Canadian rock veteran Ian Thornley of Big Wreck is bringing decades of musical grit and genre-blending sound to Humboldt as the band gears up to headline the Living Skies Music Festival.
Big Wreck officially came together in 1994, though their first album didn’t hit shelves until 1998.
“Yeah, however many years that is,” Thornley said with a laugh. “Somebody else do the math. Just don’t tell me.”
The band got its start in Boston while Thornley and his original bandmates were studying at Berklee College of Music.
“We were all kind of buddies, and I think we all had an affinity for the same kind of music, even though we musically all had different backgrounds,” he explained. “It pretty much started from out of a friendship.”
Thornley always knew music was his path.
“Music kind of grabbed me before I grabbed it,” he said. “I didn’t go to Berklee thinking I was going to start a band. I just knew that whatever I was going to do, it was going to be in music, somehow.”
Big Wreck’s newest single “Believer” was released the same day as the interview. While Thornley tends to keep politics out of his songwriting, he acknowledged the track was influenced by today’s world.
“It sort of echoes a lot of the things that are going on in the world right now… but I don’t get involved in any of that for the most part,” he said. “As is the case with most of the music that I write, it usually comes from the music first.”
His musical roots run deep, with a foundation in folk and classic rock.
“My parents had a vast record collection growing up,” he said. “They were big folkies… a lot of Bruce Cockburn, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Supertramp, Genesis, even Zeppelin.”
Those varied influences shaped the band’s dynamic sound, something Thornley still appreciates in the current lineup: Dave McMillan on bass, Chris Caddell on guitar, and drummer Sekou Lumumba.
“I’m lucky to have guys around me that are such competent players and such confident interpreters,” Thornley said. “They’ll know exactly what I mean, and they’ll be able to sort of cop that feel in one take.”
As for the band’s upcoming appearance at the Living Skies Music Festival, Thornley says it’s a welcome chance to visit new ground.
“I don’t think we’ve ever done Humboldt, though, so I’m pretty excited,” he shared. “We’ve been through Saskatchewan a thousand times, but not Humboldt.”
He’s also looking forward to the festival atmosphere.
“Invariably, we’re going to bump into people we know,” he said. “One of the lovely things about playing shows in Canada, especially having done it this long, is there’s always going to be somebody you know.”
With new music, a dedicated fanbase, and decades of experience behind them, Big Wreck’s upcoming show promises to be a highlight of Humboldt’s summer — and Thornley can’t wait to bring the noise.
You can listen to the full interview with Ian Thornley and Bolt FM's Sarah Miller below.