Interview with The THermals

The Thermals are a trio of rockers from Portland Oregon. They recently followed up their breakthrough album "The Body, The Blood, The Machine," with their 4th album, "Now We Can See." .It is a polished, catchy 11 track soft pop/punk rock jam.The Thermals are thoughtful, powerful and fun.
The Thermals lead singer Hutch Harris and drummer Westin Glass sat down with me in Cleveland at the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern to tell Rotting Rhythms about their music, Twitter, Beer Lube and more. So, read on and find out....


THERMALS: It's a long long tour, and we all have girlfriends back home. So it's the NOGL tour - No One Gets Laid tour. No one in the band gets laid. There is one single girl touring with us, and she's not gettin laid either.

HAMMER: That's not cool. You aren't lettin her get some 'cause of band solidarity or something?

THERMALS: Totally. I'm gonna change my guitar stings while we do this.

HAMMER: What? You're not going out there with old strings so you can bust some strings on stage and look rockstar?

THERMALS: Nope. It looks rockstar, but then it sounds like shit.

HAMMER: Do you guys concentrate on sound in live shows? A lot of bands just care about the performance/showmanship aspect. and not the sound.

THERMALS: You gotta concentrate on both, I think. It depends on, if you're playing in someone's basement it's all about freakin out, but if you're up on stage and there are like a ton of people, it's not cheap to come out to shows. I want it to sound really good, and I think it usually does. We have our sound engineer with us.

HAMMER: Your own sound people huh? You guys are high rollin. Are you makin money as The Thermals yet?

THERMALS: Yes. We are rich. So filthy rich.

HAMMER: You signed to Kill Rock Stars and they gave you a 6 digit advance and such?

THERMALS: They wrote us one of those big novelty checks. Like 6 feet big. I was just reading about the band No Doubt going back on tour and each member has their own tour bus. ANd I was thinking, only ONE bus?? I would be pretty sad if I was them.

HAMMER: I would think Gwen needs a bus just for her stuff.

THERMALS: Yeah. But I wanna get to the point where you don't get on anything with wheels at all. Yeah. You just fly to the airport in the city then take a helicopter from the airport to the venue. It's the No Wheels Tour.

HAMMER: Yes. That would work. Or maybe hovercrafts could work.

THERMALS: We would hover. Or maybe jet packs. .Someone has to ride the jetpack with you though. You can't steer your own jet pack.

HAMMER: That would be good for making sweet entrances. Dropping in for the opening. You'd have to add stuff to your rider though about a retractable roof, for your entrances. Do you guys have a favorite type of venue to play and favorite rider items to ask for? Do you have a crazy long rider? Do you ask for a harem of girls and such?

THERMALS: We can ask for those thing, but we don't get them. We ask for a lot of young boys, they're surprisingly refreshing before you play. No, our rider says vodka and carrots. It's healthy, it's all about healthy. The new, we had this once on this tour, the new hottest drink to drink is just vodka and strawberries. You gotta try it - it's the jam. Vodka and strawberries. It's the new frozen margarita.

HAMMER: Do you cut up the strawberries and put them in the vodka or do you just buy a pack of strawberries and eat them while you drink vodka?

THERMALS: No, no, no, the strawberries have to be in the vodka, or you could chew up the strawberries and spit them in the cup, that works too.

HAMMER: So your posse is really growing now, with people to chew your strawberries, drive your jet packs and all that.

THERMALS. I know and they're all loud and rowdy.

HAMMER: And that's probably why you need 7 tour busses.

THERMALS: It is.

HAMMER: The Thermals started out in Portland right. And your 4th album just came out, so you've been collecting the posse for a while, but, tell me about this new album. I like it, it sounds a bit pop/punky and happier than some of the old stuff.

THERMALS: Totally, totally.

HAMMER: Wa that a conscious discion you made?

THERMALS: It was just to be not into politics and not into religion. There's a lot of death on it, but it's still upbeat. But we consider the other stuff to be upbeat too, you know, even if the lyrics are heavy. I don't think there's ever any down tones, it's all pretty up to us.

HAMMER: Did you have to get into a particular mindset to make this album though? The last one was a concept/theme kind album..

