front of the studio.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We had<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>played the show the night before in matching coveralls.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>So when Mark (studio engineer) showed up in the morning, we looked like an encamped army of laid off mechanics.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I was also drinking an Arizona Ice Tea which Mark (sound engineer) told me later he had initially thought was beer.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It turned out to be a very productive day, but he was pretty skeptical that we were going to get much done when he first saw us in the morning. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Your videos are stunning visually especially \u201cNothing Really Matters\u201d how did you come up with the concept for it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Clayton has directed most of our music videos including the one for &#8220;Nothing Really Matters&#8221;.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Let me ask him&#8230;. Clay!&#8230;&#8230;. Clay! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Clayton:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>What???!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">How&#8217;d you come up with the concept for the &#8220;Nothing Really Matters&#8221; video. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Clayton: I listened to the song and thought it would be cool if there were a bunch of cars racing, but knew we couldn&#8217;t afford real cars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Great song too, what\u2019s the story behind it? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I guess it&#8217;s commentary on how self-absorbed, nihilistic, and cynical American society has become, myself included. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">COVID has impacted the creative industry, what kept you all motivated?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It&#8217;s been tough for sure.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I&#8217;d be lying if I said there weren&#8217;t months during the past two years when I didn&#8217;t sink into despair.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But these things come in waves I suppose.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I know I was feeling pretty hopeless in the summer of 2020 and was having a hard time staying motivated in pursuit of creative endeavors.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But when we did the music video shoot for &#8220;Bruises On Your Shoulders&#8221; in July 2020 it helped snap me out of it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I also remember getting a bounce in my step when the vaccine was announced in late 2020, as I was very eager to get back to performing.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But as we know now, 2021 wasn&#8217;t all smooth sailing either.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>At one point last year we had 3 out of 4 shows get cancelled due to COVID within a couple of weeks.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I remember at that point feeling incredibly frustrated and we kind of backed off booking as much around then.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But like with anything, I guess you just gotta roll with the punches as best you can. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">The last couple of years have been a time to reflect what did you learn about yourselves?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I took a personality test for the first time and it said that I am an ENTP Personality Type, which, as best I can tell, means I&#8217;m an asshole.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">What are you listening to at the moment?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Recently I got turned on to a band called Vulpeck.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Also been digging this guy JW Fancis.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>That new <\/span><span class=\"s2\">Get Back<\/span><span class=\"s1\">documentary led me to revisiting some of the Beatles and their respective solo work.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>There&#8217;s also this chick band out of Spain called Hinds that&#8217;s pretty rad. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">Coming from Raleigh NC are there any local bands you\u2019d recommend?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/charliepaso.bandcamp.com\/\">Charlie Paso<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s1\">. There&#8217;s a new band called <a href=\"https:\/\/blackbouquet.bandcamp.com\/\"><span class=\"s3\">Black Bouquet <\/span><\/a>that&#8217;s pretty cool.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>A band called <a href=\"https:\/\/prettycrimes.bandcamp.com\/\"><span class=\"s3\">Pretty Crimes. <\/span><\/a>There was also a band out of Chapel Hill called <a href=\"https:\/\/cosmicpunk.bandcamp.com\/album\/im-not-real\"><span class=\"s3\">Cosmic Punk<\/span><\/a> that I liked a lot but sadly they&#8217;re no longer active.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Arson Daily as well. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">What are you looking forward to doing next?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I&#8217;m hopeful that in 2022 we&#8217;ll see things get more back to normal, particularly when it comes to live music.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We were able to play some local shows and do a fair amount of touring some year, which was nice after not playing any shows for most of 2020.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But things were still fairly limited\/restricted.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>We&#8217;re just looking forward to getting back out there and playing more shows, connecting with new and old friends and fans, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Spotify Embed: To the Ends of the Earth\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"380\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/0EJr6qOrJteFJ8L0skZ7KC?si=GkhXXxnwQxqd1EfVAajLSw&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/To-The-Ends-of-the-Earth.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4424\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congratulations on the release of \u201cTo The Ends of The Earth\u201d how does it feel? Thanks! It feels great to be finished with it for sure. We started tracking drums in April 2021.\u00a0 We were mostly finished with recording by September, but we made a couple last minute revisions\/additions in December. \u00a0 It was definitely &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[191,118,129,132,30,244,37,177,150,243,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternative","category-bass","category-drums","category-lyricist","category-music","category-north-carolina","category-piano","category-rock","category-songwriter","category-u-s","category-vocals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4423"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4428,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4423\/revisions\/4428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}