March saw New York rock band The Thing come to Seattle and perform at the Sunset Tavern as part of their North America tour. This tour comes after the release of their second record, “The Thing Is” which was released Feb. 2.
The album is high-energy rock and roll that aims to capture how the band took a leap of faith into becoming a full-time touring band. Having just ended their lease in Brooklyn and all of them quitting their jobs to go on the road, The Thing aimed to focus this energy of change into the album in a way that is exciting and bold while facing the unknown.
We had the opportunity to ask the band’s lead singer and bassist Zane Acord a few questions:
SA: You’re a little over halfway through your tour, how has it been so far?
ZA: It’s been bananas. It was our first time going west of Texas. We rode horses in Monument Valley, that was definitely the highlight. We’re all horse guys now. The West Coast really showed up and all the bands we got to play with killed it. It’s been a big success in our eyes and we can’t wait for the second half.
SA: And what are you looking forward to with the second half?
ZA: We can’t wait to come back to the Midwest and go to Canada for the first time. Overall, we’re just excited to meet new people and see old friends in all these places. We love Wisconsin though, super excited to be back there.
SA: How does the album showcase you as a band?
ZA: It was our first record as a 4-piece band so we recorded it all live. We wanted it to be as honest and raw as possible as that’s what you get when you come to one of our live shows. There is definitely a spectrum of different sounds on the record, which is something we like to have as opposed to being pinned down to a specific genre or subgenre. It allows us to have the freedom to pivot and create anything that we are all feeling.
SA: What kind of emotions do you hope to bring out in listeners through the album?
ZA: Confidence in yourself to be whoever you dream of becoming.
SA: In the press release, you were described as psych-garage outlaws. What does this mean to you and how would you describe your overall vibe, style/energy?
ZA: We are driving our Ford van city to city, selling our sound and some t-shirts we printed ourselves, staying wherever we can for free. It’s a bootstrapped operation but we wouldn’t want it any other way. It ain’t much, but it’s honest.