THERMALS: Yeah, this one kind of is too. It's mostly about death and like evolution and earthly things about water and land. It was just that Kathy and I took our time, I don't know that we had to go any place we weren't already, but we took our time writing it and tried to be really thoughtful about it. We spent a little time with the lyrics and that's why it took us a little while longer to get it out. We weren't gonna just toss something off, we wanted to take our time and make something that was as good as the last one.

HAMMER: You guys switched labels between the last record and this one too (from Sub Pop to Kill Rock Stars) right? So that probably took some time right?

THERMALS: Yeah.

HAMMER: Was it an amicable split?

THERMALS: It was. It was like a breakup that took years to happen. And you're just like, don't even wanna let people know you broke up.

HAMMER: So is it weird when you see them in the street? Do you go, like 'hey'.

THERMALS: Yeah, like you feel like you broke up with a person.

HAMMER: Like you bump into them at CMJ Fest or something and it's uncomfortable.

THERMALS: Totally it is. You're like 'hey.' Actually we saw them at SXSW and were like 'hey, yeah, I'm toatlly gonna come to your showcase, but I have to go..' But, it's good. We are still on good terms with them. We still have to work with them all the time and I'd be bummed if we were on bad terms.

HAMMER: So, why did you go to Kill Rock Stars then?

THERMALS: We just got the contract we wanted more. We just wanted a one off deal where we licensed it to the label, no strings attached on either end. There were a lot of labels that were down with that, but Kill Rock Stars had just moved to Portland and it was perfect timing and they're like really great people too.

HAMMER: Did you play the KRS showcase at SXSW this year?

THERMALS: We did.

HAMMER: Who did you play with?

THERMALS: That was the one that was at Club de Ville, with, uh - man they all run together - Shakey Hands, Marnie Stern, Thao and I think that's all we saw though, cause we were coming from another show already. I think Horse Feathers played and Paper Chase played.

HAMMER: How was the overall SXSW experience?

THERMALS: It was really really fun, it was so awesome. We played 8 shows in 4 days.

HAMMER: All in Austin?

THERMALS : All downtown, except for the Mess with Texas show which was another 10 or 12 blocks from downtown at this gigantic park. But the rest of them were all there, we would have guitars and pedals and cymbols and snare drum and kick drum pedal and we were just playing a show then picking everything up and walking to the next show. It was really fun, I had a blast. We got to hang out with really cool people. Kill Rock Stars folks were down in Austin as well and everyday as soon as we were done playing everyday we would just go to their hotel and hang out by the pool and drink frozen margaritas and just get sunburns and swim. And tequila, we drank a lot of tequila.

HAMMER: No vodka and strawberries at SXSW?

THERMALS: That was frozen margaritas. That was back, that was our jam. Vodka and strawberries we diHAMMER't discover until just recently.

HAMMER: That's the new tour drink?

THERMALS: Yeah.

HAMMER: How long have you been out on tour now?

THERMALS: This is the 9th or 10th show, but we've been out longer than that.

HAMMER:And Westin, you're the newest member of the band - the new drummer. Is there pressure because Hutch just kicks out drummers left and right?

THERMALS: Ha, that's not true.

HAMMER: Is it Kathy who kicks out the drummers then?

THERMALS: Most of the last drummers they chose to leave. Just in time though, ha.

HAMMER:Westin, how long have you been playing with The Thermals now.

THERMALS: My first show with these guys was in December. There's definitely pressure. There's a legacy of amazing badass drummers who have recorded on all these records they have put out and have played live with them and I just try not to think about it. I try to just play as well as I can.

HAMMER: Westin, you diHAMMER't play on the new record, correct?

THERMALS: No. Kathy played the drums on the new record.

HAMMER: So is your goal now to just show up Kathy's drumming?

THERMALS: Haha. I don't think showing up Kathy is possible. She is a badass drummer. My goal is just to live up to her basically.

HAMMER: OK. What other goals do you guys have on tour?

THERMALS: To Twitter as much as possible.

HAMMER: Oh no, you guys are Twittering huh?

THERMALS: Yeah. Kind of obsessively.

HAMMER: What, you're putting out those messages like, 'I'm in the basement at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland right now?'

