My first instance of inner dialogue that I had with myself, reacting to hearing Third Class, was something along the line of.. Hmmm.. this is different. Beat to beat, measure to measure, verse to chorus? I was in suspense; and that’s where I like to be when consuming music or a movie. Third Class caught my ear instantly because they were not self-shackled to conventional song structure nor did their music seem to have any interest in mingling with friendly melodies and safe progressions. I’ve never been that “indie” person who goes out of their way to find obscure bands primarily because they ARE.. obscure, and become non-indie as soon as more than seven people know who there are. I objectively process new music and honestly determine if I like how it sounds, or if I don’t; and I just liked how Third Class’s music sounded.
Lee, Jack, and Pepe are polite and interesting guys. I totally relate to their attitudes and share many of their eccentricities. They work hard and are consistent and persistent. We covered so many topics and kicked off the interview with the surprise topic in response to my silly rhetoric icebreaker question about back masking to talk to aliens. There is a lot to take away if you are an artist who hasn’t recorded or who has but hasn’t had the resources to go the distance and get your music mastered and mass-produced. It was also enjoyable getting into their heads and analyzing their writing process. I appreciated their honesty and that they were comfortable sharing personal stories and insight into their personal relationships. Third Class has toured outside of Ohio several times, visiting Detroit, Pittsburgh, Long Island, while still staying busy and active in our independent scene playing legendary venues like Cedars Lounge and even Caribou Coffee in Boardman and Akron. In Alliance this Friday, see Third Class with the ZOU in Alliance at Jupitor Studios and Musica in Akron the following day.
“Some of the most memorable things I’ve done have been with this band.” -Pepe Parish
Brainfarts, hipster vernacular butcher-ings, & word manglings: CD industry standard “Red Book” Mike Garrigan‘s song “October” lyric: “Said I’m tired, I’ve been running out of empty all I have is candy bars and costumes to DEFEND me.”
To check out where to get their new EP 12 AND 9 or check out when they’re playing next go to www.ThirdClass.net
or BUY IT RIGHT NOW at CD Baby.. .. baby. Call Lee at the Third Class facebook page for tickets to select shows.
Mentions:
Pete Drivere
The Infidels
Ampreon Recorder (Studio)
Cedars
Sam Goodwill
“Getting Over Youngstown” (compilation)
5 Elements
Anguish
The Zou
Angwish
Chris Wetzl
Vox Voronet
Malison Frown (see History of Jim page)
Jupitor Studios
The Faux Paus
Pictora
Dave’s Music Mind
Six Feet Under
Calvin Johnson (band)
Daves Music Mine
Planet Pluto
Kings X
Space Eskimo
Mike Garrigan
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