Idaho, Maine

Thruthewires try to break out of the Skinny

By Amanda Gonzales

BREAK ON THRU: Pat Corrigan, Andrew Gilbert, Johnny Lomba, and Shawn Saindon.

One would think that if you owned a club and were in a band that you’d play there all the time, comparing your band’s sound to the other musicians that people are paying to hear. However, that isn’t the case when it comes to Johnny Lomba’s band Thruthewires, as he prefers to avoid the label of 625 Congress Street’s “house band.”

Lomba, owner of The Skinny with his wife Mellow, started playing with bassist Andrew Gilbert last summer, and later picked up local guitarist Shawn Saindon when they became friends through the day to day operations of the bar. Saindon is a name that has circled through the music scene for a while, starting with his high school band Silverstone in Bath; then as a DJ around town — most recently host of x-night at the defunct Zootz — and with his 1998 release of a solo CD Three Star Day on Capital Music (not to be confused with Capitol Records).

When it comes to the band’s drummer, it gets a little more complicated. The duty swings between Tim Morin and Pat Corrigan; both ably talented musicians, who bring their own individual variations of sound to the band. Morin plays some of the out-of-state shows while Corrigan has his hands full in Portland with his other projects: drummer and guitarist of alt-rock band Peepshow, the performance art/music group Anti-Friend Hut, and co-owner of Local 188 restaurant and gallery, in addition to creating his own artwork.

Lomba and Saindon didn’t know each other before meeting at the nightclub, despite the fact that they grew up in the same town, attended the same high school, were separated by a few years in age, and listened to the same types of music. The music that they listened to early on, My Bloody Valentine, Radiohead, and Yo La Tengo, is a distinct influence on their sound, combined with some early Brit-pop and Gilbert’s punk-rock background. The sound contains a heavy guitar drone - not too heavy that it comes across as obnoxious or metallic - mixed with an atmospheric, pressure-building ambiance.

Their song “Fast Car” was created when Lomba and Corrigan were practicing and came up with something that reminded them of Tracy Chapman’s tune by the same name. The song is notably different however, with Lomba singing the chorus somewhat soft and low, with tight guitar riffs interspersed. Their music has flexibility that allows them to play on a line-up with a slew of varying musicians, from Darien Brahms to Twitchboy, and recently the band Ours, whose lead-singer got so irate with the crowd that he left after playing only a few songs. Good thing they went on first.

Incidentally, the name Thruthewires was derived from a chorus in an Idaho song (one of Lomba’s favorite bands), which he was originally scrawling on the labels of tapes that he and Gilbert were making of their music. The phrase later became squished into one word and the band was spawned.

The band agrees that all the members have a say in the musical creation, the process often beginning with Lomba playing and everyone getting a feel for where it’s going and following. Both drummers play a couple of songs that the other doesn’t, so you may hear a minor fluctuation depending on when you see them. They are also currently working on expanding their sets.

The band is still exploring itself and its different parts, as they are relatively new to each other’s musical ranges. They just played their first gig as a band the week after Thanksgiving, and Corrigan didn’t join them till January.

When Lomba was asked whether playing in other venues in Portland would create a conflict of interest, as it might draw people away from his business he responds, “I like to keep the two things separate.” Adding “that there aren’t enough places to play in Portland and not that much room to grow” anyway. The guys do practice at the Skinny and have all their equipment there, so it is the most convenient venue to play, but they “would like to play other places as much as possible,” including dens like Geno’s, the Basement, and Amigo’s back deck. They would also love to hit the road and play with bigger bands, maybe with some of the other local bands that have achieved success. They have already played some shows outside of Maine in Northhampton, Boston, and New York, just this past weekend traveling down to the Cooler Room in NYC’s meat packing district.

Heading into the summer, Thruthewires are working on and recording an EP to be released by the end of August, with about six songs (including “Fast Car”), and will continue to play both in and out of Portland. Meanwhile, you can sometimes catch them practicing at the Skinny on nights when a band isn’t booked, but you have to go to the shows to catch Saindon in his tight pants.

Amanda Gonzales can be reached at agonzales@phx.com.