Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Thrift.
Alex, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started playing the guitar when I was 14 after hearing the Beatles White Album. After that, it was skateboards and guitars for me until college. In high school, I played in a band called The Quiet Men. We were heavily influenced by Bowie, The Pogues, Smiths, and Hendrix; essentially very schizophrenic influences, musically. After high school, I was a part of several bands, notably a band called Throttle with Brad Morgan from Drive-By Truckers. I took a hiatus for many years after starting a family and got back into doing music in 2009 with some friends, in an instrumental band called The Mata Haris. I moved to NYC for a year, came back to Atlanta, and started a Misfits tribute for a one-off Halloween show. Surprisingly, Horror Business gained popularity and we played the L5P Halloween parade in 2014. Shortly thereafter, I met Mekenzie Thrift and we started Rumours – a tribute to Fleetwood Mac. In addition to Rumours, I have launched a Tom Petty tribute called Runnin’ Down A Dream and am working on an original project with some of my fellow bandmates.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been surprisingly smooth. Right out of the gate we were selling out shows. As a matter of fact, within a year we played a week-long residency at Disney Epcot. Not only have we gotten to play amazing venues across the country, but we have also branched out with international dates, including a successful tour of the Netherlands that we are looking forward to repeating once the world is healthy again. Long van rides are the worst though. I read recently that Chris Cornell wrote Rusty Cage about an old van they toured in. Not sure if that’s true, but cool story.
Rumours ATL – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Rumours ATL LLC is comprised of six partners essentially. I handle a lot of the business side of things and coordinate booking with our agent Joe Guida. I also handle lead guitar duties. I am most proud of the fact that we have accomplished pretty amazing things in a very short amount of time by working our asses off and constantly trying to improve. We are very proud of our product.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love Atlanta. I lived in L5P for years and I love the community sense. You just kind of get to know everyone. From the Vortex to Star Bar to El Myr, just good people!
Obviously the traffic. What else?
Contact Info:
- Address: Jguida@moremusicgroup.com
- Facebook: Rumours Atl: a Fleetwood Mac tribute
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