 |
|
The Story of Thinmen and
"Nothing Like Our Picture"...
...so far...
How did the idea of "Nothing Like Our Picture" come about?
It was actually several years ago, when the three of us were part of an 80's cover band called Global Theatre.
Playing covers was fun, especially since a lot of our musical idols such as
David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads and The Fixx had very popular music in the 80s.
In addition to performing the songs of these pioneers, we found, as most musicians, that we had a lot of music
"upstairs" that we wanted a chance to get out. Global Theatre briefly discussed "converting"
to a mainly original band, but with new-found scheduling conflicts and a severe shortage
of writing time when all five members could meet, Dave, Doug and Will began to wonder
if it was possible to forge ahead as a creative force without what they had always considered
to be integral parts of a band... namely, the guitar and the bass guitar.
At first, even they didn't think it would be possible. After much experimentation,
much time and much consideration it began to look as if this new idea could work!
They saw before them a newly constructed creative road heading forward and away from what most expect - in fact,
away from that which they themselves were used to. Thinmen begins its journey here.
Didn't the lack of guitar and bass in the writing process cause Thinmen problems?
Yes, the writing process for Thinmen's new songs raised an interesting quandary: How do we write
new music without the comfort of all of the instrumentation we have been using for years? The answer was
a simple one in theory, but a complicated one in practice. They would need a more
keyboard oriented sound. Dave created additional keyboard parts to fill some of
the spaces left by the lack of other instruments. Doug's percussion and rhythm choices
would become even more integral to the songs with his intruduction of ethnic hand-percussion
and electronic looping on top of his regular drumming. Will would need to be writing new lyrics again, demanding more of
his art and revealing a more personal side of himself than he had recently. These changes were forcing
everyone out of their comfort zones, and causing a re-examination of everything they had
become accustomed to over the years. From instrumental arrangements, to styles, to lyrical
topics - they were all re-learning the process of creation.
Sounds like work...
Oh, yes... though this new road, while not smooth, was definitely exciting its travelers. Dave, Doug and Will
were suddenly envisioning a blossoming project... a collection of music where each song asked
for and received its own life. Working as "slaves" to each song, they worked to bring
the music forward in the true form each song "demanded". The result, "Nothing Like Our Picture"
shows a rich and varied landscape of thoughts and sounds while still maintaining its
cohesiveness and integrity, as well as its identity as the work of Thinmen.
I guess that means that there can be something said about stepping our of your comfort zone...
But for that first difficult act, neither Thinmen nor "Nothing Like Our Picture" would exist.
When can we expect to see another Thinmen CD?
Thinmen is currently writing for the next CD, which may or may not sound like "Nothing Like Our Picture".
If they knew now what it was going to sound like and when it would be ready, where would the fun be?
Click here to place your order through CDBaby.com!
Additional Links to other Thinmen pages.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
"Nothing Like Our Picture"
These guys cover a lot of bases on this disc, they're mature and experienced players who know what to play and when to play it, and all fans of this type of music should pick this up immediately. Great job, guys.
Jon Gingrich, Ear Candy Mag
You guys have a unique way of writing catchy songs which I could imagine hearing on the radio, but which are also evocative of the more epic endeavors of the likes of Genesis, Peter Gabriel, etc. I hear things in your songwriting which I long to achieve.
Chris Mitra
Very powerful and grabbing, Breathe (from Nothing Like Our Picture - ed.) makes you breathe a sigh of relief, that there does exist some really good music out there. Sometimes it takes a while to come across it and when you find a gem like this one, you dont want to let go.
Loren MacDonald, GodsOfMusic.com
|
