A dozen years into its career, Thrice is still evolving. Following 2005’s experimental/atmospheric Vheissu and four-part concept album The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II (2007) and Vols. III & IV (2008), the California quartet—vocalist/guitarist Dustin Kensrue, guitarist/engineer Teppei Teranishi and Breckenridge brothers Eddie (bass) and Riley (drums)—has issued the edgier, hard-rock-leaning Beggars (Vagrant). On paper, such a description might make you believe the LP is a return to the post-hardcore days of Thrice’s first three albums, though Beggars is far more mature and varied than that. Unfortunately, the record was leaked in July, forcing the band to change the release date and marketing plan for Beggars, but Thrice seems to have come out of all this extracurricular drama unscathed. As the foursome prepares for its upcoming U.K. tour, they are also guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with them.
Teppei Teranishi: The first photos of W. Eugene Smith I saw (or that I recognized was his work as I looked at them) was a little photo essay called “Country Doctor,” where he followed and documented the life of a doctor in a rural Colorado town, sometime in the late ’40s. I was immediately grabbed by the honesty, brutality and beauty of his photos. I went on to look up more of his work, and my jaw quite literally dropped. If a picture is worth a thousand words, than his are worth more like 10,000. Photography is a mystery to me. I’m convinced that given the same exact circumstances, only I was to push the shutter instead of him, the photos would somehow not have the same magic. You’ve most likely seen a few of his photos before—his Life magazine cover shot of a bomb going off on Iwo Jima is one of the more recognizable and iconic photos from WWII. He was serious about his art and refused to compromise, costing him jobs (Life) and even landing him in the hospital (shell fragments). Fascinating and inspirational guy. He’s got some great quotes about art as well:
“An artist must be ruthlessly selfish.”
“The purpose of all art is to cause a deep and emotion, also one that is entertaining or pleasing. Out of the depth and entertainment comes value.”
“Hardening of the categories causes art disease.”
Video after the jump.
