Thermals Devise Money-Making Schemes While Skewering The Christian Right

Keeping up with the different styles of modern music can be difficult. New sub-genres are seemingly birthed weekly as bands strive to create something different — or at least make it sound like they have. Being the enterprising trio that they are, The Thermals are taking advantage of this.

Seeing how so few strike it rich in indie rock, the Portland, Ore. act are going to great lengths to think of new descriptions for their music. The plan is to copyright them all, then sit back and watch the royalty cheques roll in when the styles become hugely popular.

"Believe me, we're already looking into it," says bassist Kathy Foster. "We're trying to come up with as many new genres for ourselves as possible, to cash in on them.

"Post-pop-punk, neo-grunge, post-retro — we are the leaders and the only members. Pay up!"

For the time being, the band are making their money the old-fashioned way — by touring. With the Canadian dollar now worth more than its U.S. counterpart, it's the perfect time for these burgeoning millionaires to begin their first Canadian tour.

They'll perform cuts from last year's highly acclaimed The Body, The Blood, The Machine, the band's third full-length. It was produced by Fugazi's Brendan Canty, released by Sub Pop and tells the fictitious tale of a young couple attempting to flee a U.S. governed by extreme Christian fascists.

"The response to the album has been overwhelmingly positive," says Foster. "We didn't really think about whether there would be any negative response until it was about to come out and then we were like, 'Wait, is this going to offend anyone?' Not that we were worried about it, just curious."

The Body, The Blood, The Machine is well-written and filled with energetic, poppy anthems and, much to the act's delight, has inspired political debate by both religious and non-religious people. The three Thermals were raised Catholic and they don't see the album's 1984-like themes as a cry against organized faiths, but as a worst-case scenario on how bad things could get with the current U.S. administration.

"We've gotten tons of great feedback from people who love the album, both the music and the lyrics," says Foster. "On top of that, I think it has opened up conversations, which is incredible.

"It's gotten people thinking and talking about the state of the U.S. and about how much involvement Christianity has in our government, and how much our government uses Christianity's influence and affluence for its own agenda. Ultimately, it's just another viewpoint on the state of things in the U.S., but with a paranoid fantasy/science fiction twist to it. Plus, you can jump up and down to it.

"It also ended up being a kind of rallying album for the obvious lefties and punkers, but also for Christians who don't agree with how their religion is being dragged through the mud by the Bush administration and the rest of the Christian right. We've gotten a bunch of emails of appreciation from Christian fans, and that's something I totally didn't foresee."

After the departure of drummer Jordan Hudson during the recording of The Body, The Blood, The Machine, Foster and guitarist/vocalist Hutch Harris opted to make the album as a duo. They became a trio again when Lorin Coleman was enlisted on drums for live dates. Foster and Harris performed in Urban Legends, Hutch And Kathy and Haelah before forming The Thermals in 2002, and Foster says that Coleman's versatility has been a huge asset.

"Lorin's best quality is putting up with us. Hutch and I have been playing together for about 10 years. Fortunately for us, Lorin is really easygoing and adaptable and open to whatever. Although he's played music for years, he was never in a touring band before The Thermals, so he's happy to tour and travel and experience it all. He's not jaded like us yet."

The band began crafting the follow-up to The Body, The Blood, The Machine earlier this year, but have had difficulty finding time to work on it due to touring commitments. But they recently spent two productive weeks on the Oregon coast, writing and recording demos everyday. Foster is still unsure of what themes the material will focus on.

"The new album might be a sequel to the last album, or it could have something to do with cavemen, aliens and time travel. It's still too early to tell."

Sadly, none of the recently penned songs will be debuted during their upcoming Canadian concerts. It looks like Canuck fans will just have to wait for The Thermals' sophomore trek across our nation to hear them. Perhaps by that time the band will have traded in their van for a private jet.

Here are The Thermals' Canadian tour dates:

Oct. 16 Vancouver, BC @ Richard's On Richards
Oct. 18 Calgary, AB @ Broken City
Oct. 19 Edmonton, AB @ Velvet Underground
Oct. 20 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos
Oct. 21 Winnipeg, MB @ Royal Albert
Oct. 27 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Oct. 28 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rosa