Sadly, Thrice abruptly announced the cancellation of their current tour with O’Brother, citing a family emergency. Dustin Kensrue and his father have written a message to fans concerning the unexpected and unfortunate situation surrounding the family. EastScene sends their thoughts and prayers to the Kensrue’s and wish Doug all the best:

Hey everyone. I apologize that the tour had to be cancelled but I had to get home to be with my Dad. He has an aggressive tumor in his brain and will be undergoing surgery this week. He wanted to convey his apologies as well (though I’m sure you’ll agree it’s unnecessary,) and also his thanks for your support of the band and our family. The tumor is near the language center of his brain which has made communicating increasingly difficult for him, so my Mom helped to edit the message below that he composed to all of you.

I want to say how sorry I am to each of you who have to miss seeing Thrice in concert on account of my health issues.  I have been diagnosed with a large brain tumor and things at this point are very unsure and serious.   I will be having surgery in the next few days.  Both Dustin and his brother Chase were out on tour and returned home for some precious family time.   I am blessed to have the most unbelievable family to support and love me through this.  Through the years I have met many amazing Thrice fans who are the most wonderful people, as a matter of fact as I was having my CT scan and the technician asked if I was Dustin Kensrue’s dad, and I proudly said Yes!!!!   I love all of the guys in this awesome band and am sorry for the fact this is affecting them too. This has been a tough year on all of the guys in Thrice with family heartache, we all thank you for your prayers and good wishes!
Doug Kensrue

I want to thank everyone for their understanding and support and prayers. I spent last night and today with my family and am very glad I made the decision to leave as quickly as I did. Life is precious and fleeting, and events like these make real the fact that every moment is a gift, not a right. I thank God for the gift of my father, for the ways he has loved me and the things he has taught me thus far, and for the ways he will continue to love me and teach me in the time that God gives us.

By the grace of God,
Dustin Kensrue

This summer, Thrice hits the road for a long-awaited headlining tour of the US and Canada. Kicking off in San Francisco on June 3, the tour hits many cities the band is missing on their spring co-headlining tour with Manchester Orchestra. Kevin Devine, Bad Veins, and The Dig will provide support on various dates this summer, and more dates will be announced in the weeks to come. A limited number of tickets have been held for Thrice fans and will be available through a special Dukat King presale that begins Monday, April 12, at 1 PM local time: http://thrice.ducatking.com. Thrice is currently on the road promoting their sixth and latest studio album, Beggars (09/09 Vagrant). Thrice’s full North American tour schedule is below.

Thrice have received numerous accolades for Beggars, including the #5 spot on Alternative Press’ “Best Albums of 2009” list. Also known to consistently deliver a great live show, and OC Weekly more recently named Thrice’s Nov 25 date at House of Blues Anaheim in their “Top 10 Orange County Concerts of 2009.” Additionally, the OC Music Awards nominated Thrice for Best Album, Best Alternative, and Best Rock. Harnessing their own creative powers, Thrice have recorded both their 2007/2008 double release The Alchemy Index and 2009’s Beggars at their studio in Orange County, with guitarist Teppei Teranishi in the producer’s chair.

Thrice is Dustin Kensrue – vocals/guitar, Teppei Teranishi – guitar/piano, Edward Breckenridge – bass, and Riley Breckenridge – drums.

THRICE Spring Co-Headlining Tour with Manchester Orchestra:
Apr 14 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Apr 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Apr 16 – New Orleans, LA @ The Howlin Wolf
Apr 17 – Oxford, MS @ The Lyric Oxford
Apr 18 – Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre
Apr 20 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
Apr 21 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
Apr 22 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Apr 23 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Apr 24 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Apr 25 – Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court
Apr 27 – Vermillion, SD @ Eagle’s Club Room
Apr 29 – Billings, MT @ The Railyard
Apr 30 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
May 1 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
May 3 – Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
May 4 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
May 6 – Ventura, CA @ Majestic Ventura Theatre
May 7 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
May 8 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
May 9 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
- All dates supported by O’Brother

