One of the best things about music is that there are no rules, and pop/rock trio THRILLCHASER are quickly proving that with their new music and upcoming full-length, A Lot Like Love, out early 2018. You might know THRILLCHASER as their previous name, American Wolves from their massive 2016 single, “Part Of Me,” but a year later, the band is back with a new identity and entirely fresh new sound that promises to launch their career even further. After taking a year to rework and refine their sound, THRILLCHASER have arrived with their new single and music video for “Hold On To The Night,” which can be seen below.
We recently caught up with bassist Rob Lundy to discuss the band’s evolution, the inspiration behind their name change and what they have in store for fans in 2018. With A Lot Like Love dropping on February 16th, listeners can expect to hear some more new music sooner rather than later. Read more about the album and the band’s plans for the future below.
Interview by Shannon Shumaker
Can you tell us a little bit about THRILLCHASER for anyone who might not be familiar?
We are THRILLCHASER, a 3-piece indie-pop trio based out of Providence, RI & Philadelphia, PA. We were formerly known as American Wolves and recently came back from the dead (with a new name) at the end of October by releasing our debut single “Emptiness” as well as simultaneously announcing our upcoming full length, “A Lot Like Love.”
You guys originally formed under the name American Wolves but made the change over to THRILLCHASER recently along with a change in sound. Why was this identity change and clean slate important to you?
The best way that I can explain what happened without typing out an entire novel or breaching certain confidentiality agreements is that American Wolves had a very sweet beginning but very soon after we hit a wall within the industry and behind the scenes. As American Wolves, we had one song out as well as several more unreleased tracks that completed our never-to-be-released EP. During the time of us working behind the scenes to find the right label/team, we eventually came to the decision that we had “outgrown” the unreleased EP and that we could put together something more “us.” We decided to rewrite and re-record 3 of the unreleased singles as well as 7 new songs to make a complete 10-track album. During the recording process of “A Lot Like Love” we shed all previous expectations and allowed our sound to truly evolve into something that we felt represented us as a band. Towards the end of the recording process was when we knew a name change was imminent. Our goals, attitudes, image, sound, and even general perspectives on life were no longer the same as they were when we had formed American Wolves in late 2015. Not to mention there are just WAY TOO MANY bands out there with the words “American” or “Wolves” in their name. Starting fresh as THRILLCHASER wasn’t just the right move for us, it was the ONLY move for us to make or else the band was done for.
Are there any important lessons you learned while writing and performing as American Wolves that you’ll be able to apply to this project moving forward?
The experiences we were fortunate enough to have as American Wolves definitely have made us stronger and closer as a band. Being on tour with Escape The Fate & Get Scared was an amazing time for us, all of the fan interaction and even the behind the scenes heartache has definitely shaped us into who we are today. Most importantly, I think the lesson we’ll be applying moving forward as THRILLCHASER is that at the end of the day we just gotta put good music out into the world for people to hear and play our hearts out. We’re just doing what we love because we love what we do and we’re not letting anybody or any contract get in the way of that this time. It’s just about the music from here on out and we’re all much happier that way.
You recently released your new song, “Hold On To The Night.” Can you tell us about what inspired this track/video?
“Hold On To The Night” was originally written around June 2015 when Rod (lead vocals) & myself were first starting American Wolves and recording that never-to-be-released EP with Dan Korneff at his studio on Long Island, NY. As American Wolves, we performed the original version of the song live on our tour with Escape The Fate & Get Scared, however the track never saw an official release.
In late 2016/early 2017 (during the recording of “A Lot Like Love” ) we re-wrote and completely re-recorded the song with producer Taylor Larson. The music video was actually shot in Philadelphia during late August 2016, when we were still American Wolves. In fact, the video was actually shot to the original unreleased recording and then later repurposed/re-edited for THRILLCHASER once the song had been re-recorded. Releasing this video reminds us of where we came from and is our way of saying “thank you” to everyone who has stuck by our side.
As you mentioned, “Hold On To The Night” and “Emptiness” come from your upcoming album, A Lot Like Love. What can listeners expect from this collection of songs?
Every song has it’s own unique vibe and style. Taylor Larson was an amazing producer to work with and he really brought out the best in our band. All that I can say is to expect the unexpected. My personal favorite track off of the new record is “fivetwentyfive”. I know that’s our singer Rod’s favorite track too. Every song earned it’s rightful place on that album though, so to me they’re all special.
Did you have any major goals in mind when working on A Lot Like Love?
Overall I’d say the goal was to reinvent and resurrect our band into something completely new and different from any previous project while also staying true to who we are. We wanted to be able to picture ourselves performing this album in our 30’s, 40’s & so on. Unfortunately with American Wolves, none of us could really picture ourselves playing that music past our 20’s. We just wanted to make music that felt more timeless and a little less “scene” to be honest. I like that I have a hard time describing exactly to people what genre of music my band plays.
Were there any big challenges you had to overcome when working on the album?
Obviously there were the typical band struggles: We were broke, eating like shit, and slightly losing our minds at some points because of it. It was also the dead of winter, we were freezing, sleeping odd hours on tiny bunkbeds and going days without seeing sunlight since the studio was underground. The studio is in the underground level of this huge medical office building that has a main lobby on the ground floor, eye doctors offices on floor 1 and some type of legal offices on floor 2. There’s also no shower setup at Taylor Larson’s studio so our options were to either drive 6 miles there & back in our van through insane DC traffic just to use a shower at Planet Fitness or bird bath ourselves in the buildings public restroom sinks and hope to god that no patients or doctors walk in on us with our shirts off blowdrying our hair. It was definitely an interesting few months, we were like “mole people” that just happened to be making an album.
When can fans expect to hear more new music from the album?
Very early into 2018! I’m not allowed to say exactly when yet, but I’m totally psyched for people to hear the next single. It’s got a really sick 80’s vibe to it.
Do you have any other big plans for the end of the year or beginning of 2018?
I can’t give too much away at the moment, but starting early in 2018 you can expect more singles and videos as well as the release of our album A Lot Like Love on February 16th! Not to mention shows/tours, new merchandise and way more that we have planned for the new year.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I’d just like to say thanks to The Prelude Press for the interview and thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to read this! We’re all very eager to share the rest of the album with the world and hit the road in 2018. We greatly appreciate all of the support we’ve been given so far. If you haven’t yet, go and digitally pre-order A Lot Like Love (via iTunes, Google Play or Amazon) then send a screenshot of your preorder, shirt size and shipping information to [email protected] to receive a free shirt from us! Thanks again!
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