Tommy Thayer
| Tommy Thayer | |
|---|---|
 Tommy Thayer in concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on December 6, 2009 |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | "The Spaceman" |
| Born | November 7, 1960 Portland, Oregon, US |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Associated acts | Black 'n Blue, Kiss |
| Website | www.tommythayer.com |
Tommy Cunningham Thayer (born November 7, 1960) is an American musician and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist for the American hard rock band Kiss.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Thayer was born on November 7, 1960 in Portland, Oregon and grew up in the nearby suburbs of Beaverton, Oregon. His mother Patricia Thayer (née Cunningham) was a classically trained violinist and singer and father James Thayer was a businessman, community leader and retired Brigadier General in the US Army.
Early on, Thayer was raised in a musical family with three brothers and a sister amidst sounds that ranged from classical to The Beatles and other classic 1960s pop music. Thayer’s passion for early 1970s hard rock bands drove his desire to pick up electric guitar at age 13. After graduating from Sunset High School (Beaverton, Oregon) in 1978, Thayer played in many local garage and club bands eventually forming his own group with singer Jaime St. James called Black 'n Blue.
[edit] Black 'n Blue
Formed in November 1981, Black 'n Blue played gigs in Portland area for over a year before making a move to Southern California in early 1983. Black 'n Blue had immediate success as a top draw in Hollywood's rock clubs, and within six months signed a major worldwide recording contract with Geffen Records.
The band traveled to Germany in early 1984 to work with Scorpions producer Dieter Dierks, releasing Black 'n Blue in August 1984, featuring the songs "Hold on to 18" and "School of Hard Knocks", both co-written by Thayer and St. James. The follow-up Bruce Fairbairn produced album, "Without Love" was released in 1985 with Thayer, St. James and Jim Vallance co-writing the single "Miss Mystery". After touring for two months as opening act for Kiss in fall 1985, Black 'n Blue hired Kiss bassist Gene Simmons to produce the band’s next studio album "Nasty Nasty", released in 1987 and "In Heat" in 1988. Geffen subsequently dropped the band in late 1988.
In October 2010, Black 'n Blue was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in Portland.
[edit] 1989–1993
In 1989, Thayer co-wrote songs with Gene Simmons and played session guitar on song demos for Kiss's 1989 release, Hot in the Shade, which includes the Simmons and Thayer songs, "Betrayed". and “The Street Giveth, The Street Taketh Away.” That same year, Thayer recorded guitar tracks for singer-songwriter Teresa Straley and producer Pat Regan's record deal with Reprise Records.
Thayer co-produced and played guitar on Doro Pesch's 1991 Polygram Records release, Doro. In 1992, Thayer joined Los Angeles rock band Shake the Faith and recorded the album America the Violent, which was released in Japan in 1994. Thayer persuaded journalist Hunter S. Thompson to create the original artwork for the album cover.
[edit] Kiss
In 1994 Kiss's Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley hired Thayer to work part-time on their forthcoming book Kisstory, which led to other projects and eventually a full-time role with Kiss. Thayer's work for Stanley & Simmons began by performing such tasks as painting Stanley's house and cleaning out Simmons' gutters. [1] Thayer managed the 1995 Worldwide Kiss Convention tour and the Kiss MTV Unplugged concert. In preparation for 1996’s Kiss Alive/Worldwide Tour, Thayer worked with guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, to help them relearn their original guitar and drum parts from the 1970s. Thayer worked as producer and editor of Kiss’s long form video and film releases including: Kiss, The Second Coming in 1998, New Line Cinema’s feature Detroit Rock City in 1998, and Showtime Television’s pay-per-view, The Last Kiss in 2000.
By 2002 and with the growing uncertainty of Ace Frehley’s involvement in the band, Thayer stood by for a Kiss performance at the 2002 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony in Salt Lake City to fill-in on lead guitar if necessary. One month later Thayer got the call and donned the spaceman makeup for the first time, filling in and performing onstage with Kiss at a private concert in Trelawny, Jamaica. Several TV appearances followed in 2002 including ABC’s Dick Clark’s American Bandstand 50th Anniversary Show and That 70s Show on Fox.
[edit] The Spaceman
Thayer became the lead guitarist for Kiss on February 28, 2003. In his debut concert, Kiss joined forces with the 70-piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (all in Kiss makeup) for a concert at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne Australia. Recorded and filmed in front of 40,000 fans, a pay-per-view, Kiss Symphony: Alive IV CD and DVD were released worldwide later in the year. A Kiss Japanese tour in March 2003 was a forerunner to the KISS-Aerosmith World Domination tour that kicked off in summer 2003, setting sales records as one of Pollstar Magazine’s top grossing tours of the year. Kiss was on the road again in May 2004 with the Rock the Nation Tour. Thayer produced the RIAA double-platinum selling DVD set, Rock the Nation Live!, released worldwide in December 2004.