THRICE Summer Headlining Tour:
Jun 3 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom *
Jun 4 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater *
Jun 5 – Seattle, WA @ King Cat Theater *
Jun 7 – Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room *
Jun 8 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall Ballroom *
Jun 9 – Saskatoon, SAS @ Louis’ Pub
Jun 11 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4 ^ #
Jun 12 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues * ^ #
Jun 13 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall * ^
Jun 15 – Toronto, ONT @ Phoenix Concert Theatre * ^ #
Jun 16 – Montreal, QC @ Le National* ^ #
Jun 17 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues* ^ #
Jun 18 – New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place * ^ #
Jun 19 – Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights* ^ #
Jun 21 – Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon* ^ #
Jun 22 – Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock Café * ^ #
Jun 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero * ^ #
Jun 24 – New York, NY @ The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza * ^ #
Jun 25 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom* ^ #
Jun 26 – Towson, MD @ The Recher Theatre * ^ #
* Supported by Kevin Devine
^ Supported by Bad Veins
# Supported by The Dig

Orange County-based quartet Thrice are preparing to hit the road for three weeks this Spring on a co-headlining trek with Manchester Orchestra.  The month-long tour supports Thrice’s recent album Beggars (09/09, Vagrant) and will commence with two nights in Manchester Orchestra’s hometown of Atlanta, GA before wrapping through the country.  The tour concludes in Albuquerque, NM on May 9, with O’Brother supporting both bands on all dates.  Thrice continues to work with Invisible Children, the charity working to raise awareness about the war in northern Uganda, and will have advocates out on the road this Spring.

Vocalist Dustin Kensrue shares his excitement about the upcoming trek by saying, “We’ve only gotten to hang out [with Manchester Orchestra] in passing, so we’re excited to get out on the road with them. They’re a great band and one of the few out there that I feel an affinity with in more ways than one.”

Thrice’s sixth and latest studio album, Beggars, is one of their most favorably reviewed records yet and earned them the #5 spot on Alternative Press’ “Best Albums of 2009” list.  The band is also known to consistently deliver a great live show, and OC Weekly named their Nov 25 date at House of Blues Anaheim in their “Top 10 Orange County Concerts of 2009.”  Additionally, the OC Music Awards nominated Thrice for Best Album, Best Alternative, and Best Rock.  Just as with their ambitious Vagrant debut The Alchemy Index, Thrice recorded Beggars in their own studio in Orange County, while guitarist Teppei Teranishi produced the effort.  Thrice spent the latter half of 2009 on select dates of the Vans Warped Tour, followed by a cross-country tour of US last November.

Thrice is Dustin Kensrue – vocals/guitar, Teppei Teranishi – guitar/piano, Edward Breckenridge – bass, and Riley Breckenridge – drums.

Thrice on tour:
Apr 14 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Apr 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Apr 16 – New Orleans, LA @ The Howlin Wolf
Apr 17 – Oxford, MS @ The Lyric Oxford
Apr 18 – Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre
Apr 20 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
Apr 21 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
Apr 22 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Apr 23 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Apr 24 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Apr 25 – Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court
Apr 27 – Vermillion, SD @ Eagle’s Club Room
Apr 29 – Billings, MT @ The Railyard
May 1 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
May 3 – Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
May 4 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
May 7 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
May 9 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre

Experimental-rock powerhouse Thrice have an important message for their fans. Read their news post below:

I’ll get the bad news out of the way first.

Teppei had to leave the tour last night due to a family emergency, and will not be playing with us for the next few shows (and possibly the rest of the tour.) We fully understand and support his decision to do so, and hope that you’ll be understanding as well. He started this tour knowing that this would be a possibility, and toughed it out for as long as he possibly could. Please send as many positive thoughts as you can muster in his, and his family’s direction.

The good news is that we have a few friends out here on tour who have stepped up, learned a few songs a piece, and will be joining us on stage to enable us to get through a full set, and help us get through this difficult time. The tour will continue as planned. It’ll just be a little different.

Thanks for your understanding and support during this time. We appreciate it.

-Riley, Ed, & Dustin

Live Nation is running a one day promotion where Brand New fans can buy tickets for select concerts on the fall tour without paying service charges. Mark your calendars, this will be happening on Tuesday September 15th.

