ZapTown

From Left to Right: Brian Wyrick, Travis Hawkins, Antonio Leiriao, and Ben Traub. Photo by Greg "Mayor" Andrews.

When it comes to the Thin Fevers, there is a degree of gratification that emerges both from the band and the listener. It is an experience that will leave you sweaty and exhausted after dancing around to their powerful live performance or the output of an intensity they create from their studio recordings. Fans and newcomers to the band will both agree that there is a universal understanding and appreciation to just how hard this band works together to co-exist with the listener. In essence, they are getting just as much out of it as you are.

“We play 100 percent no matter what the opportunity is,” says Antonio Leiriao, vocalist for the band. “No one is going to slack in this band. Of course, if we play a more intimate environment, like a basement show, then we up the energy to 150 percent. There is just more energy in that setting.”

Antonio Leiriao at the Melody Inn. Photo by Gary Mead.

And even though the band tries as hard as they can to connect with the audience at a larger venue — and they do, proving just that at an opening slot for Gwen Stefani a few years back, for example, as they pushed the side amphitheater stage to its limits while wooing the crowd with their jerking dance moves — it is the ambiance of a crowded basement show that brings everyone closer together and creates a volatile atmosphere that conjoins to the night. The music is loud, and that is where Leiriao feels the Thin Fevers are 10 times better. The basement is also the foundation for where the band developed their sound.

Thin Fevers’ energy stems from a marriage of two prominent hardcore bands coming out of the Indiana scene: Usurp Synapse and Mara’Akate. And that is where this band’s story begins; or, actually ends, because as a result from the disintegration of both of these bands came the birth of the Thin Fevers.

Leiriao, a native New Yorker joined up with Usurp Synapse while still living on the east coast. It was the band that drew him out to the Midwest. Guitarist Brian Wyrick was playing for Mara’Akate while at Ball State. When Brian moved down to the capital city shortly after graduating, he found a home, living with the band members of Usurp Synapse.

“Having known the guys from Usurp from playing with Mara’Akate. Antonio and some of the guys already had a house here in town, so we made a makeshift room for me on the back porch,” Wyrick said. “We all played music together, watched movies, and played video games.”

This was exactly what Wyrick needed to immerse himself into the Indianapolis scene.

“I wasn’t really familiar with the Indianapolis scene at the time, but I caught a lot of house shows, and made it out to a few touring shows,” he continued. “At that time we all had a lot of friends from out of state that where touring, so most of the summers for those few years where spent hanging out with whomever was coming through town.”

Eventually, Usurp broke up and Mara’Akate went on hiatus. Not long after, Mara’Akate jumped back in with a collection of new material and the prospects of touring Europe. When the band found out the singer could not go, Wyrick suggested that Leiriao fill in. Antonio, not having much to do with his other projects agreed, which led to a closer bond between the two musicians and the early conceptual beginning of the Thin Fevers.

Another cog in Mara’Akate’s wheel of progress was that the drummer was from South Bend. As Wyrick started making a life here in Indianapolis, it became increasingly more difficult to drive up to Northern Indiana for practice or vica versa. During this time Antonio and Wyrick began culminating like views and discovered that they had similar tastes in the post punk sound with bands like Gang of Four and Wire. That dancey style of exploratory punk got to them and they wanted to do something to continue that tradition. Wyrick knew Ben Traub from another band and asked him to join in on the drums. They completed the line up with Saraswati bassist and Free Zone DJ Matt Chandler on bass.

“When Chandler joined the band, it brought that post punk sound to the table,” said Leiriao. “Plus Matt loves Motown and by incorporating that style provided Brian the ability where he does not have to rely on rhythms. I’m a huge fan of that Stone Roses sound with their guitarist’ ability to be free and do whatever it is he wants to do.

With Chandler’s flexible range of rhythm, Wyrick’s jagged edge guitars, Traub’s intricate drumming, and Leiriao’s powerful vocal abilities, they knew they had something special and different than what other Indianapolis bands were doing at the time and with a unique blend of influences passed on with each band member.