Kiss kicked off their Alive 35 tour in Melbourne, Australia in March 2008 to a huge crowd of 60,000 fans celebrating the 35-year history of the band. Hailed as the “Spectacular of the Year,” the sold-out tour ran through Australasia, Europe, South America and North America in 2009, cumulating 100 concerts in 29 countries, to 1.5 million Kiss fans. Making an appearance on the 2009 season finale of American Idol, Thayer and Kiss were joined onstage by Idol contestant Adam Lambert for a Kiss set seen by 30 million TV viewers.
Sonic Boom, the first KISS studio album in 11 years was released worldwide in October 2009, debuting at #2 on the Billboard magazine album chart. Thayer co-wrote three songs on the record, including his own lead vocal debut on “When Lightning Strikes.”
A brand new Kiss and Dr. Pepper TV ad debuted during the 2010 Super Bowl to an estimated 100 million TV viewers. Promotions leading up to the debut included Thayer & Kiss ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange in January 2010 in full Kiss regalia.
Kiss embarked on the highly anticipated Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour in Sheffield, England on May 1, 2010, playing 35 shows in stadiums and arenas throughout Europe through June. Kiss appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in July, kicking off Kiss's 60-date The Hottest Show on Earth Tour of North America culminating in July 2011.
Kiss is in the studio recording Monster, due to be released in 2012.
[edit] Philanthropy
With a desire to get involved and give back to the community where he grew up, Thayer was elected to the Board of Trustees at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon in September 2005.
Through 2006 and 2007, Thayer has continued his interest in helping inspire kids with a commitment to support school programs, particularly in music. He arranged for new musical instruments to be donated to jump-start ailing school band programs in Oregon. Thayer has made appearances at middle and high schools in Forest Grove, Hillsboro, and Lake Oswego, Oregon speaking to students with hopes that they will follow their dreams and accomplish all that they aspire to do. More recently in February 2010, Thayer & Kiss were featured in ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition helping a family in need with new instruments for their home-based, non-profit music school.
Kiss's continued dedication to the support of US military stationed abroad inspired the band to headline Rockin' the Corps, a massive outdoor concert in 2005 at Camp Pendleton, California dedicated to the US Marines and US Military personnel stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In March 2007, Thayer and Gene Simmons visited the Marines of Camp Pendleton again, and members of the US Army, US Navy and US Air Force, to honor their commitment to the United States with a rally and live performance featuring a medley of the armed forces anthems that was filmed for an hour-long Gene Simmons Family Jewels TV special on A&E that aired on Memorial Day 2007.
In summer 2007, Thayer's passion for golf inspired the now annual Pacific University Legends Golf Classic. The premier golf and entertainment event features Thayer along with a line-up of Professional Golfers Association pros and other celebrity friends and musicians who help raise money for Pacific University's Athletics Program in Oregon. Legends has continued for five successful years now with the likes of Gene Simmons, John Daly, George Lopez, Don Felder, Robby Krieger, Darius Rucker and Clint Black participating in and supporting the event.
Thayer donates all royalties earned from sales of his Hughes & Kettner signature guitar amplifier to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles to support of the important medical needs of sick and injured children. Thayer announced the launch of his own Hughes & Kettner Tommy Thayer Signature Edition guitar amplifier in 2008.
[edit] Personal life
Thayer and his wife Amber (née Peek), who designs custom jewelry, were married on June 4, 2006 and currently live in the Los Angeles area.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Black 'n Blue
- 1984: Black 'n Blue
- 1985: Without Love
- 1986: Nasty Nasty
- 1988: In Heat
- 1998: One Night Only: Live
- 2001: The Demos Remastered: Anthology 1
- 2001: Ultimate Collection
- 2002: Live In Detroit – 1984
- 2005: Collected (box set)
- 2007: Rarities
[edit] Kiss
- 1998: Psycho Circus (not credited)
- 2003: Kiss Symphony: Alive IV
- 2008: Jigoku-Retsuden[3]
- 2009: Sonic Boom
- 2009: Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe
- 2012: Monster
[edit] References
- ^ "'Burnn! Interview'". http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=54143.
- ^ Kiss.com
- ^ "'PodKISSt' Kiss-Themed Podcast Featuring Jigoku-Retsuden Roundtable Discussion Available". Blabbermouth. 29 September 2008. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BLABBERMOUTH.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=105793. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Ace Frehley |
Lead guitarist of Kiss 2002–present |
Incumbent |
