the thorns

2010

W I N D S O R ,   O N

Mike Haggith - Guitar, Vocals

Jeff Morrell - Bass

Tyler Colley - Percussion

Donald Costin - Guitar

Justin Hoadley - Guitar

    A self-described alternative jam rock outfit, The Thorns were a short-lived project which never reached the stage or studio, though the group had plans for both. Founded by Haggith and Morrell in the spring of 2010, the group quickly hired percussionist Colley and guitarist Costin after a short casting call. Originally intended to take Haggith's solo material and perform it in a loose, improvised jam rock format, the group instead found itself writing and rehearsing predominantly its own original material from its inception. Though the group did record some live off-the-floor demos, none of the recordings ever saw an official public release, in large part due to their lack of tracking quality. With original songs including Doctor 14 (the lyrics of which would be partially transferred to Haggith's original Leon The Janitor), As Memories Fade Away (which would see a proper studio recording as part of Haggith's solo album Suspended Animation), and Nightmare On Reed Street (a solo-rendition live cut of which would also appear on Suspended Animation), the group showed initial songwriting promise. The rehearsal sessions of The Thorns were typically unstructured, focusing largely on extended loose improv sessions and general group comradery, leading to a fun project with an unfortunate lack of recorded studio output. Haggith's original song I Love You Anyways, which had been written at age 6 and would also see itself released on Suspended Animation as a solo release, was one of the only Haggith solo tracks ever to reach the band, although it was never perfected. In fact, the group's struggles in arranging the track eventually led to turnover in members, where Hoadley was hired in Costin's place.

     Despite the new hire of Hoadley, The Thorns never perfected the song, and the group's original material never reached a widespread audience. Hoadley left the group less than two months after his hiring, and Haggith relocated to Sault Ste Marie not long after, effectively disbanding the group. While there were some isolated talks regarding a long-distance recording project to bring a Thorns album to the public, those talks ultimately didn't lead to an album release. In January 2012 at the FM Lounge in downtown Windsor, the group's branding was briefly resurrected for a one-off concert appearance featuring Haggith, Morrell, and a handful of session musicians. While the concert went well and the material was well-received, The Thorns never resumed activity.

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