Attitude & Gratitude: Baltimore's 'Thank You'

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FOR BALTIMORE ART-PUNK BAND Thank You, it's all about humiliating themselves.

"To embarrass ourselves in a live setting is very important," says singer-guitarist Jeff McGrath. "The whole business is embarrassing — singing and shouting and moving around all crazy and getting sweaty. But if everyone can enjoy our humiliating experience, then sacrificing our composure becomes something cool for the audience."

Over two well-received albums and untold sweaty live shows, the band has pushed that sense of community and has contributed to a local scene that is becoming increasingly visible, thanks to such acts as Beach House, Dan Deacon and Ponytail. "What's unique about Baltimore right now is that there's room for everything and everybody," says Charm City native McGrath, "and no one's competitive."

The members of Thank You — which also includes guitarist Michael Bouyoucas and drummer Emmanuel Nicolaidis — are all childhood friends. Bouyoucas and Nicolaidis have played together in bands since high school.

McGrath and original drummer Elke Wardlaw first played together in the band Practice Finger, "which went largely unnoticed by the whole world." They both learned to play their respective instruments for the band, inspired by D.C. groups like Fugazi and Nation of Ulysses. "That clan was so accessible and friendly," McGrath recalls, "and they made it seem so doable, like I could just pick up a guitar and play in a band. And if it was possible, then why not?"

Thank You's music can be abrasive and aggressive, but its rangy songs are dense with noise and ideas, mixing the intricate rhythms of Battles with the dramatic melodicism of Mogwai.

Nowhere is the trio's tight dynamic more apparent than onstage. "We try to evoke some spirit of occasion," says McGrath. "When we play, it's really important for us to really, really play."

» DC9, 1940 9th St. NW; with the Differents; Thu., 9 p.m., $10; 202-483-5000, dcnine.com. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Stephen M. Deusner
Photo courtesy Thrill Jocket