Sunday SOS Interview: Thursday

In hindsight, "Stay True" – closing track on Thursday's sixth and most recent album, 2011's No Devolución – was a sign. A warning to younger bands about music industry trials and tribulations, it sounded like a swan song.

"That was what it was," confirms singer Geoff Rickly. "It was a great place for us to say we've made some kind of mark, and it's time to pass it on to kids that are better than us and more compassionate than us."

Thursday never explained what forces ripped them apart, except they were personal. For five years, the furiously intimate and poetically political post-hardcore icons fractured.

"The band missed Thursday, the fans missed Thursday, but we [the group] can't stand to be around each other."

This wasn't just any split. Thursday connected with its loyal audience – emotionally, purposefully.

"In the beginning, I would bring a notebook with me, and everyone that wanted my signature had to give me theirs and write me a note," remembers the frontman.

Promises of reunions evaporated because the band members weren't even talking. But ice thaws, bonds reforge, like guitarist Tom Keeley naming his new son after drummer Tucker Rule.

"All of a sudden, things were working again. And then it was, 'Holy shit, if it's working again, maybe it's time to play again!'" exclaims Rickly.

Now the white dove – their iconic logo, both fragile and resilient – flies again, with SOS the last stop on a summerlong reconnection. It's been a return to the old days and Rickly's sing-scream call-and-response with the crowd, face to face, eye to eye.

"We were one of the first bands to reach that size and say, 'There's no difference between us and you.' There's no hero worship with Thursday."

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Thursday

6:40pm, Dragon’s Lair stage