I was able to catch up with Eddie Breckenridge, bassist of Thrice, just before they played their first set of the tour in Austin, Texas. As we chatted over the phone, I couldn’t help but smile as I listened to Breckenridge shout over the vocals of Jesse Lacy in the background during Brand New’s sound check in Austin. Breckenridge had much to say about their newest release, Beggars, off of Vagrant Records and life on tour.

REAX: Tell me a little about your new album, Beggars, which just came out a little over two months ago. What’s the response been like thus far?

Breckenridge: This is definitely a different record for us, but the response has been really cool. I like to think we evolve with every record we make. Even someone who hasn’t listened to us in a while can get something out of this one. The last couple of albums we did prior were much more experimental projects. We dove into a lot of musical fields and learned a lot from it. Coming back into the studio, we decided to make something more exciting, that has a more live feel to it, and it’s much more raw. What we were going for is trying to have the listener in the room with us.

REAX: Alternative Press said Beggars is a “textbook example of a creative milestone.” What does this mean to you guys? How does this album differ from your past albums?

Breckenridge: The AP thing is just crazy. I can’t believe anyone would say that. It’s great that people are responding positively to this record. We’ve all grown up a lot musically. We came from a punk rock and hardcore background, but our music tastes have really grown since then. We’re able to incorporate a lot of feels, tones, and dynamics, moreso now on this record.

REAX: So you produced and tracked Beggars all on your own? What was that like? And why did you choice to do it that way?

Breckenridge: We recorded this record all on our own. It allowed us a lot of freedom, but was a lot more work. It’s good to have more control over the creative process past the writing or be as nerdy as being able to mic exactly where you want it on the instruments. We had the ability to experiment, take the time to develop a feel, and play a chord perfectly. There was so much room to experiment. It was almost like we were trying to make a soundtrack, and we were developing the best way to portray a picture sonically. I honestly can’t imagine doing it any other way. Feeling that creative freedom without being under a clock or someone higher up is great. Sometimes when you’re with a producer, you’re worried about their opinion, and you’re afraid to disrupt the flow of what’s going on or get new ideas out there. For us, there was no one there.

REAX: So what’s your favorite part about playing Florida?

Breckenridge: Definitely not the humidity! The shows have been great for us down there. You guys have a similar energy with our home town shows. I don’t know what it is, but the people are always excited to hear the music, and that’s cool. We’ve been touring in Florida since forever. It’s really cool seeing familiar faces down there.

REAX: What’s your favorite venue to play in Central Florida?

Breckenridge: We play a lot of House of Blues clubs, and they’re all the same across the country. I think we’re playing two shows there in Orlando. But a lot of the shows get jumbled up in your brain since they look the same everywhere. I’ve always liked The Social in Orlando. We’ve played some good shows there. Jannus Landing in St. Pete is cool too, I just hate the noise ordinances they have over there.

REAX: How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard it before?

Breckenridge: Good question. We’re sort of experimental rock, but at the same time, don’t get us confused with a prog rock band like Rush, because we aren’t even any sort of close to that. I guess you can say we’re an experiment rock band that’s still attempting to explore over musical avenues. Wow, that sounds long winded and horrible!

REAX: What’s it like being on tour with Brand New? Any good tour stories thus far?

Breckenridge: We’ve done a couple of tours with them up the East Coast in the past, but really early on in their career. They’re an amazing group of dudes with some serious mind sets. They’re just serious about life in general. We get a long really well. Last tour with Brand New, I personally was going through a gruesome break up with a past girlfriend, but it was one of the best tours I’ve been on despite all of that. That was almost two years ago, and Mewithoutyou tagged along too.

REAX: What has been your favorite show on the tour thus far?

Breckenridge: That’s hard to say since this is the first show for us on the tour. We’re in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, we’re a band that’s plagued with technical difficulties, so I’m as long as everything runs smoothly, it’ll be good. We have a lot of equipment on stage. I just hope the set is really comfortable and that we have the ability to express the music as well as possible. We’re playing a lot of new songs so it should be fun. Austin is a great town for music.

REAX: I understand that Dustin also works on his own side project outside of Thrice. How do you guys manage that? How does it affect Thrice?

Breckenridge: Dustin does a good job of trying to fit in his own stuff whenever the band isn’t really working on anything. At the same time, we’re never not really working on anything. Two of the songs on the new record just ended up being the three of us, so luckily the band is fairly independent, and we don’t always need him right off the bat. The solo stuff is usually material that the band would never end up using. It’s all right, I mean, there’s not much more to say than that. He has his over avenue to get out some artistic expression, and make a little more money on the side.

REAX: So what does the future look like for Thrice? What are your future plans?

Breckenridge: We’re already writing again for a new record, if you can believe it. After this tour it’s the holiday time, so it’s a bit of time off. We have some tours planned for the beginning of next year, but nothing is solid yet so I can’t really say. I can say, however, we may be on the road with another band that Brand New was touring with earlier though. We’ve talked about booking some dates in Canada and over seas in Europe too. Dustin is having another kid early next year too.

TOUR DATES:

Wednesday, Nov. 4 at House of Blues in Downtown Disney

Thursday, Nov. 5 at the Ritz Theater in Ybor

Friday, Nov. 6 at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney