One spark, three instagram posts and dozens of practices later, Eli Thorne travels across the metroplex, performing emotional music with his band, ilearnedtotalkinspring, which recently was named Best New Band by the Dallas Observer.
Thorne discovered his love for music from a young age, playing covers of rock songs with different kids. When his friend from Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts approached him, Thorne found a different passion.
“(My friend) said he wanted to make a band of a specific genre of music I really never listened to,” Thorne said. “And I said, ‘You know what? Sure.’”
Twelve months before starting the band, Thorne wasn’t even exposed to the genre.
“Immediately, I was like ‘This is not my usual stuff.’ But music is music,” Thorne said. “Even if it’s maybe the worst thing you’ve ever heard in your ears, someone else in the world will like it.”
Thorne’s band quickly evolved into a more significant part of his life.
“My band is really important to me because music is my way of expression,” Thorne said. “I’d always done performances with this place called School of Rock, but with starting your own band, it’s all in your hands.”
Even as a drummer, one of the supporting instruments in a band, Thorne always wanted to assume a leading role and play his own music. He had written countless songs, but he lacked the network and supporting cast to share his passions with the world.
“Being in this band is really important because it finally gave me an outlet for that,” Thorne said.
Since then, Thorne has continued his work as a drummer, supporting other bands and individual artists with their projects, and has also begun to put out the songs he’s written for guitar and piano.
Even more, Thorne feels as if exploring and exposing himself to a new genre of music through his band had other positive benefits.
“I’ve never really played music that I haven’t really listened to,” Thorne said. “Doing so not only gave me another source of creativity, but honestly, made me a better instrumentalist as well.”
And using this new opportunity, Thorne has decided to aim higher and try to share his personal message with an audience on Spotify. However, as a completely new band on the high school scene, promoting awareness for their concerts and tours was a struggle. Thanks to social media, Thorne’s band had a solution.
“We decided to make an Instagram account, and we did a really good job of promoting our first project,” Thorne said. “ For a completely ‘do-it-yourself’ band who records in home studios and stuff, we’ve gained a pretty solid platform.”
Through their Instagram posts and promotions, ilearnedtotalkinspring evolved into a regularly performing band with a following of almost 500 fans.
Even with the uncertainty of a high school band, especially with the imminent graduation of some of the band members, Thorne and the band continue to travel around Dallas and share their work with the city.
“We’ve got two shows in Denton, and we’ve got one booked in this one venue called Rubber Gloves that could help us reach a lot more people,” Thorne said. “We’ve met a lot of really awesome people there who appreciate and support us, and that also helps us keep going,”
The sense of community they’ve found during their journey reflects their broader goal as artists—to connect through sound and meaning.
“We’re making music for anyone who wants to hear it,” Thorne said. “And our hope is that it’ll mean something to someone else out there.”