The Thing on Touring Around America, New Music, and Making Art

Photo Creds: @thingthething

Born and bred in New York City, The Thing needs no descriptive title to articulate the sheer rock intensity of their music, and the hard-hitting songs that lie in their discography. The Thing was created by Zane Acord, Jack Bradley, and Michael Carter when all three were in high school. Later, drummer Lucas Ebeling joined the quartet, the band now the product of unique minds working as one. In February 2024, they released The Thing Is, an electric album centered around their just-do-it attitude and the drive to create art. The band spent the past few months touring around North America, playing shows and sharing their powerful pieces with anyone who came to hear. We sat down with The Thing at their last show in Washington, D.C., and discussed with them their tour, their latest album, and the impact of confidence. 

You just spent a few months on tour and now you’re wrapping everything up. How has the whole experience been?

Zane: It’s been really good! In all honesty, it’s been a really amazing tour. We’ve got to go places we’ve never been, and that was really cool.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

Zane: Drink beer. Vocal warm-ups, maybe little stretches. Call your loved ones.

After this you guys take a break for a while before performing at some pretty big festivals -- Governor’s Ball, Boston Calling -- how are you guys preparing for that? Are you planning to do anything different for those show than you do for smaller venues?

Jack: It’s gonna be really fun, we’ve never done anything this big.

Zane: We’re gonna rehearse for a little bit. But, we’ve got some tricks up our sleeve. We’re kind of in this stage where we realize that everyone is listening to us for the first time, so we want to make sure they have the best first impression. 

What’s the most important thing for you guys to bring on stage?

Michael: The energy. I like to think of it like a movie, as in it never stops. It doesn’t just go black for two minutes. So we keep the songs going all the way through, so you’re just kind of watching the whole time.

Jack: Just be as fast-paced as possible, with little or no transitions.

Do you write while you’re on tour, or is everything related to performing?

Zane: I mean, we always kind of fool around and see what’s going on. All of us are constantly thinking about the next thing to make. We're all really hungry to get back in the studio and keep going.

Lucas: I think we get a lot of inspiration on tour. Just visiting new places and experiencing new things. So we kind of bring that into the studio.

Some of you guys have known each other since middle school -- how have you witnessed each other grow up both artistically and as people?

Zane: I mean, we met Lucas last year, and just in the one year we’ve had him on the team we’ve become a totally different band than we thought we were going to be at the beginning. So, adding him really elevated everything. It felt like starting over in a way. We look at it as the beginning of the band. Now we have The Thing, and all the other records and stuff -- like the one we did before this new one -- was just to lay the foundation and get started.

Lucas: I feel like I joined at the right time. Because I joined and they were like, You want to jump in the band and tour indefinitely? And I’m like, I guess so. It was perfect. We just went for it, immediately. But for this third album, I think we’re all impressed with everyone. We recorded in a very short amount of time and were able to come up with a bunch of songs. The energy was pretty good. Each record has gotten better, recording-wise and writing-wise. So, it was cool to see everyone come up with things together.

Is there one specific thing each person adds that the other members can’t bring?

Jack: I think we probably all add something a little bit different, but we’re on the same page for the most part which is nice. Everybody has different slices that contribute to the larger thing. And it pushes the group as a whole into new spaces. Because we’ll go for something that maybe we wouldn’t have gone for without somebody’s input.

Can you explain to me what this third album is about?

Jack: We just kept recording and writing, it was just a constant train. And we like to do these albums in time frames so they’re reflective of the time that’s actually occurring. It’s an in-the-moment thing, a reflection of that date in time.

Considering that you make these albums in a specific moment, by the time the album is officially released you guys are in a whole other moment.

Jack: Hopefully that’s true. If you’re growing, getting older, and learning more things, you usually also evolve.

There’s a certain edge New York City bands always have. What has being from New York added to your band?

Zane: Definitely the speed. We’re just moving very fast. We just move at a speed that’s comfortable for us, but we want to be bona fide, we want to be prolific. That’s why we make so much music and keep it coming.

Jack: And there’s so much inspiration in the city. There’s so much going on in New York that it really creates a high playing field. You see amazing bands, amazing people every day, so you can draw a lot of inspiration from it and find your own.

Lucas: Everything’s at such a high level there. I feel like the best of the world of everything is in New York. So, if you can try to match your music to that energy, I think that’s going to show everywhere you go.

Jack: Just the rawness, and hard-hitting energy.

Zane: It’s not fast as in tempo-wise, but rather we want to move at a pace that’s almost unsettling. 

Jack: You just need to have the train moving at full speed all the time. It could fall off the tracks, but we like to see just how far we can take it.

Do you like this fast-paced environment, or do you want a second to slow down?

Lucas: I mean, we got a week off.

Jack: It’s nice to push it (the train) all the way to the pedal, to see how far you actually go without it being derailed. I think that’s when the best stuff is made.

Michael: I think all the best careers have been made in three to five years. You can squeeze a lot in three years or so. Not that there’s any set time, but you must keep pushing it.

This fits with your whole in-the-moment concept. If you’re going really fast then there’s no time to waste.

Jack: And then nothing’s diluted either. It doesn’t start to get watered down, it’s just the most authentic it can be.

Do you guys worry about your art becoming inauthentic?

Jack: 100%. We run from that.

Zane: It’s bliss to do what we do, and it’s really nice when we just get to be in the same moment that we’re in, creating and being on the road. That only happens for a short amount of time. And we’re fully aware of that. And so, we want to take full advantage of that and realize there’s only a specific lifetime to anything like this. 

