three times thick is a band from Madison, WI whose musical focus is crafting captivating songs that feature a balance of energy & dynamics with melody enhanced by vocal harmony and pouring energy and emotion in to memorable performances marked by passion and verve. Their music commands a sonic range marked by the dose of straightforward rock ‘n’ roll in “Son in His Sky” to the power-pop feel of “Yellow” to the groove-infused “DOT” and back to the heavy rockin’ “Home”. A strong internet presence and radio-friendly sound continue to help three times thick build a following, as evidenced by their ever-growing mailing list that includes members from 28 countries.

madisonhotspots.com Interview

Dan from madisonhotspots.com was kind enough to offer us an interview spot on his weekly Quick Shots show posted on madisonhotspots.com. We met Dan and his crew at the Dry Bean in Madison and had a good time hanging out for a bit. If you'd like, you can view Quick Shots at madisonhotspots.com.

Thanks for the opportunity, Dan!

Band Bio

Talking to Ben Franczek, lead guitarist, lends insight into the sound of three times thick: “Growing up in our house was continual sensory overload,” he reflects. “The radio played nonstop; anything from the Who and Hendrix to Chicago or the Police or Sabbath; top 40, jazz, and the oldies station, and I remember continuous conversations about history, books we’d read, current events, whatever. Someone was always in the middle of something; the house never slept.”

three times thick thrives on the same deep well of human energy, pouring that excitement and breadth of influences into a refreshing concoction of dynamic hard rock and hand-crafted songwriting. Dean Kesler, lead singer and guitarist, notes, “Songs like ‘Skin’ and ‘Bell Tone’ seem to leap into being effortlessly, while others seem to be diamonds in the rough, like ‘Fall’ and ‘El Camion,’ that were revealed only after patiently cleaning away the dirt that concealed them.” Whatever path to daylight the songs choose, they are all bound in a feeling of musical serendipity that is marked by tempting melody and infectious grooves. The music commands a sonic range marked by the dose of straightforward rock ‘n’ roll in “Son in His Sky” to the power-pop feel of “Yellow” to the groove-infused “DOT” and back to the heavy rockin’ “Home”.

“The only thing we enjoy more than writing music together is playing live and interacting with people through our songs,” continues Chris Franczek, bassist and brother to Ben. Gigging was how the members of three times thick got started. Dean and Chris had each cut their teeth in separate 70 & 80’s metal cover bands and eventually moved on to other projects. For Dean, this was an alternative rock band that allowed him to start songwriting in earnest, while Chris played in a heavy-gigging blues band. At the same time, Ben had joined a punk rock group started by the drummer from Chris’ first band. All the while, Ben, Chris, & Dean regularly got together for weekend-long jams and songwriting sessions that would inevitably give rise to three times thick.

These creative free-for-alls began to be more focused and coalesce over time, and three times thick became the primary project for each of them. Drummer André Deer, a college friend of Dean’s, joined the band after migrating to Madison from the Twin Cities. “The coolest thing about three times thick is the chemistry - great friends that make great music together,” says André. “We’re not angst-ridden punks that can’t stand ourselves or each other. We get off on the collaboration and the interplay; channeling that to create ambitious, adventurous modern rock that’s all too rare right now.”

three times thick’s connection to music fans has been enhanced by airplay in several Midwest radio markets including Razor 94.7, WZOR, (Fox Cities, WI), Solid Rock 94.1 WJJO (Madison, WI), and New Rock 96.3 WMAD (Madison, WI). Multiple songs are in rotation on internet radio stations and featured in podcasts including The Grain Division, PittRadio, Indie Radio Live, AiiRadio, Extreme Indie Radio, Mosiq Radio, Rocket Radio, SykoRadio, and House of Gigs Radio. A strong internet presence and radio-friendly sound continue to help three times thick build a following, as evidenced by their ever-growing mailing list that includes members from 28 countries.

The essential organic source the music of three times thick enjoys is an electric elixir of rhythm, melody, and energy blended to yield soul-quenching rock and roll that is at once familiar and refreshingly new.

2006 MAMAs Fundraising Campaign

three times thick is proud to have been involved in this year's fundraising efforts for the Madison Area Music Awards campaign to contribute $25,000.00 to the Madison Metropolitan School District to be earmarked for music programs. Thanks again to everybody that made it out to The Klinic for the MAMAs Benefit on 2/3/06. We had a good time and were happy to see others had a good time as well. Thanks as well to Chemical Smile and Black List, Rick from the MAMAs, Tony Menzer who booked the gig, and everybody at The Klinic.

Each of us got our musical start in the percussion section of public school music programs and are happy to be able to do our part to help ensure that kids continue to have the resources available to them to explore music and benefit from the support and guidance of mentors as we once did.

Now, there are those who feel that these kinds of awards local, regional, national, or international are just shallow popularity contests that do little to actually recognize and reward musical prowess, or are only about who you know or where you're from, or are all about stroking egos and therefore are meaningless and/or pointless and/or a scourge. For us, the MAMAs is a chance to give back. Whatever else the MAMA organization is, whatever else they do that people may or may not support or buy in to, they're making an effort to pass the musical torch by providing much-needed funding for MMSD music programs and we're damned glad to be a part of it in our small role.

May the circle be unbroken.

Please consider supporting their efforts by attending this year's MAMA fundraising events and/or making a donation to help them reach their goal of donating $25,000.00 for music education in Madison. For more information, check out the MAMAs at www.themamas.org.