Carnival of Soul

Emphatic guitar fuels the heart of Thadeus Gonzalez’s music, driving home his inventive rock sound. Though the artist thrives in the rock genre, he takes influences from classic rock, metal, punk, and ’90s alternative styles.

Gonzalez will perform at Gabe’s on July 13, with openers In the Attic, The Funky Prettys, and Faces Turned Ashen.

Gonzalez released his first album, Utopian Society, in 2014, and he is now touring to promote his new album, Silver Inside, which was released last year. His début album featured a more varied style, but he envisioned a more cohesive sound with his second collection.

“My first album, Utopian Society, has got all these different styles of music on it, but for Silver Inside, I wanted to make a hard-rock album,” he said. “No one seems to be doing hard rock, so I decided to make an entire album of hard rock. I wanted it to be inquisitive and have more wordplay, refined rock that was a little more to the point.”

The creative process moves quickly for the musician. Writing lyrics comes relatively easily, inspiration striking almost anywhere, he said.

“For me, I just write stuff down and don’t pay too much attention to what it means,” he said. “I’m just trying to get what is in my head down on paper without out too much thought, because sometimes, it’s the thought that screws it up. If I write stuff down, it’s not as good as if I just go over to the microphone and improvise.”

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Gonzalez played last winter in Iowa City at the Yacht Club, where Gabe’s general manager Pete McCarthy first encountered his music.

“I definitely think Thadeus Gonzalez is hard to classify under one genre,” McCarthy said. “He mixes it up really well, so several styles are encompassed in his music. I think the show worked out well at the Yacht Club, and he actually put the bill together for this show. I told him it was a summer show, and he wanted to go ahead and get some local groups together.”

One on those locals is alternative-rock band In the Attic. The band started in 2012 and hails from the Cedar Rapids area. Tanner Parks, a band member and founder of independent record label White Sofa Records, said the musicians lookg forward to performing with Gonzalez and the other groups.

“We always like making connections with other bands,” Parks said. “And it’s always nice to reach a different audience and meet new people. We have a really huge sound, just because we are pretty loud and highly energetic on stage. I feel like the whole night will blend well together.”

In the Attic will provide a more alternative sound in contrast to the hard rock of Gonzalez, and the other two bands will round out the night with a mix of rock and funk styles.

“You’re going to see four different, very talented bands all in one night,” McCarthy said. “It won’t be hard rock all night, there will be some funk and indie rock, too. It will definitely be a solid summer show.”