Release the honey... In January 2004, Justin went into Basement Records to record ...'honey', 10 original acoustic songs, kept intentionally simple and intimate. His music has evolved over time, from the angry, grunge-tinged guitar and vocal screaming days of Rasp to the chilled-out surfy tunes of Curses. He now sits closer to the mellow, acoustic singer songwriters such as David Gray and Damien Rice et al but he certainly adds his own flavour and style. His vocal range will not suit everyone's taste; some of the new songs remind listeners of Del Amitri and David Gray whereas others clearly pay homage to Jeff Buckley and Led Zeppelin. If you like passion-filled alternative-folk rock, where the songwriter pays attention to the lyrics, check '...honey' out. Justin Thorne
 | | Justin Thorne at the Chicago Cafe |
Justin has been writing and recording songs since the late 90's, and slap bang in the middle of the grunge revolution his first recorded demo entitled 'Rasp' was considered by Stone Gossard when he set up the loose groove record label. He went on to play in cover bands including the popular 'Pulp Fiction' before meeting up with future band mates who would form the surfy rock outfit 'Curses'. Curses were lucky enough to record four original tunes at Paul McCartney's LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) and then a further five songs at Gilbert O'Sullivan's studio in Jersey. Again, record label interest was there, promises were made and vanished as quickly as they came. Every now and then a friend traveling through South Africa or Australia will still call a member of Curses to say that they just heard one of their tunes on the radio. 'Freedom Shore' is even rumoured to feature on a surfing DVD somewhere. A little disillusioned with the music industry and in order to concentrate on boxing, Justin didn't touch his guitar for three years. Towards the end of 2002 and after buying a new acoustic guitar, the songs started flowing again. Urged by his friends, he started playing a blend of new original tunes and covers at open mic venues. The songs still flowed and Justin worked with a talented female vocalist from Australia on original songs where the lead vocals were shared with a view to entering the Chicago Rock Battle of the Bands 2003 for a laugh and just to get the songs heard. Unfortunately, the female vocalist decided to return down under so Justin convinced his long-time friend Sean Conway to step up on stage with him and jam through some covers and original tunes. The pair were excited as they got to play songs they really loved by artists such as Jeff Buckley, Damien Rice, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Limp Bizkit. After one quick rehearsal the duo were amazed to get through to the semi-finals. With a few more weeks to prepare, Justin and Sean decided to add some humour to their set and performed Tenacious D's 'Tribute' and an acoustic version of 'I believe in a thing called love' by The Darkness. Much to their surprise they went on to win the semi-finals and then become joint winners of the Chicago Rock Battle of the Bands 2003 at the final in early December. Justin and Sean will be appearing at 'The Bar' from the 21st January 2004, every Wednesday and have been offered gigs locally, in New York, Detroit and Canada. Justin is unsure what to do next, he is armed with 30 original songs, is dying to record them and get them heard but at the same time is enjoying playing with Sean and there is always the possibility of re-forming Curses. Whatever happens, he just wants to play as much as possible and record his ideas. His music has evolved over time, from the angry, grunge-tinged guitar and vocal screaming days of Rasp to the chilled-out surfy tunes of Curses. He now sits closer to the mellow, acoustic singer songwriters such as David Gray and Damien Rice et al but he certainly adds his own flavour and style. His vocal range will not suit everyone's taste, some of the new songs remind listeners of Del Amitri and David Gray whereas others clearly pay homage to Jeff Buckley and Led Zeppelin. If you like passion-filled alternative-folk rock, where the songwriter pays attention to the lyrics, check it out. | 