It’s really admirable for you guys to be aware of this short window, but see that and still want to create music rather than feel defeated about it.

Jack: That window is beautiful. Capturing that moment in time instead of letting other incentives get you so you can make art and make your message in that window, it’s all beautiful.

Lucas: The window forces the art, the music. You have to accept the window and use it as encouragement almost.

When did you guys really decide to double down on music?

Jack: When we made this album The Thing Is, that was our intention. About a year ago. We wanted to make the album and then go on the road and here we are. I think being on the other side of that intention is cool because we did it and so far, nothing’s gone south, which is nice. We were all working odd jobs -- three of us worked at the same gardening company, and Lucas was just doing freelance. So, it wasn’t hard to leave everything behind.

Michael: It’s more of a lifestyle thing. Our lease was up last April, or the beginning of May, and we were about to be on the road for a while so we just didn’t sign the lease. And then recorded in May/June. Hit the road. It all lined up really well. And we played a couple shows with Lucas at this point, so we knew we were good too. And we were all pretty committed.

Zane: We were fired up with him (Lucas) too. We started playing with him and we loved it.

Lucas: It was sick because I wanted to tour. I was just playing in the city every night, at random gigs. And they were like We need a drummer and somehow it all came together. And then we were on tour, and like a month later, we were like Let’s record an album together!

I think that’s the kind of mentality you need to have to keep making things that are worthwhile.

Jack: You have to give it your all. You can’t be without some level of hubris I think.

Zane: You gotta jump right in, take the risk.

Michael: It’s almost like there’s a false confidence. To be like We got this, we can just get work and figure something out. Because we had never seriously been on the road, we didn’t know what it was like to go on a three-month-long tour. But you just need to pretend that you have it.

You have to put 100% of yourself into it or else it’s not going to be satisfying. Even for your music.

Jack: Exactly, it wouldn’t be satisfying. At the end of the day, making anything, being in any creative project, is done to serve your own goals and desires. And hopefully, it pays off to somebody who’s listening. If you’re not giving it 100%, then you’re just making something for somebody else.

Michael: Not to knock anyone who records and makes music for fun -- not to make money or as a career -- but it all comes down to what you want. And luckily, all of us want the most: to be in a band, to go on tour, all our desires are pretty decently aligned. I feel very lucky for that.

Lucas: Yeah, we’re down to sleep on floors and shit, for like half a year. Because plenty of people have fun just living in New York and making music, not for their career or anything. But, luckily, we’re all aligned on the career part.

You released The Thing Is back in February. Was there anything specific you wanted listeners to take away from it?

Zane: Just do whatever you want to do. Just do it, do it in the moment, do it right now if you can. Whatever your idea is, whatever your thing is, if you want it, do it.

Jack: We were talking about confidence and confidence is a big takeaway. DIY-attitude. Just being able to express what you want to say. You can always do that, no matter what type of gear or environment you’re in. If you can express what you want to say organically, then you have all the resources to do that. And we wanted to prove that to ourselves a little bit too.

Zane: Just have confidence with anything you want to do, art-wise. Everyone’s going to tell you not to do it, or they’re going to make up a reason, or you’ll make up a reason not to do it. So, have the confidence to just do it and see what the results are. Just see it through. You could fail, but that’s up to you.

Lucas: The coolest thing too is how people have been messaging us and coming up to us being like Oh my God, I’m ready to do this now. I’m ready to commit to my band, or make this art I’ve been wanting to make, or quit my job. It’s pretty cool.

You’ll be traveling to Europe later for your first out-of-North-America shows! How are you feeling about this expansion?

Jack: We’re just excited to see all the places and see how the people are different there, what they listen to.

Zane: Any chance we get to go somewhere new, that we’ve never been, is all because of this project and it’s incredible.

What do you love about music?

Zane: It’s something you’re kind of stuck with. There’s a love-hate relationship with me and music. But, do I love it? Absolutely. It’s nice to know that I’m doing what I believe I’m supposed to be doing. I love it, I love every second of it. To take a step back, and be able to do this with these guys -- and we all really love each other -- it’s really rare. And music made that possible. Whatever The Thing is, separate from music, whatever it ends up being, it’ll always be remarkable. And that’s why I encourage everyone to do it, any type of art really. Just create things, make things, because you never really know what’s gonna happen or where your mind’s gonna go.

Jack: I think sound is one way, and a really big way, to just explore and understand life. I think sound is a really mysterious and great way to try and explore yourself, and just understand how the world works. Because everything is vibrations. Exploring sound is something you can do till the day you die and still never reach any destination or answer. But in doing so, by being on this journey, you learn so much about yourself and the world.

Michael: It’s so weird because you can’t see it. That’s the coolest part. You can see us playing instruments, but you can’t see the sound. You can’t see the song that makes you want to move around, makes you want to cry, makes you want to laugh. Like, what even is that? It’s insane! It’s something you can’t see but can feel.

Lucas: It kind of tells you everything about life. And it brings you to places you would never have thought of, or even imagined existed. And for us, that’s what it feels like every day. So, that is what I think is the best part of it. Just the way it makes you feel, and the way it makes other people feel. It brings you to places physically and metaphysically. We find ourselves in Oklahoma physically, but then on stage, you’re in space or something. It’s a constant push between yourself and whatever you’re fighting against. And you learn to grow into yourself through that, and look at parts of yourself that you wouldn’t normally see.