The following concerts are part of the promotion:

10/1 Cleveland, OH – Time Warner Cable Amphitheater w/ Manchester Orchestra
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/411321

10/6 St. Louis. MO – The Pageant w/ Manchester Orchestra
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/411520

10/8 Denver, CO – The Fillmore w/ Manchester Orchestra
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/410116

10/18 Los Angeles, CA – Palladium w/ Manchester Orchestra
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/411321

10/20 San Diego, CA – House of Blues w/ Manchester Orchestra
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/410911

10/21 San Diego, CA – House of Blues w/ Manchester Orchestra
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/410910

10/22 Mesa, AZ – Mesa Amphitheatre w/ Manchester Orchestra
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/410938

10/23 Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues w/ Manchester Orchestra
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/410503

10/31 Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless w/ Thrice
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/411119

11/3 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle w/ Thrice
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/411146

11/4 Orlando, FL – House of Blues w/ Thrice
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/411294

11/5 Ybor City, FL – The Ritz w/ Thrice
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/410668

11/9 Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore w/ Thrice
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/411317

11/17 Boston, MA – House of Blues w/ Glassjaw
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/410879

11/18 Boston, MA – House of Blues w/ Glassjaw
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/411673

11/25 Wallingford, CT – Chevrolet Theatre w/ Glassjaw
http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/410964

Prog-rockers The Dear Hunter have posted dates they will be playing at the end of November with alt-rock-experimenters Thrice. Check their MySpace to see when they’ll be coming to your town.

Pre-sale for the West coast dates of Thrice’s headlining tour will start tomorrow (8/28) at 1pm local time (PST) over at Ducat King.

The new Thrice album Beggars is available for purchase on iTunes.

“Something’s gone terribly wrong with everyone; all the world is mad.” I don’t think anyone could have said it better. Nowadays, many artists are the promotional item for the newest fashion or fad. For Thrice, they’ve never changed their look, sound, or stance on what they believe in. If a band should be looked up to as a role model, they should be looked up to for that reason. Writing an album for yourself and your band mates is a hard thing to do in recent times. Beggars is one of the most earnest and truthful albums written in recent year (or at least since The Alchemy Index was released). Their 6th studio album is filled with tracks with such imaginative and descriptive language the listener can’t help but feel the pain and passion resonating in front-man Dustin Kensrue’s voice.
I will be honest: at first listen only a few tracks caught my attention. The title-track “Beggars” is catchy and could be classified with their old hit track “Artist in the Ambulance”. “Circles” and “Wood and Wire” weren’t the songs to catch my ears at first. These were mellower than “All the World is Mad” and “At the Last”; they, however, do not lack the intensity needed to fit the tone of the album.
Despite the early leak, Thrice fans will not be disappointed in their new album. It is completely recommendable if you’ve liked their previous albums, and recommended if you’ve never listened to even a taste of their alternative-power. If you’ve streamed it, make sure you buy it when it’s released digitally on August 11th and packaged on September 15th, 2009.

Alt-rock geniuses Thrice will be releasing the physical copy of Beggars on September 15th, 2009, which will contain 5 bonus tracks. You can snatch the album digitally on August 11th. Here’s a word from the band:

Hey all, 3rd post of the day…Lots happening today in the world of Thrice. Like Riley mentioned below, the street day for the physical record has been bumped up to 9/15, and will contain 5, yes 5, bonus tracks, and like Dustin mentioned below him, the entire album is now streaming via our myspace page. Also, some headlining dates we’ll be tacking onto the Brand New tour we’re doing this fall will be going on sale tomorrow, via Ducatking.

It’s obvious now that the “extra track” we’ve been recording the last few days is our cover of Helter Skelter that we’ve been playing on the last couple tours. I’m actually in the middle of mixing it right now, and I think it’s sounding pretty cool. We hadn’t planned on recording it because it had such a fun/cool vibe live, and we didn’t want to potentially ruin that, but you all asked, and you all shall receive. We just had fun with it, and hopefully that translates. Anyhow, here’s the next installment of studio videos we have for you. Just a little insight into our headspace in making the record. Thank you all for your wonderful support and kind words about the record so far!

Teppei