“I remember seeing At The Drive In at Stevie Rays in Muncie,” Wyrick recalls. “It’s a small room that bands play in. My progression of musical history began in that room. I grew up listening to the radio and songs that are catchy. When I’m writing, I come up with a hook and that comes from listening to an incredible amount of rock and pop.

“The big thing for me, in the past five years, is that I have finally come to terms with my taste in music… for a while I was a bit over concerned with other people’s opinions of music, and feel that I can legitimately enjoy music again.”

Brian Wyrick at the Melody Inn. Photo by Gary Mead.

Leiriao recalls buying all the 7 inches he could pick up at shows. It was his way of getting into new and interesting music, as well as getting to know the underground and what is involved.

Being in screamo and hardcore bands, the members had much experience with DIY ethics. They decided it was time to get back in the recording studio and capture the band on tape. So they loaded up their gear and headed over the the historic Irving Theater to record. What became the output for New Systems was a raw recording into 8-track and mixed through Garage Band.

They quickly discovered that the music for the Thin Fevers had a different mental approach than what they did in the past. Even though the foundation for their music is brought up from a hardcore foundation of throwing in as many riffs as possible in the shortest amount of time, there is more of an intimacy to the fire that rages within each song. For Wyrick it didn’t matter if you screwed up in a hardcore band just so you looked cool playing it. With music like this everything stands out, and every aspect of the music conveys equal importance, even the lyrics.

According to Leiriao, intelligent lyrics is one of the most important aspects to him. “When you listen to a song, the lyrics should have something to say. I try to write lyrics that is food for thought. It is horrible when someone writes lyrics, and they have no idea what it means. If you listen to songs 20 years ago, the lyrics are very targeted. I want to make a broad and timeless statement.”

You can even relate that to the title of the album. It conveys a double meaning. Not only does the title lead to a perspective of social decay from a technological standpoint, New Systems also looks at the new approach the band is taking with their music.

The original idea was to make the release available on iTunes. Then Wyrick, who started up a website/podcast called Rockit Bomb (www.rockitbomb.com), wanted to turn the four-songs into a podcast and make it available there. It ended up being offered both as a download on the band’s website (www.thinfevers.com) and a physical release that also includes an exclusive silkscreen printed packaging by poster artist Bob Peele and a t-shirt.

“For us as a band, I want people to download these songs and put it on their iPods and listen to the music,” stressed Wyrick.

Leiriao agreed. “The more people listen to the band, the more it’s important to the music.”

After New Systems was released, the band was on a roll and became a hot spot amongst the Indy scene. Journalists loved them and fans loved them more. That is until 2006, when Chandler had to relocate to New York City which stopped the band in their tracks.

“We were dealt a big blow with Chandler leaving,” said Leiriao. “He moved so quickly that it took some time for us to get our bearings.”

It took a few years for the band to fully get back on track. During that time, they enlisted Travis Hawkins to replace Chandler. After a few practices it was like the music never lost its pulse. And when they got back into the heart of the scene again, they noticed something unique going on. More people were, once again, putting on house and basement shows, which brings them back full circle to what they do best.

“When I first saw bands play as a teenager, I thought this is what I want to do, how do I do it,” said Leiriao. “It conveyed a message to me, and I hope I do that to people watching our band. For someone to come up to me after a show and say that we did good is an amazing feeling. As a band you are underpaid and overworked. It’s the hardest job to have. But to give everything you have is the best feeling. At the end of it all, when you have nothing left, that’s absolute.”

The band is currently writing and recording new material. This will be the first group of songs writing directly with Hawkins. According to Leiriao, expect the same intensity, just less frantic.

“We are writing longer songs. This time around we are in less of a rush to complete the song as fast as possible. We are trying to find the parts, extend them, and then not rush through them.”