The Thymes

Often times the term “bar band” carries
negative connotations, conjuring up
images of old guys with perms belting
out bad CCR and Bob Seger covers.
Well, you de?nitely wouldn't say that about The Thymes. But they are a bar band. They play
catchy, highly danceable music that is sure to pack bar dance ?oors and guarantee good times
for all in attendance. They are the type of band one hopes to stumble across as they hop
around George Street on any given Saturday night searching for some solid entertainment
among the din of handsome acoustic performers making knees weak with the latest top 40
drivel or the trendy dance clubs taking a baseball bat to the knees of music history. The Thymes
don't rely on covers much, and they have their own repertoire of great original material.
Although their MySpace page cites an assortment of stouts and lager ales as primary
in?uences, their songs suggest otherwise, with tight hooks and pop sensibilities that resemble
modern takes on the Fab Four, The Stones and Dylan. The group consists of Jeremy Rice
(vocals/guitar), Gene Brown (bass), Ryan Taylor (drums) and Leon White (lead guitar), all
accomplished musicians who have been honing their chops for years. Today's track is a video
version of their Beatle-esque original “The Word” which was shot live afterhours at the Levee. To
hear more great music by The Thymes be at The Fat Cat this Saturday night (Sept 3rd) where
they will be playing with some other great local bands including The Domestics, Texas
Chainsaw and Andreu Wrice & The Dipsydoodles. - The Scope - Sept 2, 2011

Jeremy Rice, lead vocalist, rhythm guitar
player and songwriter for The Thymes,
describes the band's sound as having a
“classic rock feel with whimsical lyrics and
chord progressions.”
The St. John's band formed early this year,
but it wasn't the ?rst collaboration for some
of its band members.The Thymes' drummer, Ryan Taylor, who spent some time playing with
bands Ray?eld and The Caves, also played with Rice in The Beach B'ys, while lead guitarist
Leon White and Rice previously played together in The Sellouts. Bass player Gene Browne has
played with Overlay and The Living Daylights, and keeps the music going while running two
downtown bars, the Levee and Headquarters.
 
Songwriting
Rice has been writing songs for about 15 of his 33 years, ever since he ?rst began playing
guitar.After spending several years working on individual solo projects and playing with
Timescore in Toronto, he returned to St. John's in 2005 to play with The Travelling Salesmen
and Sellout, writing and contributing to the repertoire of each.
In January, Rice, Taylor, White and Brown decided to put together The Thymes and are
currently working on a new CD.
“I had a bunch of songs I'd been itching to get out. It had been awhile since I'd done any original
material live,” says Rice. “I decided it was time to get back on the go and do something original.
I'd known these guys before and had worked on certain projects with them in individual
capacities and they're close friends of mine — so it worked out pretty well.”
Rice mostly writes alone, but says sometimes a song will get its start during a jam.
“Then I might go home and ?ne tune it so that it's in song format. But generally I'll bring a song
to the table and we'll sort of just hack it out.”
The band has played about half a dozen gigs so far.
Each of the guys holds down a day job, but they've managed to put together several videos that
have been garnering attention through social media networks.
 
Video connection
For the past three years Rice has been working at a television production house, Best Boy
Productions.
Best Boy locally produces television shows for broadcasters on an international scale.
“Right now we're working on a children's TV show called ?Mickey's Farm' (Pet Network). I write
a one-minute tune for the end of each episode and I also do the score for that show and others.
So I've made a few friends who are into the visual side of things.”
That said, the hope is to produce more live visual material to complement the new CD.
“So, we'll probably produce a few videos and see where that takes us.”
The Thymes will play their original songs at Headquarters Friday, along with Texas Chain Saw,
The Reluctant Showmen and Mercy, the Sexton. They'll also play a bene?t show at the Levee
Nov. 12 for Hands Across the Sea, a non-pro?t organization serving children and their families in
Haiti, and a show with Catcher, Dec. 2 at Headquarters.

by Lillian Simmons - The Telegram - Oct 14, 2011

“I hadn't been playing any original material for
over a year and it was really starting to eat
away at me,” says front-man Jeremy Rice.
“One day I woke up and called Gene, Ryan and
Leon… It's easier to be creative when you're having fun with some good buddies.” And so The
Thymes were born. The group has been rocking the live scene of late with its modern twist on a
classic rock sound inspired by The Beatles, The Stones and Zeppelin. What makes The Thymes
stand out from their peers? “I would say it's mostly our sex-appeal,” laughs Jeremy. Lately the
group has been working with Darcy Fitzpatrick to create a series of high quality live videos of
their original material. Today's track “Squeaky Wheel” is one of their latest. You can catch The
Thymes live at the Hope for Haiti bene?t concert at the Levee this Saturday (Nov 12th) along
with Those Lasers, The Everly Buddies, The Elizabeatens, Krystal Hayden and Vangolden.

