Dustin Kensrue | |
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Background information | |
Born | November 18, 1980 |
Origin | Orange County, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 1998–present |
Labels | |
Website | dustinkensrue |
Dustin Michael Kensrue (pronounced KENZ-roo) is a musician, singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the rock band Thrice, as well as a solo artist.
On October 10, 2006, it was announced that Kensrue had signed with Equal Vision Records, and that the label would release Kensrue's debut solo album. [1] On January 23, 2007, Kensrue released a solo album titled Please Come Home on Equal Vision Records. He wrapped up the recording and mixing of the album at the home of fellow Thrice member Teppei Teranishi. The album opened at 142 on the Billboard 200 with 5,800 copies sold the first week. [2] He supported the album with a solo tour including stops on the Late Show with David Letterman , The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Fuse Network. Please Come Home met with mostly favorable reviews from critics, who have compared Kensrue musically to singer/songwriter Ryan Adams and Johnny Cash. [3] [4] [5]
Kensrue intended to donate 5% of the proceeds from Please Come Home to a non-profit organization called To Write Love on Her Arms. In the press release, Kensrue explained the choice:
"To Write Love on Her Arms is a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with clinical depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. To Write Love on Her Arms began in March 2006 as a written story and an attempt to raise money for one girl's treatment. T-shirts were printed and a MySpace page was created to serve as home base for the story. Excitement spread quickly throughout MySpace and the independent music community. For 2007, TWLOHA is aiming to raise $100k for treatment and recovery. This comes in addition to online counseling and continued efforts to creatively present hope and raise awareness.
TWLOHA is a fitting choice for Please Come Home. The album lyrically exudes redemption, personal worth, love, acceptance, and hope. “I try to be an artist who aspires to find hope even in dark places: If I’m down, I don’t want to bring people down to that place with me. I’m looking for a way out," says Kensrue.[ citation needed ]
On October 14, 2008, Kensrue said this on the official Thrice website - "I just finished my Christmas record. I haven’t really mentioned it because (a). I’ve been spending all my time working on it, and (b). I wasn’t totally sure I would finish it in time to come out this year. But, last night I finished it up and Teppei is finishing the mixes tonight. It’s going to be an online release only and will hopefully be out in mid-November sometime. The title is “This Good Night Is Still Everywhere” and it contains 8 covers and 2 Christmas originals. I love Christmas music so it was a lot of fun to do this and I’m glad I get to share it with you guys." [6] "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" was posted on Kensrue's website on November 15. This Good Night Is Still Everywhere was released digitally through Vagrant Records on November 18. [7]
Kensrue also added vocals in the song "The Contender" on the album "Pierce the Empire With a Sound" by experimental act The Out Circuit released on February 12, 2008. A music video for "This Is War" was released in December 2009. [8]
On October 1, 2013, Kensrue released his third studio album The Water & the Blood , [9] which includes the song "It's Not Enough" and "Grace Alone". [10] The project is a collection of mostly original corporate worship songs written while he was the Worship Pastor of Mars Hill Church Bellevue and intended to be sung at church. [11] According to Kensrue, "all the lyrics of the record are very, very rooted in Scripture", and added: "There is power in the Word of God. As much as you stick close to that, there is power in the lyrics as well." [12] The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Christian chart and No. 52 on Billboard 200, selling 7,000 copies in its first week. [13]
On April 21, 2015, Kensrue released his fourth solo project, Carry the Fire , [14] which includes the song "Back to Back". [15] The album debuted at No. 110 on Billboard 200, and No. 18 on the Top Rock Albums chart.
His fifth album, a live album of cover songs, Thoughts That Float on a Different Blood , was released on March 18, 2016, with Vagrant Records, and this album charted on three Billboard magazine charts. He also released an EP, More Thoughts That Float on a Different Blood, on November 25, 2016, on 7-inch vinyl for Record Store Day. [16]
Kensrue has talked with many publications about his Christian faith, [17] [18] and holds a monergistic view of Christianity. [17] He has a tattoo of Proverbs 9:10a ("The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom") written in Hebrew on his left forearm. [19]
In 2011, Kensrue became a deacon of the Mars Hill Church plant in Orange County, and in 2012 Mars Hill announced that Kensrue would become the worship leader for the campus located in Bellevue, Washington, and be involved in coordinating worship music across their churches. [20] In October 2014, Kensrue resigned amid controversy surrounding pastor Mark Driscoll, [21] returning to California with his family. [22]
In 2012, Kensrue formed the band The Modern Post at the Mars Hill Church in Orange County, California. [23] The band members include brothers Phil and Lee Neujahr on bass and drums, and Jonny Sandu on keyboard. They released the EP Grace Alone in 2012. [24] The band also re-recorded the songs from Kensrue's solo project The Water & the Blood in a live setting, and released as The Water & the Blood (Acoustic Sessions). [25]
In July 2014, Kensrue announced that he was working on a follow-up to This Good Night with a five-track Christmas EP including a re-working of "This Is War". The EP, titled Lowborn King was released from The Modern Post on November 24, 2014. [26]
Kensrue and Shadlie Ruby Smith [27] married in 2002 and went on to have three daughters together. [28]
His younger brother, Chase Kensrue, played guitar and piano for the band Eye Alaska. [29]
Title | Album details | Chart positions | Sales | ||||
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US [30] | US Christ [30] | US Indie [30] | US Rock [30] | ||||
Please Come Home [31] |
| 144 | — | — | — | ||
The Water & the Blood [32] |
| 52 | 4 | 8 | 17 |
| |
Carry the Fire [34] |
| 110 | — | 10 | 18 | ||
Thoughts That Float on a Different Blood [35] |
| — | — | 25 | 30 | ||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
Title | Album details | Chart positions |
---|---|---|
US Heat [30] | ||
This Good Night Is Still Everywhere [36] |
| 31 |
Darlene Wright ,[a] better known by the stage name Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist.
