After bursting onto the local music scene in January 2009, Thick As Thieves has come a long way. Vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist, Kyle Mayer is pleased with the progress he's seen the band make. “We put in a lot more work this year and it shows,” he says. After being nominated for several awards last year but going home empty-handed, Thick As Thieves left this year's show with the Best Original Band and Best Blues Band Awards, and Mayer took home the award for Best Songwriter.
And if things continue the way Mayer hopes, Thick As Thieves will continue to progress in the year to come. He's hoping to play more shows out of town and connect with more bands on the west side of the state to help bridge the gap between the east and west side music scenes. He's also hoping to break out of Michigan, by playing shows first in large Midwestern cities and seeing where things go from there. “We have a lot of good support behind us,” Mayer explains. “It's time to branch out.”
David Jacinto Herrera, who emcees/raps in Thick As Thieves, agrees with Mayer and likes their chances of getting out there. He says, “Our sound isn't easily categorized, and we don't sound like we're from a specific place. We have a fresh, different, original sound that people respond to wherever we've gone so far. Now it's just a matter of getting it out there.”
When asked to describe their sound, Mayer says it is difficult to do so. “I tend to say it's blues, soul, funk and hip-hop with a Motown vibe and a touch of reggae, but not necessarily in that order.” He clarifies, “It's not fused together. We do a bit of each style.”
Mayer draws his inspiration for songwriting mostly from the blues. “I like to listen to all the old blues and write like that, but with the new language. The emotions haven't changed but the language has.” Mayer was especially excited to take home the Best Songwriter Award because he considers himself a songwriter before he considers himself a musician. “The guys I play with are ten times better musicians than I am. I'm blessed that they let me take the controls with the songwriting.”
Joining Mayer and Herrera in the band are Kedree Young on lead guitar and vocals, Erik Friday on drums, Scottie Green on bass, Ricky Brandt on percussion, and Beni Schlatter on vibraphone. Toward the end of summer the band will be releasing a new cd titled Any One of Us and they are in the works of planning their release party. Once the new album is out, they will be playing a number of shows in support of it. In the meantime, people interested in checking out Thick as Thieves can catch them at The Vault on Saturday, July 30th with Third Coast Kings and Galactic Sherpas.
In preparation for the next step, the band has rented a new office space to rehearse and run the business end of things. Mayer says, “[When we started] we just played shows. We never rehearsed. Now we're really working hard.”
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