THIS IS THE BEST TOUR WE’VE EVER DONE
A CONVERSATION WITH JACOB CHARLTON OF THORNHILL
I was able to sit down with Jacob Charlton of the Australian metalcore band Thornhill to talk about the Bodies North American Tour in support of their third studio album Bodies released April 4. With it being over three quarters of the way through, it was a good time to talk about how the tour has been overall so far.
When we talked about what’s been good, Charlton was quick to reply, “all of it.” In asking to elaborate, he explained, “This is probably the best tour we’ve ever done, and the most stoked, because everyone on this tour is actually our best friends. Our crews have been incredible; the shows have been great.”
The best friends he’s referring to are Aussie acts Banks Arcade and Ocean Grove, who they have done shows with in the past. Seattle-based metalcore band Avoid is also along for the ride on this tour. “This is the first time we’ve ever gone into a tour knowing almost everybody,” he said.
SPILL LIVE REVIEW: THORNHILL w/ SPECIAL GUESTS AVOID, OCEAN GROVE & BANKS ARCADE @ AMSTERDAM BAR AND HALL, SAINT PAUL (MN)
With a 26-show tour spanning across the U.S., there’s bound to be something that will go wrong, but he insisted that the tour, for the most part, has been smooth sailing. “I had just gotten over being sick just before we left for the tour, which was annoying, but got over that and now it’s better.” But another downside of touring is, “We’ve gotten fat, for sure. We went into the tour being like ‘yeah, we’re going to work out every day,’ and the weather’s been a bit…. I don’t know, maybe we’re just fucking lazy,” Charlton shrugged.
When asked what’s been different in aspects of being the headliner of a tour as opposed to a supporting act, he explained the more structured agenda. “As headliners, we’ve never had a specific time in the day, for, like…we’ve never done the VIP/Meet and Greet thing, this is our first time doing that. We wanted people to have a positive experience, and there’s a lot of ways to do it, but we also have a very small amount of time to do so. It’s been so sick to meet and talk to people. I mean, you do feel a bit weird just taking photos for a half hour straight, but it’s been really cool to meet people. So that’s been an interesting thing to have in the middle of our day, we’re still navigating that. As a supporting band, it’s pretty straightforward: this is when you show up, this is when you play, this is when you load out.”
With the album only being out for approximately a month, this tour means playing the songs live for the fans for the first time. Thornhill played three special album preview shows in March, right before the album’s release in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney, Australia. “We did those shows in Australia to have a bit of fun, and just kind of get a feel for what people are feeling, because for this record, we really wrote it to be a live record, so getting to see how people react to it has been really cool.”
PURCHASE BODIES VIA BANDCAMP
In terms of how playing this album live in comparison to their other albums Charlton confessed, “I think with The Dark Pool [their first studio album] it was strenuous, we didn’t enjoy it too much. Heroine was a bit boring, slow and difficult. But this album hits the sweet spot for everybody. It’s nice to be able to sit back and enjoy what’s going on during this tour.”
Being an Australian band on an extensive tour across the U.S., I asked Charlton how he felt about American fans compared to other international fans or Aussie fans. “We think Americans care more. There’s a lot more passion here. In Australia, they cross their arms and are a bit more difficult to win over unless they already really love you. Europe is kind of weird; it can be a really good show or a really bad show. I think in America as a whole, it’s rare to get a bad show. They want to support; they want to be at the merch table. Australian touring doesn’t really exist. Like…. we don’t have Bandwagons [rentable RVs that carry tour bus amenities], we have to fly everywhere or drive for 10 hours plus.”
The biggest downside to touring, as expected, is time away from family. Luckily, technology in the form of Face Time, etc., makes it more bearable though. “I think our girlfriends are going to need a lot of love and attention when we get back,” Charlton said.
Once the tour is over, they’ll be home for a couple months, then will embark on a tour with Silly Goose and Resolve, supporting French metalcore band Landmvrks until the end of the year.
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Main Photo Credit: Trista Whitman
