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Triple Thick
Garage rock may be all the vogue in the glossy rock rags around the country, but the brass ring of superstardom that the Hives have grabbed hold of takes a lot of stretching. A band has got to trudge around the country, hoping that one song will make it through all of the filters of society and persevere. The Hives had released "Hate to Say I Told You So" years ago and waited until good and persistent placement of the song rendered it a hit.
For the Boston trio Triple Thick, that sort of band model is an entirely different universe. If the band plays a song more than once, that’s a sign that they like it, but usually by the fifth time through it has been retired. Guitarist emphasized, "We get bored easy. I’d say we have a short attention span for our own songs, as soon as we play them out a couple times, we go on to other ones. We have like a hundred and something originals and fifty some-odd covers." Drummer Jim Seary is quick to point out that the band never plays the same set twice. He added, "Our set list is 13 songs that we kinda know, 2 songs that we’re not too sure of, and at least one or two that was some drunk song that we’re all of the sudden just playing."
This sort of spontaneity keeps the band on their toes and provides them with an obscene amount of recorded material. While most bands are more than content to get a record rolling down the pipeline every two years, Triple Thick’s short attention span carries over to the frequency that their new record changes. All released on their Leisure King record label, Triple Thick has put out 10,000 Maggots Can't Be Wrong, Gets Some, Half Bad, Hits Bottom , and Honey Chile since April of 2001. MP3s for nearly all of the songs on these records are available at triplethick.com, in addition to other bands that they’ve recorded. They have no plans toward letting up this relentless pace either. Due in the not too distant future is a disc culled from live recordings at their old practice space before it burnt down.
Seary and bassist Itai Halevi form the core of Triple Thick, and the band has had a revolving chair at lead guitar that has been occupied by Charles Hansen (Rock Bottom), Justin Hubbard (Kings of Nuthin’) Chris Debarge (Speed Devils), Johnny O'Halloran, Jack Hickey, Kenne Highland, and others, but is currently vacant. Seary said, "One night we played O’Briens and we had Charles pay the first few songs, but he didn’t even take his coat or scarf off because he had to rush off the stage to be at a Rock Bottom show across the river, so Justin was in the crowd and we invited him up and he finished the set without having practiced with us." added, "I think lead guitar players like to play with us because we have songs that have a spot for a lead. It’s there for a reason."
After first playing out at the Abbey Lounge in September of ’99, Triple Thick has made that venue a second home. The pervasive smell of beer and cigarettes must remind them of where they practice. said, "Our songwriting process involves beer and our practice space basically. I don’t think we’ve ever written a song outside of the practice space." Like the best garage bands through history, Triple Thick appreciates what alcohol can add to their performances. It can convert a hostile crowd into a sea of buzzed and happy faces, and can make three chords into two and a half minutes of bliss. As Seary said, "Beer is our fifth Beatle."