Thrifters

The Thrifters: these guys have been "thrifting" by means of music across the states for five years, and it doesn't look like they plan on stopping any time soon. With their new lead singer, Sergio McCollam, and their new songs, The Thrifters will blow you away at Brenda and Jerry's on Dec. 29. Let Their rock-flavored pop-punk music be on your personal soundtrack for 2008. - Pulse Weekly

By Keith Jaranovic

There are thousands of artists
that come and go in today’s ever changing music industry. From pop
punk to power pop, artists look to
maximize success with their fifteen
minutes of fame. The radio is filled
with one hit wonders, and the
longevity of bands just isn’t what it
used to be.

Today’s music isn’t even always about the most important aspect, the music. In comes a breath of fresh air, meet The Thrifters.

Led by the captivating vocals of
lead singer Sergio McCollam, the
Thrifters are one of the hardest working bands on the indie music scene today. Thrifters guitarists
Colin Stacy and Frank Frazza bring
eye-opening, complex, intricate
guitar riffs to the forefront in many
of The Thrifters catchy tunes. The
Thrifters are musically driven by the
outstanding bass playing skills of
Chris Henke, and the rapid delivery
of drummer Steve Orlando.

The Thrifters have taken
independent to a whole new level
showing up to labels and the music
industry in general that they don’t
need anybody to be successful. With
high hopes and a summer full of
nationwide tour dates, there is no
doubt in my mind that The Thrifters
will take their goals and surpass
them. “For a while we were all
really determined to get signed to
some kind of label (indie or major),
because we felt that once we hit that
point in our career everything would
be taken care of for us and we’d be
rock stars… we were dead wrong,”
comments drummer Steve Orlando.

The Thrifters set very high
goals for themselves to sell a certain
amount of records in 2009, in doing
so they hope to gain personal
satisfaction, die-hard fans, and
comfortable income. “We understand
that this is a business and in order for
it to be successful and solid, we need
to make some real money at it,” says
Frank Frazza, lead guitarist of the
band. How do they plan to fulfill on
these huge dreams? Check out a live
show and see for yourself.

Another side of these Thrifter
boys not many people know yet
is that they care a lot about the
community they live in and hope
to give back any way they can.
They have teamed up with local/
national charities such as Habitat
for Humanity, Fill This House, etc.
and donated their time to help give
back to all the communities that have
supported them in any way. With a
long list of tour dates approaching
in the spring and throughout the
summer, The Thrifters say they hope
to stop in every single city they play
in and donate a few hours of their
time to give back and help those less
fortunate.

With steady sales from their
debut full-length album, and
countless shows played throughout
the Midwest, The Thrifters have
shifted their attention to their latest
project. The Thrifters have released
their second full-length album, titled
It’s Going Down. The first single
from the album, “And They Call Her
Misleading” is already getting radio
airplay on 92.3 K-ROCK, and can be
found on Itunes today!

After a brief chat with the band,
it is apparent how passionate The
Thrifters are about their newly
finished album. “It’s our best
work to date,” says drummer Steve
Orlando. After a single listen to “It’s
Going Down”, there’s no denying
the fact that these five energized
musicians from Cleveland, Ohio are
onto something special. Guitarist
Colin Stacy said, “There’s a little
something for everyone on It’s Going
Down.” The album is undoubtedly
structured to meet a very wide
demographic.

Many bands in the rock genre
sound great on CD, but fail to
translate their sound in a live setting.
That’s simply not the case with The
Thrifters. The Thrifters bring the
energy on stage, and it’s felt by their
fans in each and every performance.
Don’t miss Saturday Feb. 28th at The
Enclave 4124 Erie St. Willoughby,
6:00 door 6:30 Bands only $6 for
a whole evening of great music
including The Thrifters, Not For Sale,
Head First, and more!

You can catch The Thrifters
playing various venues throughout
the Midwest this coming year. For
tour dates, make sure to check out
www.thethrifters.com. Get ready,
because It’s Going Down!

The Thrifters
“It’s Going Down”
Track-by-Track Review

Cabin Fever Killer:
This song is an excellent way to
start “It’s Going Down.” With a solid
20 second intro, and a very radiofriendly
chorus, this tune shows
that these guys know how to catch
a listener’s ear with their opening
track.

