Conversations with Matt Thies of Open Wire

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Thies of Open Wire.

Hi Matt (singer), please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We go way back–Phil Milligan, Eric LeRay, and Dan Wuensch all knew each other in high school and played in various forms of school-performance bands. Dan had a couple punk and garage band outfits he played with in the scene around here, and Phil has played with everybody at some point. I (Matt Thies) came to Wilmington for college and met Dan over a bummed cigarette. Dan asked me to jam, and a few months later, the first incarnation of Open Wire emerged after we pulled Eric from a cover band he was playing in at the time. We rehearsed twice a week, which were, often times, more party than practice. We did a summer tour up to Tennessee in which we made no money and knocked the power out of a whole block in Nashville, TN.

In 2012, we put out our first album, Naked Dreams, a dirty garage band album, perfect for a debut album.

We continued to play and write, traveling all over the state into the little towns out in the sticks who are always stoked to have a solid rock band come to town. The people in those little towns have always welcomed and treated us well.

In 2015, we released our EP, Zero Crossing, experimenting with more complicated music structures and dabbling a bit more into heavy metal. That EP has a lot a grit that we didn’t plan for, probably because we recorded and released it all during a string of unfortunate and unforeseen funerals–including a close grandparent and my father. For the next few years, we remained on the support circuit for national and regional touring bands, mostly playing Raleigh, Wilmington, Fayetteville, and Jacksonville, and opened for bands like Texas Hippie Coalition, Charm City Devils, Bobaflex, Tantric, Saliva, and Crobot, to name a few.

Like everyone else, the Pandemic shut us down completely for a couple years, but once we were able to get back to some normalcy, we put together eight new songs and recorded SilverTongue, our latest album, with Trent Harrison at Hourglass Studios. Now the album is out on the digital (and actual) airwaves, and we can’t be more thrilled to get back out on every stage that will have us.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’re fortunate to call ourselves a Band Family. While we’ve all had issues that have impacted the business of the band, we’ve been lucky to never have any serious disagreements or fights that threatened the band. Me and Eric are likely the first to squabble over a cover song or how much flash is enough/too much for stage outfits, lol. In general though, we’re able to come to decisions on serious matters rather easily, whether that’s a new song idea, or like deciding to press vinyl and abandon CDs.

Which is not to say that there aren’t challenges, you know. Two of us are parents, all but one of us have a significant other/spouse, we all have full-time jobs, etc. But we chisel out one day a week that’s guaranteed for us to practice and write, or discuss business, or just hang out to blow off steam. Additionally, having our families so interwoven makes us stronger, I think. Open Wire is its own tribe. I think that that commitment not only to ourselves as a business but as a family is what has allowed us to persevere and prosper over the years.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We’re a rock band, through and through. Dissect it all you want–call it “Rock ‘n’ Roll,” call it “Hard Rock,” call it “Heavy Metal,” call it whatever you like–but at the end of the album, there is a classic power-four dripping sweat with ringing ears, and a crowd hopped up on their own adrenaline and vigor. We are a product of the era we grew up in, the last vestiges of the 20th century, and what defined rock then combined with having come of age during what is defining rock now.

To that end, a song should leave the venue with you after the show. It should cling to your ears after it stops playing on the radio or Spotify. A song should fill a part of you that had been empty. We try to write those songs. Whether they’re about heartbreak, love, lust, fishing, or just having a drink; every emotion and experience has a soundtrack.

We strive to produce a show that is energetic and passionate, an unexpected squall that blows up offshore full of lightning. A show that matches all the high voltage within us and our sound. We have always tried to play a show as professional and awe-inspiring as the bands we see in colosseums. The “big band in the small room” approach. We want people to be eager to go home and tell their partner, their roommate, their friend, their coworkers about the band they saw last night. That’s true inspiration.

As far as accomplishments, I think it’s two things. The first is the new album, SilverTongue. We put a lot of soul and hard work into this album, and it wasn’t an easy album to produce. But we put in the work and have something that we can really be proud of, something I’d be excited to show an A&R rep or just some dude on the street and everyone in between. Not that our previous work isn’t good–but this album is definitely operating on a different level.

The second is how we’ve always come together over the years instead of grown apart. Not a lot of groups, even major ones, can say that. I think that this, and our commitment to creating the music we want to hear–gritty, full of groove, composed with purpose and passion, and no small amount of “umph,” is what makes us stand out from other acts.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Nothing is guaranteed, so get it while you can.

Pricing:

• $30 – Pre-orders for SilverTongue vinyl

Contact Info:

• Website: www.openwirerocks.com
• Instagram: openwireofficial
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/openwire1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQxrmF5pdcBqIepZru87cw
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5zjJcUMNtfA0TefeRmkglg?si=hrIN_OI-S1i941kv4QNKvw

Image Credits
Leiby Art World
DigiWolf Photo