by Damian Lethbridge
- The Scope - Nov 10, 2011

Stormy weather never stopped the crowd of people at The Ship from having a good time.
The night opened up with an atmosphere laced with poetic brilliance by Nick Ryan-member of the band The Elizabethians. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the rest of Nick’s band mates could not join him, yet he braved on with an acoustic set of fun folk and clever lyrics later accompanied by Allison Sheffield on trumpet. It was a story telling like no other. Including the wonderful Biology jokes he incorporated into his show.
With their upbeat tempos and catchy sound The Thymes got the bar moving. It was refreshing to see a group of musicians put a set together that was impeccable and inescapably energetic. With a unique sound, and killer guitar riffs played by the bands guitarist Leon White, there is no mistaking this band is headed for phenomenal things. They put themselves out there fully. No gimmicks, just themselves. Music is in their veins and it’s clear to see. Didn’t get to see them at The Ship? No problem! They are currently working on an EP and hope to be playing live again sometime in April.
Towards the end of the evening, The Long Distance Runners took to the stage with a strong presence. Animated and very lively; Dicky, Ryan, Matt, Adam and Chris owned the stage with such force it could not be contained. Within minutes of their first song, the crowd was energized and loving every minute of it.
The Ship’s atmosphere was friendly and very welcoming. It was a pleasure to witness these diverse sounds in such a comfortable setting. Check out any of these bands and you will not be disappointed.
By: Sherrie-Lee Elson - The Scene Magazine - Feb 20, 2012

St. John’s band The Thymes will release its first EP at The Levee July 28.
The event will also feature performances by the band and special guests Other People and Baytown.
The Thymes formed in January 2011 and has since gained a following on the St. John’s music scene and Facebook, where the band posts videos.
Lead singer and guitarist Jeremy Rice says the road to recording an album has been a whirlwind for the young band.
“Things seem to move pretty quickly,”?he says.
“We played our first show last summer, and we got some really good response. People seemed to support us right from the beginning, so that was pretty encouraging. It helps to motivate you and want to keep putting out new material and playing shows and stuff.”
Bandmembers Rice, Gene Browne (bass), Ryan Taylor (drums), and Leon White (lead guitar) each had other musical projects before they became The Thymes.
Rice played with White in the band The Sellouts, and with Taylor in The Beach Boy cover band, The Beach B’ys.
In addition to playing with The Thymes, Browne is owner and operator of The Levee, where the band often plays live shows.
“It’s become sort of our headquarters. It’s where we film all our videos and it’s where we jam. It’s becoming a new music hotspot in St. John’s,”?Rice says.
“I think people are recognizing that, so it just seems to be the perfect spot for us to hold the show.”
Members of The Thymes draw inspiration from St. John’s in their lyrics and style, Rice says, but their music is rooted in classic rock.
There are six songs on the EP, including some of the first the band worked on.
Rice says they chose songs from their catalogue that are single-worthy and have a pop feel.
“We just figured these would be the best ones to introduce the band with,”?he says.
“I feel like there’s a lot of melody, and there’s a lot of upbeat stuff that’s fairly dancey, but at the end of the day, it definitely is sort of classic rock ’n’ roll.”
The album was entirely put together by the band, and was recorded over the course of a year in different locations. The Thymes’ drummer, Taylor, mixed and produced the tracks.
“We didn’t really have to ask anybody for much in the way of help, which is kind of nice. When you can do it all yourself, it allows you to be a bit more creative and take a few more risks.”?Rice says.
“We’re all good friends, too, so really it’s a bit of a social club. But it’s a social club that gets a lot of work done, so you couldn’t really ask for better.”
The band is looking to continue to make music, play shows, and release a full CD in the near future. They also hope to tour outside the province and build on their already growing fan base.
In the meantime, however, Rice expects listeners to respond well to the new EP.
“I think it’s pretty easy to like the songs immediately. They’re a little different and they definitely have some unusual changes, but they’re pretty melodic and have a sort of popular element to them that I think most people will enjoy,” he says. “So people can expect to tap their feet.”
The Thymes’ new EP will be available at local music stores and for download at iTunes and CDBaby.com. Copies can also be purchased at the release party, which starts at 10:30 p.m.
For more information, visit the band on Facebook or at www.thethymes.net.
lesley.leroux@thetelegram.com - The Telegram - July 19, 2012

This Saturday (July, 28) St. John's rockers The
Thymes will be releasing their shiny new self-titled
EP at The Levee. The band kindly sent me the
EP in advance and I love it. From the full-on, fun
rock swagger “Trunk” to the chugging closer
“Ghost Machine” every song is packed full of
hooks, memorable melodies and good vibes, and
The Thymes know how to write one hell of a catchy pop song. I recently asked front-man
Jeremy Rice a couple questions about the new EP.
How did the writing process go for the EP?
The writing came very naturally. I brought a pile of rough ideas to the band and we just hacked
them out, trimming fat in places and adding ?esh in others. Once we had a full set of material
and a few shows under our belts, recording seemed the next logical step. I'm happy to say that
the writing has been pretty consistent with The Thymes. There's usually a new song to work on
at every practice. We've already made plans for a new album.
Where and with whom did you record?
We recorded the EP ourselves in bits and pieces. The majority of the mixing and production
work was done by our drummer Ryan Taylor, who incidentally wrote and produced all those
lovely Sonny Tripp albums. We're all audiophiles to some degree, which is nice because
everybody in the band understands recording the process.
So how can people get their hands on the EP?
We highly encourage people to buy one at the release show, but you'll be able to download the
EP from iTunes and CDBaby. We'll also be delivering the EP to Fred's Records and HMV.
Drop by the Levee this Saturday (July 28th) to pick up your copy of The Thymes awesome new
EP and to check out the band live along with Other People and Baytown.

by Damian Lethbridge - The Scope - July 24, 2012