THERMALS: I've twittered 3 times during this interview.

HAMMER: Ha. Did you tell everyone you were getting interviewed for Deviant Nation, check it out?

THERMALS: Not yet, but I probably will. There's not much that doesn't get Twittered. It's a minute by minute account of everything that is happening.

HAMMER: You guys really enjoy that, the Twittering?

THERMALS: You haven't seen ours. Ours is different than everyone else. Ours isn't like 'I'm in the airport.' Ours is like fun a it's a lot of retarded weird gibberish. Kathy calls it Cryptic Gibberish. It's like diarreah of the text. Someobdy did call it Twitterieah. You're just gonna have to check it out. You'll get disentery of the figures.

HAMMER: So what is it? www.twitter.com/thethermals ?

THERMALS: Yeah. www.twiter.com.thethermals Don't follow us though. I recommend that nobody follows us. Caus it's just like, there's a million a day and it's just total B.S. Go look at it once in a while but I woulHAMMER't recommend being a follower because you'll just get annoyed.

HAMMER: Do you think a lot of people have the Twitter?

THERMALS: We're trying to kill Twitter actually. I feel like Twitter will probably be over by the time we are done with this tour.

HAMMER: Ha. You're giving out drinking tips on the Twitter I'm sure. What else goes out on the Twitter.

THERMALS: Vodka and strawberries has already been Twittered.Almost the minute Kathy invented it. And we've been quoting Peter Gabriel songs and, like, referencing Total Recall. That's been the last 160 or so.

HAMMER:Really? How does Total Recall fit?

THERMALS: I don't know if you've ever heard of Quado dud. He's only like a legend around these parts. Everywhere I go I say he's a legend.

HAMMER: Of course. The weird animal that comes out of that dudes stomach. I know my Arnie movies.

THERMALS: It's most just us entertaining ourselves and us making ourselves laugh. It's perfect for tour cause tour is so boring a lot of times. You's just sitting in the van and waiting for something.

HAMMER: So, you guys Twitter each other. When one guys is in the front seat and one guy is in the back.

THERMALS: Yep. yep. And Kathy hates us doing it too.

HAMMER: Yeah. That's just disgusting.

THERMALS: Yeah. But it's rad cause not only does it make us laugh but it pisses people off, too so that just makes it really fun. It's more fun for us when people write on the Twitter that they are 'unfollowing.'

HAMMER: Ha. Is it cause they don't know who Quado is?

THERMALS: Ha. Yeah. They don't know what we're talking about and they're so annoyed that we've posted, like, 100 Twitters in the last 6 hours.

HAMMER:It's all about the revelation of Quado.... so, town to town there will be Twitters flying. We will all long on to www.twitter.com/thethermals and follow you, I'm sure.

THERMALS: Do not follow us.

HAMMER: Ha. What else do you mention to the members of Deviant Nation that they should not do? Is there something you've done on this tour that you've figured out, is not cool.

THERMALS: No. Like I said it's the Noone Gets Laid Tour. If we do make mistakes, we try not to make too many mistakes, but usually they are sexual.

HAMMER: Is there crazy inappropriatte phone sex or some?

THERMALS: Actually, we just heard about 'sexting' last night.

HAMMER: You've got Twitter and the sexting going on?

THERMALS: Yes. But you have to be sure not to accidentally send one of the sexts to your honey out on the Twitter.

HAMMER: Well, everybody might fall in love with you if you did that.

THERMALS: Yeah, or be freaked out.

HAMMER: But you'll send out the smooth words right?

THERMALS: Yeah. It's a lot of people's dream.

HAMMER: But just you guys sext and Twitter. The girls don't? Kathy doen't participate?

THERMALS: No. She doesn't get it. She doesn't understand. So it's just really homoerotic. 'Those aren't pillows,' we usually text that once a night. Or last night, 'this pillow is a like a bag of hairy marshmallows, like 2 large hairy marshmallows.'

HAMMER: Wow. So Twitter seems to be, like, you guys really aren't using it well?

THERMALS: Yeah. We try to abuse it as much as possible. We are trying to push the forum.

