THRONES CONFIRM.Thrones is a band whose thunder is incredible. The plurality of the name, compared against the singularity of the band is a pretty interesting thing to think about too. Thrones have always been complex and weird enough to be a much larger entity than just one dude making music. That fact is a testament to the mind of Joe Preston, who is Thrones.
The pronouns and verb forms one normally chooses to describe a band (they, their, them, plural) all point at a guy who's able to conjure up more spirits, more depth and more sound than almost anybody else. Thrones essentially is a guy, a drum machine, bass and vocals, and while that may seem like a spartan set of tools with which to make music that is this epic, orchestrated and spacious, it's a pretty miraculous thing to witness live. One can't overstate the power and catharsis that come when you drop the needle into the groove of Sperm Whale, Alarune, the s/t record, etc.
I saw Thrones for the first time in 1995, at (I think), a winery somewhere in Portland. My brother's old band (the Waydowns) had been on tour with Unwound and Vern had put out the Thrones first cassette. We'd been listening to the cassette over and over, and when we finally got to see the band, I remember being at first a little concerned that there wasn't enough stuff to replicate live what we'd been listening to. Long story short, it was awesome and I'm stoked to still be listening to this incredible music 15 years later. Wish I still had that tape though.
Joe often gets name checked for his bass playing in other bands, but to us, Thrones is where it's at, and it needs no qualification. Ladies, germs: THRONES!
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