The Underground Soul with The Threads

Written & Photographed by Emma Campanella

Submerged in the steamy basement so thick that colorful lights swim in the haze, I can hear the sound of pure passion. People swaying, vibrations humming through my shoes, feeling wrapped in absolute freedom. The Threads are one of those bands that make me feel warm and chilled at the same time, spreading goosebumps on my arms with the drop of every beat. “You know when you listen to a song and it makes you feel good? It makes you feel like the world is going to be okay? It’s a hopeful thing,” guitarist and vocalist Sam Abboud remarked. That’s what inspires the music.

The Threads are a band from Lemont, Illinois and perform in the Chicagoland area. Made up by Sam and Nick Abboud, Justin Bell and Duke Hiatt, the band composes a harmonious sound of rock and funk that brews a new rhythm people can move to.

“they all pretend that they’ve been living / just taking turns watching the day end”

-Again and Again – The Threads

Nick and Sam are brothers and grew up playing and making music together. “We’ve played our whole lives,” says Sam. The two went to high school with Justin and eventually met Duke after their original bass player left. They would all get together on weekends and started playing live shows around UIUC and Chicago. In 2015 when The Threads started performing, there wasn’t much hype around this kind of scene. But the culture has certainly evolved. You can hear music seeping out of houses in the neighborhoods of Urbana. These are places where young people gather to be swept away by music and let go of any apprehension. “These house shows are legendary! There’s not many other places where people can come, get messed up and not have to worry about anything,” Sam exclaimed, sitting back in marvel.

if time could sing / just a song for you / would you walk on by / or would you listen too

-Run 3 – The Threads

Other bands that perform at these shows have been playing around campus for years, finding a way to balance school, work and music. But they all do it for the same reason. “It doesn’t matter [what else is going on] because you love to play music and it’s just what you care about,” Nick emphasized, swiftly rolling back his chair. The Threads demonstrate their commitment to each other in the words that overlay imagery in crimson mauve onto the walls. It is the raw emotion you can watch morph on their faces that engrosses the attention of people dancing to the pulse of the sound. To me, music is one of the most powerful forces, uniting us around tears, happiness and love. “[Music] naturally takes the forefront of [my] mental energy. It just happens naturally,” said Sam. The Threads have mastered the skill of using music to bring people together. It is bands like this and their performances that are the underground soul breathing life into the local community of Urbana.

After the last song of the set murmured to a silence, the conversations of people stayed saturating the room. The bloody knuckles and callused fingertips of The Threads exchanged gratitude to the gathering crowd that waited to talk with them. Homegrown music like this doesn’t just foster an outlet for instrumentals, it brings people together. Young people, more often students, keep creativity alive and nurture a prolific side of college life not all expose themselves to.

As I ascended up the stairs, a stunning cool enveloped me. I already longed again for the sultry blanket and another song.

somewhere between the details you lost the feeling / so be still and don’t move

-The Cool – The Threads