Press Releases

Wilmington, MA–-Following a tour as special guest artists with the Dixie Chick’s recent “Top of the World” tour and a North American tour with John Mayer, and the release of a new CD collection, The Thorns (Aware/Columbia), which includes their critically acclaimed debut album plus a bonus 13-track acoustic “unplugged” set, Sunset Session, The Thorns played for Fishman at the recent Winter NAMM show.

Drawing a large crowd with a dynamic three-song set that included "Runaway Feeling", "Dragonfly", and their single "I Can't Remember,” Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge, and Shawn Mullins all used the new Fishman Loudbox guitar amps to get their sound across loud and clear in what is a very acoustically cluttered environment.

More specifically, Sweet uses the Fishman Acoustic Matrix pickup in his 6-string and 12-string guitars. He also uses the AG-Series Fishman pickups for dulcimer and baritone ukulele, and plays through a Fishman Platinum DI system.

Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins use the Acoustic Matrix pickup on their acoustic guitars. They also play through a Platinum DI while touring bassist Tony Marisco uses the Full Circle and the BP-100 on his various basses played through the Platinum Bass DI.

The original version of The Thorns was released in May 2003 to critical acclaim and has sold more than 100,000 copies. Entertainment Weekly picked The Thorns as one of the magazine's 10 Artists To Watch in 2003. Andy Langer, writing in Esquire, called the album "...an ambitious collection of harmony-driven tunes where its sum is greater than its considerable parts."

 "I Can't Remember," the first single from The Thorns, was a #1 Most Added track at AAA radio while a video for the track was added to VH1's "Inside Track" rotation. The single has been making waves internationally, garnering airplay in the UK and Germany among other territories.

Formed in the spring of 2002, The Thorns combined the multifaceted talents of popular solo artists Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins. Despite difference in background and style, the threesome clicked immediately and were soon recording their first collective CD set at a ranch in the Santa Ynez valley north of Santa Barbara, which produced songs such as "Think It Over," "Thorns," "Dragonfly," "Such a Shame," "Long Sweet Summer Night," "I Told You," forming what Droge calls "the cornerstones of the record and of the band's sound."

About Fishman
About Fishman Widely recognized as the premier designer and manufacturer of acoustic amplification products, Fishman products are found in the hands of most of the world’s top acoustic performers. Founder Larry Fishman’s innovative and unique approach to engineering and building amplification products for almost 30 years has led to the granting of over thirty patents. Today Fishman products are sold both to original equipment manufacturers and to the music-playing public through a worldwide network of musical instrument dealers and international distributors.

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