Thoughtbrake, the brainchild of a pair of eccentric cousins from the Louisville, Kentucky area is just getting started on their musical journey, and already they pride themselves on the depth and versatility of the work they have released. Their independent debut, Burning Through Nowhere, has not made them famous, but it has brought them a good deal of praise from a small but diverse audience.

Originally formed in 2000 by singer/songwriter Matt Lega (b. 8-9-83) and technical wiz Ryan Renn (b. 12-22-81) the band was originally called Smashing Pink, and considered several other names including Ice Machine, The Informal Penguins, and Sunflower Society. The TB sound has been influenced by a wide range of artists, including, but not limited to, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Kill Hannah, Oasis, Goo Goo Dolls, and Jewel. This list runs long, but a listen to Burning Through Nowhere will make it apparent that Thoughtbrake is one of the more versatile bands debuting in recent memory. The hard-hitting opening track, “Hypnotized,” is reminiscent of Kurt Cobain and the Grunge Revolution, but the closing track, “Soundproof Room,” inspires thoughts of early Jewel.

The band kicked ideas around for a few years, until the summer of 2003 when they recorded the 10-song album in about a dozen recording sessions. The album is an emotional roller coaster that takes the listener through the ups and, more notably, the downs of human relationships. Ranging from specific case studies as in “Like a Cigarette” to general musings like the pop rock anthem “Living in Sin” to the mellifluous ballad “Semi-Sweet,” the album has a melancholy undertone, but don’t expect that to be all you get from Thoughtbrake.

Lega: I don’t want there to be any rules for this band. I want it to be ever-evolving. The songs I’m writing for this next record are going to be thematically a lot different from what people heard on Burning Through Nowhere.

Thoughtbrake is also not without musical influence from inside their own families. A number of Ryan’s cousins are accomplished musicians, and the band’s co-founders share an uncle, Dan Lega, who has worked on everything from Children’s songs to writing musicals. Dan has covered a number of Beach Boys songs for the critically acclaimed Net Sounds series.

Lega: Dan was really the first person who ever encouraged me to write songs. And in our family, between Dan and my dad, the Beach Boys were the beginning and the end of music. Brian Wilson was a demigod.

Renn: I have next to no formal musical background; whatever I know about music in any formal sense, is owed to family and friends.

Matt and Ryan have very busy lives outside of music as well. Matt, an only child, is studying to teach high school history at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, and spends much of his spare time following the EKU basketball and football teams as though they were his second religion (“an obsession”). Lega also plays occasional acoustic sets at events on campus. Ryan, who graduated with a double major in Math and Computer Science from Purdue University in only 2 years, now works in the actuarial field. He has two nephews and a niece to focus attention on. He lives in Sellersburg, Indiana and has two brothers.

Renn: We’re not a “Save the Whales” kind of band. I’d say we get excited by much more mundane things, like football and sports. A lot of my favorite frontmen, like Thom Yorke or Roger Waters, have spent a lot of time railing against corporate America and people with conservative lifestyles, and wars and the Western world and all that. I think they’re musically great but mentally warped. I’ve done work involving computers and corporate finance, which might make me Public Enemy #1 and Archetypical Boring Guy in some musician’s views. It’s become cliché in music to assume the corporate world is evil, that authority is evil, and that technology makes life “increasingly impersonal.” Interesting song topics, but it’s intellectually vacuous at times.

At the Horizon

TB is currently looking to flesh out its live line-up. Live play is somewhat uncharted territory for the young musical outfit.

Lega: We’ve been primarily a studio band. We’d love to tour one day, but we feel most at home when we’re recording. As far as the final band line-up goes, nothing is for certain, but we’re looking around, and we are very open to the idea of working with female musicians. I think that adds a great deal of depth to a band both in terms of backing vocals and overall attitude.

Renn: The two of us have been in total creative control of all our work. Matt has written mountains of music that we’re yet to sit down and produce. The studio is a natural fit, and we’ll take live opportunities as they come.

Recording out of a basement studio, the band plans to return studio in the summer of 2004 to record the follow up to Burning Through Nowhere. Few who know them doubt that Lega and Renn will come up something provocative and entertaining to listen to.

Lega: I’m really looking to impress some people this time out…. We learned a lot from recording the first record.

Whatever the future holds for the band, nothing is for certain…which is the way the band wants it.