The progressive rock of Big Wreck might seem like an interesting choice to open for Motley Crüe, April 30 at the Enmax Centre, but frontman/ guitarist Ian Thornley is excited about it.
“I’ve never actually seen Motley Crüe before, but I am looking forward to seeing how they do a sh
ow,” said Thornley, in the midst of Big Wreck’s own tour on the northeastern United States.
“But I’ve done shows with KISS, so I imagine it will be a similar style of show,” he said.
Big Wreck were popular in Canada in the ’90s with songs like “The Oaf” and “That Song,” but are touring in support of a brand new CD “Albatross,” and the hit singles “ A Million Days” and the title track.
After Big Wreck broke up, Thornley took some time to record and tour with a self titled solo project, Thornley to play a different style of music from Big Wreck.
He noted Big Wreck got back together because he missed working with guitarist Brian Doherty.
“I missed that camaraderie when we were writing together. It was fun,” he said.
They will be playing between 45 minutes and a hour long set.
“It will be a rock and roll show with long guitar solos. We won’t be playing with a symphony orchestra or anything, though we have played with the symphony in Edmonton,” he said.
“We have lots of music to pick from. It’s all ripe for the picking,” he said estimating they have 25 hours worth of music to draw from, though this tour will likely included the hits as well as the new CD.
Their set list is pretty much set, so they won’t be able to take requests.
“The problem is all of the guitars are tuned differently. So we can’t wait in between songs to retune.”
He noted the band’s massive sound comes from a variety of places.
“It’s all up for grabs. I steal lots from Miles Davis and a lot from Led Zeppelin too,” he laughed.
“But songwriting keeps evolving. I’m still trying to write my ‘Brothers In Arms.’ But I can trace it back to blues and folk,” he said adding he would never consider himself to be a bluesman.
His live sound is powered by Fortin and Soldano amps, while in the studio he prefers smaller amps.
“And I mic them a lot. That and lots of practice,” he said.
He said people have responded well to the new CD.
He has a few ideas in the works for future music possibly for Big Wreck or maybe for Thornley, but has no plans in motion.
“I’ve got a few ideas. But nothing official yet. I’ve got some songs, but not really what Big Wreck is doing,” he said.
“ But then with a name with Big Wreck, we can do pretty much anything,” he said.
He is enjoying the Big Wreck headlining shows.
“It’s been great. The crowds have been a little smaller than we expected, but the people who are there are really into it. They are dear to the band. It’s nice to play for an audience like that. Because after all those are the people who are really digging what we are doing,” he continued.
The live solo shows are trimmed down to about 2 hours.
“We have to give it a lot of thought, otherwise they’d be ridiculously long,” he said.
He is looking forward to returning to Lethbridge.
“ I don’t remember the last time I was there. It’s been at least two or three years, but I am, absolutely. I love Alberta,” he said.
Big Wreck and Motley Crüe play the Enmax Centre, April 30. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost between $60-$80.