And They Call Her Misleading:
This track is the anthem of the
album in my eyes. This tune is the
fi rst single from “It’s Going Down”
and it is guaranteed to have people
singing the chorus over and over for
days. Just ask me, for several weeks
I caught myself subconsciously
singing this jam. Another great
thing about this song is how radio
friendly it is, while taking several
different musical paths that will
defi nitely interest fans of different
sounds throughout this 3:30 minute
escapade.

Footprints:
- North Coast Voice

By John Benson
Correspondent@News-Herald.com

One look at Mentor-based rock act The Thrifters and it's easy to see why this isn't your average local rock act.

Not only did the band make it to the High School Rock Off final round in both 2006 and 2007, but now, nearly two years after graduation and a lineup change — drummer Steve Orlando, guitarist Frank Frazza, bassist Chris Henke and guitarist Colin Stacy added singer-keyboardist Sergio McCollam — the quintet appears to be on quite a rise.

In addition to landing opening slots over recent years in Cleveland for major acts such as 311, Matisyahu, Senses Fail, From Autumn to Ashes, All Time Low and more, the band is on its first tour of the Midwest and South.

Click to enlarge

"Our drummer, Steve, keeps in contact with a lot of people and when he sees a show we want to get on, he calls the venue and contacts the bands," said 2007 Lake Catholic High School graduate Stacy, calling from Omaha, Neb. "And this tour we're now on is actually all set up D.I.Y. with (Steve) and our booking agent. They've been working hard for the past several months to get these shows set up. So we're actually playing two shows a day. We worked it out with Hot Topic at malls in each city where we go in and play an acoustic set at the store during the day, and then we go play a full band set every night at a different venue in that city."

He added, "To me, personally, it shows we have the capability of going really far just D.I.Y. We're an unsigned band, we self-promote and just we do everything for ourselves. I think that really shows that we have a good drive and we all want it so bad to make it in this industry. We're willing to work hard to get it."

Such initiative has paid off again with the band winning an online competition to play on the Kevin Says stage at the July 9 Vans Warped Tour date in Cleveland at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City. Stacy said the addition of McCollam provided the band the spark it was seeking. Stylistically speaking, he likes where the group is headed on its recently released sophomore effort "It's Going Down," which is the group's first with McCollam.

"It still has a unique sound," Stacy said. "It's hard to place us in a single category. It's a little bit more mature sounding, and we still hit on a few of our roots. Our old comparison was a little bit of 311, Blink-182, some Weezer and a little bit of grunge. I'd say this new album is a more edgy, alternative, hard rock with some poppy lyrics and hooks and catchy melodies. We've been compared to bands like Hoobastank, 30 Seconds to Mars and Alien Ant Farm."

Among the tracks Stacy and company are excited about are the popish "And They Call Her Misleading" and the driving alt-rock anthem "Footprints." While The Thrifters, which plays tonight at The Enclave in Willoughby, continues to expand its fan base, it appears as though the act feels less like a Cleveland-area band. And for any musical group hoping to make it big, that's probably a good thing.

"We all personally love Cleveland, and we represent the city the best we can when on the road, but we don't want to be just in the Cleveland music scene," Stacy said, "I think we all as a band really do believe in ourselves and our music and the message, and we want to spread that across the country and across the globe, if possible.

"We want people to know who we are and what we're about, and hopefully they enjoy our music."

Details

Artist name: The Thrifters.

Members: Drummer Steve Orlando (Mentor), guitarist Frank Frazza (Concord Township), bassist Chris Henke (Concord), guitarist Colin Stacy (Cleveland Heights) and singer-keyboardist Sergio McCollam (Willoughby).

Influences: 311, Blink-182, Weezer, Hoobastank, 30 Seconds to Mars and Alien Ant Farm.

Web site: www.thethrifters.com.

Upcoming gig: 7 p.m. today at The Enclave, 4124 Erie St., Willoughby. Opening is Searching Streetlights. For more information, call 440-953-0666.

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2009/06/05/life/nh957679.txt
- The News Herald