By Bobby Hankinson
Not since Donnie and Marie Osmond sang, “I’m a little bit country/I’m a little bit rock ‘n roll,” has a musical act strived harder to bridge the gap between those two genres than Northeastern’s own Three Day Threshold.
The band, compromised of Kier Byrnes on lead vocals and banjo, Sam Reid on guitar, Gina Rebello on bass and Chad Mellen on drums, met at Northeastern.
Three Day Threshold has received numerous awards locally, as well as nationally. The band has been recognized by The Noise, Alternative.com, Jam Music Magazine, Metronome Magazine and Soundcheck Magazine. They have also been featured in other publications.
Recently, their song, “Victory” and “Black River Gold” have been featured on MTV’s “The Real World,” “Road Rules” and “The Gauntlet” “Behind the Barn” was used on Fox’s “The Simple Life.”
Performing alongside the Ataris and the Dropkick Murphys, Three Day Threshold played the 2003 Warped Tour to a 25,000 person crowd and also performed in the Boston Common’s 2002 Freedom Rally to a crowd of 30,000. Their next Boston gig will be with Cancer of the Stars, another NU grown band at Bill’s Bar on Feb. 13 at 9 p.m.
Byrnes, winner of three “Best ‘Other’ Instrument” awards and “Best Stage Presence” from The Noise, cites Social Distortion and The Reverend Horton Heat as two of the band’s influences, which are evident in their punk-rock meets country style.
Byrnes also revealed Three Day Threshold’s latest project — an instrumental remix of their album to be used by MTV in transitions and as background music to some of its programming. Their album, “Behind the Barn” released Sept. 2001, is a fun mix that immediately gets its listeners attention with the toe-tapping, knee-slapping “Rock ‘n’ Roll Country Music.” The energy is maintained on high, straight through the album’s first three tracks, including the Flogging Molly-esque “Pub With No Beer.” However, the band displays their versatility with the bluegrass ballad “Black River Gold” accented with its infectious banjo hook.
Don’t get too comfortable though, the band surges once again with the sing-along songs “Victory” and “Gold Rush” before their adaptation of “Drunken Sailor.”
TDT’s instrumental title track is packed with pure energy and uncontrollable excitement that screams of red and white checkered tablecloths and the smell of the cattle grazing nearby. Its high-octane sound somehow still transitions effortlessly to the solemn and traditional “Haul Away Joe.”
Once again, the band doesn’t keep the energy down for long, as they carry out to the end of the album strong with “Woman from Arlington (Maker Mark’s Blues),” “Man With a Pitchfork (Step-Daddy Hoedown)” and “25 Minutes.”
Sporting a sound and a fan base that transcends genres, Three Day Threshold has something to please almost everyone. “Behind the Barn” has the potential to make even the most hardcore punk don a ten-gallon hat and play the spoons.
