The Thing Is Evolving– Find Out The Attitude, Energy and Influences Propelling It
Zane Acord (vocals/bass), Jack Bradley (guitar), Michael Carter (guitar) and Lucas Ebeling (drums) wear their mystical name well. The extraordinary nature of The Thing tracks from the musicians to the music. Pleaser met with the band prior to their show at Stephen Talkhouse on Long Island, NY to pick their brains about their musical inspirations, life on the road, and their most recent release: The Thing.
PHOTOS BY OLIVE JOLLEY
To gain an understanding of the power that The Thing holds, their third record, self titled The Thing, is the perfect foundation.
Shacked up in a pool house in The Hamptons, they recorded The Thing’s 12 tracks straight-to-tape. The album is an immersion in rock & roll across its eras, reconstructed and revitalized.
“It was pretty intentional for this one to be more old school sounding,” said Acord. Bradley embellished, “...everything down the instruments we used: the drums, guitars, basses, amps, and then the tapes had that sound…I think it’s what naturally happened.”
The blending of rock subsets on the record connects the songs like a mosaic, although a few bolder tiles sneak in exciting variety. “‘Something to Say’ and ‘Insane’... those are both 60’s 12-string jangle songs,” noted Acord.“‘Malört’ is a darker, almost metal-ly tune with some dissonance in the chorus. ‘Irresistible’ returns to that Motown pocket and shifts into a wall of sound approach with a more modern beat.”
The Thing’s familiarity with rock & roll courses through the veins of this album. They sift through the wardrobes of well-known tastemakers such as The Rolling Stones and dig deep in the pockets of experimental trailblazers like Henry Nilsson. In fact, “Irresistible” pulls its opening lyric from Nilsson’s song of the same name: “I guess the lord must be in New York City”.
Ebeling deduced, “We listen to many different types of music and all of those bands were listening to the soul and the jazz that came before them. We also listen to that and lean into it, so our music comes out like theirs. I guess they weren’t really listening to a ton of rock & roll when they were making the rock & roll.”
To say The Thing is familiar with the world of music only scratches the surface. This is a band addicted to music. All the other elements– identity, stage presence, etc., follow as side effects.
Acord’s first fix came from his father’s record collection, which prominently featured Grand Funk Railroad. A mutual adoration for The Black Keys then laid the foundations of his childhood friendships with Bradley and Carter. Full circle moment– The Thing opened for The Black Keys at their Berlin show this past July!
When Ebeling joined later on, he integrated their discoveries with his own collection. On the spot, some of the band’s favorites include The Kinks, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Can, The Beatles, and The Nuggets.
As for legends from their own lifetimes, New York City’s alt-rock revival lit a torch in the minds of The Thing. They give props to post-punk revolutionaries like LCD Soundsystem and The Strokes, and shoutout rockers such as Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon. The heartbeat of that era thumps into the present day within The Thing.
Picking apart the intersections of influence that decorate The Thing could entertain rock & roll enthusiasts for hours. Genre junkie or not, you’ll find this isn’t an album you can listen to passively.
The Thing has torn apart the pages of rock music, chewed them up, and spitballed out an electric collection of their most confident grooves yet.
“I think we’ve caught up to where we want to be,” nodded Acord, “...like scissors on wrapping paper— in a flow state.”
A “flow state” is surely evident within this band’s live performance– which, might we add, is the best way to experience The Thing. Although, it may be too gentile a phrase to wholly detail the epically entertaining explosion that happens when The Thing steps onstage. Bradley and Carter’s crisp shreds smash into rumbling drum lines from Ebeling. Combined, they electrify the power of Acord’s vocals.
It wouldn’t have mattered if this show took place in this 250-cap venue or a stadium set up– The Thing controlled the audience’s attention. Even the Stephen Talkhouse’s back bar crowd, usually more interested in showing up to socialize, nailed their eyes to the stage. Some unable to hide their smiles, curiously asking, “Who are these guys?”
Little did they know, these guys are a touring machine. The Thing’s knack for putting on a monster of a show isn’t surprising when you learn how they clocked about 150 live shows last year. Rather, the surprise is in how non-chalantly the band mentions this statistic. But to these new-age rockstars, every minute with the music means as much as the last. They’re eager to take advantage of every opportunity, be it falling out of a van in the middle of Europe or packing an NYC park.
We asked if they feel they’ve begun to embody the spirit of their rock icons, to which Ebeling smiled and said, “It’s in the more mundane moments…like when you stick out like a sore thumb in the waffle house. You then start to think…I guess I am a bit of a rock and roller.”