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school.
The Illusion of Safety is the second studio album by American rock band Thrice. It was released on February 5, 2002 through Sub City Records, who the band had previously reissued their debut studio album Identity Crisis (2000) through. They wrote new songs at a rate of two per month, prior to recording in July 2001. Sessions were held at Salad Days Studios with producer Brian McTernan. The Illusion of Safety is a melodic hardcore and post-hardcore album, with a reoccurring topic of death and religious references.
The Artist in the Ambulance is the third studio album by American rock band Thrice. It was released on July 22, 2003, through Island Records, becoming their first release on a major label. The band released their second studio album The Illusion of Safety in March 2002; by July of that year, they were writing material for their next album. Recording sessions were held with producer Brian McTernan at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York; Salad Days Studios in Beltsville, Maryland; and Phase Studios in College Park, Maryland.
Identity Crisis is the debut studio album by American rock band Thrice, released on Greenflag Records on June 6, 2000. Following the release of their debut EP First Impressions and a brief break in touring, frontman Dustin Kensrue became an employee at Greene Records. Owner Andy Greene was interested in funding the band's debut album; sessions were held at For the Record in Orange, California with the band and Paul Miner as producers.
Marc Broussard is an American singer-songwriter. His style is best described as "Bayou Soul", a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots. He has released eight studio albums, one live album, three EPs, and has charted twice on Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks.
Vheissu is the fourth studio album by American rock band Thrice. Released on October 18, 2005, through Island Records, the album spawned one charting single, "Image of the Invisible", which peaked at No. 24 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. Vheissu has received favorable reviews from music critics.
Please Come Home is the first studio album by Dustin Kensrue, released in 2007.
The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II: Fire & Water is the fifth studio album by American rock band Thrice. It consists of the first two volumes of The Alchemy Index, a four-disc concept album about the four elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. The band had issues with Island Records, who tried to change their sound with their fourth studio album Vheissu (2005). By July 2006, they were working on its follow-up, which would become The Alchemy Index project; recording sessions were held between September 2006 and June 2007 at guitarist Teppei Teranishi's house in Orange County, California. The Fire disc revolved around the band's post-hardcore sound that was prevalent on their older releases, while the Water disc focused on the Ambient electronic and trip hop genres.
The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth is the sixth studio album by American rock band Thrice. It consists of the final two volumes of The Alchemy Index, a four-disc concept album that was split between two releases, the first in October 2007 and the second in April 2008. The band originally planned to release four discs at once, each disc with six tracks representing one of the four elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. A blog titled The Alchemy Index chronicled the album's progress for fans. The artwork for the album was designed by Dustin Kensrue.
Beggars is the seventh studio album by American rock band Thrice. It was released digitally through Vagrant Records in the UK on August 9, 2009, and in the US on August 11, 2009. A physical release containing bonus material was released on September 15, 2009.
Sam Owens is an American musician/artist originally from Washington, now based in Brooklyn, New York.
Major/Minor is the eighth studio album by American rock band Thrice. The album was released on September 6, 2011, through Vagrant Records.
The Water & the Blood is the third studio album from Christian indie musician Dustin Kensrue, which was released on September 30, 2013 by BEC Recordings and Mars Hill Music, and the album was produced by Brian Eichelberger. The album has seen commercial and critical success.
Thoughts That Float on a Different Blood is a cover album by Dustin Kensrue. It is the fifth album released by Kensrue, as well as his first live album. Vagrant Records released the album on March 18, 2016. The album was recorded over two shows at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana, California in December 2015. A related EP, More Thoughts That Float on a Different Blood, was released on November 25, 2016, for Record Store Day. It consists of two additional cover songs.
To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere is the ninth studio album by American rock band Thrice. The album was released on May 27, 2016, through Vagrant Records. To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere is Thrice's first release after a four-year hiatus that lasted from mid-2012 to mid-2015, and the band's first album of original material in five years since 2011's Major/Minor. During the hiatus, most of the band members continued performing music and pursued other interests, which included moving to other cities or states with their new families.
"Hurricane" is a single by American rock band Thrice, off of their studio album To Be Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere. It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in August 2017.
"Black Honey" is a song by American rock band Thrice. The song was released on April 27, 2016 as the second single from their ninth studio album, ToBe Everywhere Is to Be Nowhere. It was the first single the band released following their hiatus in 2012 and subsequent reunion in 2015. The political track uses the imagery of a man swatting at a beehive in search of honey as a metaphor for the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as a consequence of United States involvement in the Middle East, using the titular "black honey" as a euphemism for oil. The song was a large comeback hit for the band, charting at No. 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, their highest-charting single to date and their first charting single since "Image of the Invisible" in 2005.
Palms is the tenth studio album by American rock band Thrice. The album was released on September 14, 2018, through Epitaph Records, making it the band's first release through the label.
"Deadbolt" is a song by the American post-hardcore band Thrice, featured as the fifth track on the band's 2002 studio album The Illusion of Safety. One of the band's best-known songs, "Deadbolt" is a merger of post-hardcore and pop-punk.