Underground Artists: A Conversation with Thru It All
BY CHARLOTTE HASS
Not every band worth listening to has the luxury of pursuing their passion full-time. For Oklahoma-based band Thru It All, which has cultivated a small but mighty fandom online, breaking into the mainstream is the goal. With a couple singles recently released and new projects on the horizon, now is the perfect time to get acclimated with the burgeoning musical act. Guitarist/Singer Daniel Dew and Drummer Andrew Lindroth of Thru It All sat down to answer some questions about who they are and—more importantly—who they hope to be.
WHAT IS YOUR DYNAMIC AS A BAND?
Daniel: The band chemistry was first formed from a life-long friendship involving 20+ years of playing music off and on together, finally forming “Thru It All” in 2021 when everyone reunited together again.
Andrew: Musically the band’s dynamic can be described as; a fusion of pop-punk influences from the early 2000’s era, the classic punk bands of the modern era, old school hip-hop + rap, and some moments of hardcore+nu metal+post hardcore.
PHOTO BY Gustavo Canales
WHO ARE THRU IT ALL’S MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS/ TO WHOM WOULD YOU COMPARE YOUR SOUND? HOW DO YOU THINK THESE INSPIRATIONS SHINE THROUGH YOUR WORK?
Daniel: Blink-182, Green Day, New Found Glory, Yellow Card, Wu-tang+Mac Miller influences, hardcore influences similar to turnstile/a day to remember/anthrax
Andrew: The music is created and produced equally by all three members of the band to inject as many musical influences as possible. We are confident that we have been able to figure out how to seamlessly and smoothly include transitions in songs with the very different influences without coming across choppy or cheesy. Our songs remain catchy and continue to carry a very heavy pop-punk/punk rock sing-along vibe but are not afraid to mix in heavier styles of music, hip-hop & rap breaks, etc. We also feel like our music shines in this regard because we are genuinely writing songs that we are proud of and do not wish to copy-cat other popular artists in a specific scene or pander to what the mainstream/scene wants to hear.
WHAT DOES THE SONG WRITING PROCESS LOOK LIKE FOR YOU GUYS? HOW MANY SONGS DO YOU WRITE BEFORE PARING DOWN FOR AN ALBUM/EP?
Daniel: Sometimes we have some random ideas for songs we have in mind, but most of the time, we take these ideas to the table with all three members and essentially create a song by all three of us that didn’t exist hours before. We really prefer to have everyone’s input and influences on each song, rather than having one or two members doing a majority of the songwriting.
Andrew: For our recent full-length album, “Chaos Zen” , we released a 12-track set list, but we have discussed a full length release with only 8 songs, but that would be the minimum required. For our past EP’s and our new EP releasing at the end of February range from 4-5 songs. The max for an EP personally would be 6 songs.
PHOTO BY Gustavo Canales
“TILL IT’S OVER” AND “MEDICINE” HAVE A DISTINCT 2000s POP PUNK SOUND. WHAT KIND OF SOUNDS CAN FANS EXPECT TO HEAR FROM YOUR NEW EP?
Daniel & Andrew: Of course, early 2000’s pop-punk/punk-rock sound, but we also still include some rap/hip-hop breaks in certain songs, but really bringing a prominent alt-rock sound. The energy will remain incredibly high just like our previous albums as well and as catchy as ever.
You said you’re releasing a short film to promote upcoming music. How does visual storytelling play into your creative mission as a band? Do you think you’ll create visual albums/something similar in the future?
Andrew: We wanted to promote our new EP release, our recent full-length release, and all the tours we already have booked/announced in a different type of way. We don’t want to get stagnant and only do these short tik-tok under a minute clips, or simple sing a longs to our songs (even though we still have content like that), but instead focus on a bigger project that we can use for “content” (essentially) to help promote not only what was mentioned above, but the eccentric personalities of all three members of the band being introduced to the world. We didn’t want to try and be super serious about it, but still wanted to produce and create a really quality short movie that we are proud to showcase around the world for the year 2025.
The movie will be right around 15 minutes long if I’m not mistaken. Part One will be released within the next few weeks, we’re really excited.
Daniel: As things like visual albums, etc., become more prevalent during this time period, it is definitely something we’ve considered and have different ideas relating to that. We always aim to shoot as many music videos, etc., ( I don’t like saying content for everything we do like this), but ultimately want to create some sort of visual or any other kind of art to follow up with our music. The times have changed, it’s not just always about the music as people enjoy delving into individual personalities in the band, the deeper meanings/visuals our music represents that you normally wouldn't have seen with bands/artists in the past, etc.
Which song in your discography stands out to you as one you’re most proud of? Why?
Daniel: I would have to say “Chaos Zen.” We knew exactly where we were going sonically from the beginning, but the bridge came about so naturally and was such a welcome change of pace for a song like this one, and a huge bonus on top of that is that every time we play that song live the crowd always goes into a huge moshpit!!!
Andrew: I have a few; Superstitions, Kinda Tired But Whatever, Medicine, Til’ It’s Over, and Simulation. I feel like those tracks really capture our true sound and personality of the band musically. I’m very proud to listen back to these songs knowing we created them.
What does the future look like for Thru It All? Where do you want to be in five years?
Andrew & Daniel: We can collectively agree that the long-term goal we’ve continued to have for this band is to turn this into our full-time jobs. Tour as much as possible, make music together, make a difference in the world, make enough money to cover personal bills and live somewhat comfortably at least.. We just want this band and music in general to be the only thing we do in life.
PHOTO BY Gustavo Canales
And finally, for new fans of your music, pitch your band in 5 words or less!
Nostalgic, emotional, (ADHD) energy alt-rock/pop-punk (whatever people want to label us ahaha)
