Creating music is just a natural part of life for Ian Thornley, frontman of the Canadian rock band Big Wreck.
“I feel like it’s something I will never crack. It’s something that I will never get to the bottom of,” he said. “I always hear something that will inspire me.”
Thornley said sometimes it just stems from curiosity and he’ll ask himself ‘why does that inspire me so much?’
He’s propelled forward by a drive to get better, but said he doesn’t look too deeply into where his creativity comes from, maybe out of superstition, because he is “always afraid it will go away.”
Big Wreck releases its new album, Grace Street, this February, which follows the group’s Juno-nominated album Ghosts, released in 2014. Grace Street features live off the floor performances.
“There is a visceral energy there that comes into play,” he said. “There is an energy there that is impossible to capture any other way.”
Grace Street was co-produced with Garth Richardson, who has worked with Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Big Wreck wanted every song to stand on its own.
“Every single song is completely unique and has different characteristics,” he said, adding that it is like having all these different islands in an ocean.
Tracks include One Good Piece of Me, Digging In and A Speedy Recovery. The song The Receiving End features the heartbeat of Thornley’s daughter, Sophia, as the kick drum.
“It was an idea that Garth had,” said Thornley, adding that his daughter was hanging around the studio having a “hoot” during the creation process.
They first tried to capture her heartbeat with a stethoscope, but it didn’t work and they ended up using a pressure zone microphone.
In 2015 Thornley also released his debut solo album, Secrets.
Big Wreck is touring across North America, with the kick-off show in Nanaimo.
Thornley said people can expect to hear a mix of new and old music during the concert. With four members onstage, which includes, Thornley, Chuck Keeping, Dave McMillan and Brian Doherty, it allows the group to go in many directions with the sound.
Big Wreck performs in front of a sold-out crowd at Nanaimo’s Port Theatre on Wednesday (Jan. 25) at 7:30 p.m.
The next evening, Jan. 26, the band performs in Victoria at Distrikt night club. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 available online at http://bplive.electrostub.com.
For more information about Big Wreck please go to www.bigwreckmusic.com.