The Press caught up with singer and guitarist Hutch Harris to talk about how change—everyone’s favorite word—has affected his band.
New York Press: Your new record is on [smaller independent label] Kill Rock Stars, but didn’t Sub Pop offer you a two-album deal? Why switch labels? Hutch Harris:
Sub Pop did offer us a second contract.We sat on it and thought about it for a long time, and ultimately decided it wasn’t the kind of contract we wanted to sign. I loved making records for Sub Pop, and I hope to make records with them again in the future, [but] we did what we thought was right for this band at this time—we had to be independent again.We organized and financed this record entirely by ourselves, and licensed the finished product to Kill Rock Stars. So far, we’re very happy with the choice we made.
The drumming part of the trio is different as well. How’s the new lineup working out?
Fantastic. Our new drummer,Westin Glass, is a powerhouse of a drummer and a total sweetheart as well. I think I might be the second cutest guy in the band again, which is always a challenge for me.
In [the new song] “When We Were Alive,” you scream, “You should have seen us in our prime.” Are you already looking back?
The whole record is about looking back. Maybe we should have called it Then We Could See or Then We Saw. Almost all the lyrics are past tense, looking back on life, at or after death.
Your website says that you like to invent rock-crit terms, what do you consider the new record to be? No-fi? Neo-grunge?
Dude, it’s totally post-alternative! We are children of the ’90s, so it makes perfect sense. Plus being “post-” anything automatically makes you smarter than it.
You played South by Southwest in 2005 and are playing again in a few months, are you excited to show off your new stuff to Austin? How does playing a festival like that differ from regular shows?
Festivals are great because you play to a lot of people who have never seen you and might not see you otherwise. Usually they are quite drunk and easily engaged. I don’t know how many people from Austin we’ll play to, seeing as so many people from out of town will be there, but I can tell you that most audiences will be fucking lit.
What do you like most and least about playing NYC shows?
I was born in NYC and lived there until I was eight, so to “make it” even in a small sense in NYC is a great feeling for me. I just wish we played there more often.
The Thermals is set for a lot of touring in 2009. What’s after that?
After that we sit around and say, “Whoa, that was a helluvalot of touring. I don’t think I can ever do that again.”Then we do it again.
> The Thermals
Jan. 31, Bell House, 149 7th St., (betw. 2nd & 3rd Aves.), Brooklyn, 718-643-6510; 11, $14.
