Simple and True

By Dana Hocking

Ask any random high school kid with dyed-black hair and a spiked wristband what they think of mainstream music and their answer will probably involve a comparison to rectal surgery. The reason for this is twofold: 1) mainstream music is trendy and he or she is only allowed to listen to music that isn’t trendy, like pop-punk, and 2) many bands in the mainstream market aren’t doing it for the right reasons.

The second reason is a sad reality; but Chico, California, rockers Thirst are looking to change that. Their music is as honest as it comes and in under two years, it has gotten them sponsorship deals from Gibson and Budweiser, regular airplay on many of Northern California’s commercial radio stations and interest from a couple of major record labels. Recently, frontman Mike Comfort and guitarist Andy Miller took some time to explain in further detail the workings of their band.

How did Thirst come to be?
Mike: Sometime in early to mid-2002, Chris and I started recording a few songs that I had written. He has a studio, so the two of us made this CD, Whole. We never intended to get a band together, but we got a pretty good reception for the music. In time, we met more and more people who wanted to be involved musically and we ended up with this band that we have today. I’m really lucky. This is the first band that I’ve been in where there are no egos — nobody’s a rock star.

How does songwriting work for you?
Mike: I don’t really have a songwriting process. I play a little bit of guitar — just enough to write with, but I’d never play on stage or anything. I just have some feeling or thought or inspiration or something that sparks a song. It begins with a melody line or chords and that usually inspires what I want to say. It’s weird — I never know what’s on the back of my mind until something comes out. I can’t really construct a song or construct a hit — I just write it, it comes out and that’s it. If it sucks, we’ve got a song that sucks. Then I bring in a raw version to [the band] and they all get jealous of my acoustic guitar skills [laughs].
Andy: It’s kind of fun when we’re in the studio because it’s not like we’ve played the song for months and months. A lot of times, the song is brand new and we actually develop the leads in it in the studio.

What’s it like being a mainstream band in a mostly alternative market?
Mike: It’s frustrating sometimes to see how we get shunned by the press a little bit, but it’s also understandable. I think that the biggest challenge is just the lack of attention, but it would be selling out for us if we were trying to come out alternative because that’s not really what we do. My music is very genuine. Good or bad, it’s honest. Just as much as an alternative band would be selling out if they tried to sound like us, we would be selling out if we tried to sound like them. On the plus side, we fit in really well with stations like The Point — those guys have been so incredibly supportive of us and helped us out so much.

I know you’ve got an album in the works, what else is going on?
Mike: Well, FOX Sports called us and asked if they could use some of our music for their shows. Friday the 19th, we’re going to be shooting the video for that at LaSalle’s [in Chico, California]. We’re actually going to shoot the entire show and make that DVD available to people. We’re going to shoot two versions of “Another Side,” the new single that’s on The Point, and turn that into FOX. We’ll record a live version through the board and we’re also going to do a version with the pre-recorded track over some footage so we have some options. Also, Media Magic Entertainment just signed us to an artist agreement.

What did it take to get the sponsorship deals from Budweiser and Gibson?
Andy: Schmoozing [laughs]. Lots of schmoozing.

You haven’t been a band for long, but can you think of a high point so far?
Mike: We did this sidewalk thing at the Farmers Market a long time ago and this guy came up to me afterwards and said, “I used to listen to ‘Away’ on the radio all the time when I was going through a really hard time in my life. For whatever reason, that song really helped me out.” As a songwriter, that’s the biggest compliment you can get.

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