Tiny Pictures to a Bigger Picture: Thornley interview

      "I was like, 'fuck man'. I'm a huge Tom Petty fan and a huge Heartbreakers fan. That record to me sounds like you're sitting in their rehearsal studio, listening to the boys playing. And that's awesome. You can hear the dust and the grease and all that shit. It's got a lot of feel to it," says Thornley.

      I'm sitting with Ian in the backstage of the Sound Academy, a staple venue in the Toronto music scene. There are potato chips along the back counter and we position ourselves on facing leather seats. It’s comfortable; maybe because I knew of Ian when I was seven, watching Big Wreck’s "That Song" on MuchMusic in '97, it feels like I'm talking to one of my dad's old friends. Maybe so--but I feel Ian's grander love for music and genuine desire to record makes it easy for him to talk to me too.

      "I’ve got tons of music and it’s all over the map stylistically," says Thornley. “We've been having conversations and just as far as the philosophy of the record – ‘what if we just did one that was basically live?’”

      In an age of pitch correction, beat detection, processing and chopping and avoiding all things raw, it’s quite refreshing to sit down with Thornley: his experience is evident not only in my history of seeing and hearing him but his ability to connect past endeavours to future direction.

      “The Big Wreck albums [1997’s “In Loving Memory Of...” and 2001’s “The Pleasure and the Greed] were done on tape—nobody uses that shit anymore. You need the robot voice. You need things to be chopped up. I don’t like that style.”

      “What if you just took the extra time to place your mics properly?”

      While I’ve never sat in a recording session and couldn’t tell you the pros and cons of proper microphone positioning, I can’t argue against Thornley’s experience. After Big Wreck, he fronted Thornley for “Come Again” in 2004 (a gold record in Canada) and 2009’s Tiny Pictures. In between bands he’s done studio work with Hanna, Alberta’s #1 export Nickelback and Canadian sweetheart Sarah Harmer. What I can argue is his view of popular music and the paradoxical releases that bloom against a pervasive culture... but as a fan and music enthusiast, I completely agree.

      “Everyone has got a fair chance, right? There are bands that are spending almost little to no money to record a record and just doing exactly what they want to do. Not bowing to anyone or compromising in any way, and finding an audience and having a career. There are ands like Arcade Fire who are having great success with that. They’re not following a formula. They’re just doing exactly what they want to do and keeping it inspired and you can hear that and I find that inspiring.”

      A clean, slick pop song still has a place in Thornley’s heart.

      “I love the sheen, I love well-produced, slick pop records. I fucking love it. But I know that’s not me.”

      His recent tour under his full name, Ian Thornley, reunited him with original Big Wreck guitarist Brian Doherty. The chemistry seems to have stuck: all signs of future shows point to collaborative efforts.

      “It was like riding a bike,” says Thornley, on if he feels a sense of nostalgia. “Big Wreck was sort of based on the musical connection between two guys who were deep, deep guitar nerds. Back and forth ‘really quick’, even if it is just bluesy stuff. There was always a conversation.”

      The tour took some time to mesh as the set list came to be. Lower-mid tempo songs from the first album were replaced for foot-tappers in the second and the energy naturalized. One of the first things the duo did was pull out the guitars and jam, something Thornley hints could show up on a finished product.

      “I’m keeping everything open. I finally got out of my deal with 604 so I’m a free agent there, I’m out of a publicity deal, so I’m just I’m not making stupid decisions like ‘How much money? OK, do it.’”

      “I’m in a lucky position now where I can sit back and take things as they come. ...Who is it going to be? What name is it going to be under? I honestly don’t care. Who is involved? I certainly do care. I just want all that stuff to happen organically.”

      With an acoustic album and a rock album in the works, there won't be a shortage of new music from Thornley, whatever name he performs under. All Thornley updates can be found at his Myspace, http://www.myspace.com/thornleymusic.

By: Dylan MacKenzie
2010-12-21