The Thought Industry – Martinis? Outer Space?

I realize now, that – back then -I must have come across as quite a crazed, obsessive fan – since I would go to every Thought Industry show I could get to, most of them in Kalamazoo (which was a 2 to 3 hour drive for me). The first Club Soda (the venue in K-zoo) performance I’d attended was a somewhat humble affair, as Brent announced “in case you noticed we don’t have Chris here, because he’s getting a suntan in the Bahamas – but we decided to play anyway…this song’s called ‘Fairy’..” and proceeded to rock a very stripped down and elastic take on what would later be a monolithic, crushing track on their forthcoming 3rd album Outer Space is Just a Martini Away.

Other unveiled songs included “Soot on the Radio” and “The Squid”, which Brent introduced by saying “this is maybe the second time we’ve played it”. It was also very cool to spend some time exploring Kalamazoo before the shows, to envision the influence of this town as a backdrop to the sounds coming from the area. Other great local acts I enjoyed (or was able to see live) were Twitch, Doxie, Black Spring, Killswitch, and Jeff Till’s efforts as TASM Lab.

This time period is rich with fond memories, particularly an Ann Arbor, MI show (opening for Solid Frog) at Rick’s Cafe…during the snowy winter months surrounding the release of Outer Space is Just a Martini Away. By that point, the suits & ties image for the live setting was pretty much expected. I was able to meet the band members, and enjoy a series of Coronas with Herb, while our conversation covered various things music-oriented, from Shudder to Think to Ice Cube. Brent spent some time in solitude at the bar, while Jared and Chris played pool. That show had excellent sonics, and was also my first exposure to two newer songs which would later become “Get Up and Slumber” and “Consistently Yours, Pluto”. Brent also seemed to have become more light-hearted as front man, quipping between songs that “if you want any of our CDs you should really buy two copies, that way you get to scratch one” and holding a Sinatra-esque highball glass/cigarette combo while singing.

There were some less pleasant shows also, such as an earlier Roseville, Michigan performance at the Palladium, where T.I. was sandwiched between a rap-metal-hardcore act (whose name I’ve forgotten), and the industrial-metal of Bile. There were a great few songs I recall in their set which never made it to an album, but the band displayed an overall weariness, with sweater-clad Brent looking pale and wild-eyed – paunchy and perspiring as he hopped in place, draped in the mic cable. Perhaps it was emptiness of the venue, but that show had a lasting impact as bleak and disillusioned. Some Club Soda shows also became quite unhinged, with Jared’s hand bleeding all over snare and stage and a raucous Iron Maiden cover one night.

It is worth noting that the album’s second half was rarely perfomed live due to a good deal of synth-sequencing and studio experimentation. This made for a rather sameish set-list that would sometimes incorporate older material such as “Cornerstone”, “Third Eye”, “Daterape Cookbook”, and “Republicans in Love” alongside the first several tracks from Outer Space. Also, as Christopher Lee had relocated to Chicago (and began playing in Glassy), the synths/electronics were absent from the mix, paving the way for the upcoming – and even more arrestingly “rock” – effort, 1997’s Black Umbrella.