HAMMER: You're trying to advance the technology. OK. So, the Peter Gabriel Twittering - or Tweets - is that caus Peter Gabriel is an influence?

THERMALS: Quado does a really good cover of 'In Your Eyes.'

HAMMER: Quado huh?

THERMALS: Yes. We are Twatting on the Twitter. Twatting is probably appropriate for Deviant Nation magazine right? Twattery.

HAMMER: Yes. There are a bunch of twats on Deviant Nation.

THERMALS: Our thing should be 2 Twats.

HAMMER: Follow our twats? People might wonder if you're transexuals and that would build buzz, right?

THERMALS: Yeah. We might reveal that, it's an air of mystery.

HAMMER: So, is Peter Gabriel an influence?

THERMALS: No. We like grunge. We like the '90s, Breeders, Sonic Youth and Nirvan. It's cool that Sonic Youth is putting out a new album, but they're still '90s. Like Dinosaur Jr. putting out their new album, but they're stil '90s.

HAMMER: Yeah. There sound diHAMMER't change much and I guess Sonic Youth isn't gonna change their sound much. Who have you played with lately, that you really like the sound of?

THERMALS: We played with a bunch of bands at SXSW with some bands like Hold Stedy and Cursive, but we've done tours with both those guys.

HAMMER: So, how much do you have left on this current tour?

THERMALS: A lot. Fucking forever of not getting laid. like 33 more days.

HAMMER: Will you guys have pussy lined up for you in Portland the second you get back. Like standing at the city limits for you.

THERMALS: Yeah. I do have something lined up. Some late dinner reservation that night.

HAMMER On the last 30 days do you guys have any final goals and new places you are looking forward to?

THERMALS: Yeah. We are playing Little Rock and San Antonio, but most of the cities we have been to.

HAMMER: What is your favorite city to play in?

THERMALS: Cleveland of course. New York City is really rad. But, actually, the time before the last time we played Cleveland we had probably the craziest game ever. People pelted us with whip cream and water balloons and liter, and shaving cream.

HAMMER: I diHAMMER't bring any of that stuff, but I can go pick some up before the doors open if that makes you feel better.

THERMALS: One time we played the tavern here and people kept bringing us tequilla shots in between songs. Then all these people just fell down on stage and we played some Misfits song and some guy just jumped up on stage and sang the whole thing.

HAMMER: That's audience participation to the max. Has the response for the new songs been good.

THERMALS: People have been pretty stoked. The people really wanna hear The Body and The Blood songs I been noticing. The people that know the new songs are stoked but not everyone knows the new songs yet.

HAMMER: They don't know you from the Billboard charts. Aren't you on the Billboard charts?

THERMALS: We are. I think we are 199 and a half or something. It is on there.

HAMMER: Is that a first for you guys?

THERMALS: Yeah. It probably is. I don't know for sure. We are like #5 on the College Music Journal charts too, so, it's cool.

HAMMER: Will you guys play CMJ this year.

THERMALS: Not this year. We will be in Europe.

HAMMER: Well, Hutch, you are the founding member and songwriter and singer of the band, what should Europe know about you before you go over there? What should the hot tattooed models and members of Deviant Nation know about you?

THERMALS: I don't know. Do they listen to music or are they just looking at porno all the time. I don't know what to tell them specifically. Maybe get a good lube.

HAMMER: You do have a history of nudity on stage, is there lube on stage with The Thermals?

THERMALS: They do have this thing called Beer Lube in Madison, that we diHAMMER't get, but I guess it's a beer flavored lube, stout, micro, porter, Chec style.

HAMMER: Alright. Have you tried the local Cleveland micro stuff?

THERMALS: No. I diHAMMER't know they had one. What is it?

HAMMER: They have the Great Lakes Brewery.

THERMALS: Ah. I did know that. My aunt used to have that, she used to live in Cleveland and we used to stay with her all the time.

HAMMER: So, nothing else we need to tell the people, huh? Except for Beer Lube.

THERMALS: No. I think we touched on a lot of good stuff.

HAMMER: Well this is the exact interview structure I planned out, so I guess it worked out well.

THERMALS: Yeah, yeah. Awesome.

Check out the Thermals personal Web site at http://www.thethermals.com