Thomas Cunningham "Tommy" Thayer is an American musician and songwriter best
known as the lead guitarist for the American hard rock band Kiss, as well as
the former lead guitarist for the band Black 'n Blue.
Early life Thomas Cunningham Thayer was born on
November 7, 1960, in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in the nearby suburb of
Beaverton, Oregon. His mother Patricia Thayer 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
in 1978, Thayer played in many local garage and club bands, eventually
forming his own group with singer and high-school classmate/friend Jaime St.
James, which eventually took the name Black 'n Blue.
Black 'n Blue Formed in November 1981, Black 'n Blue
played gigs in the 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 1986 and In Heat in 1988.
Geffen subsequently dropped the band in late 1988.
Although no longer a permanent member of the band, Thayer has performed
periodically with the other original members of Black 'n Blue for several
one-off reunion and benefit concerts. In October 2010, the band was inducted into
the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in Portland, with all five members of the
classic lineup attending. 1989–1993
In 1989, Thayer co-wrote songs with Gene Simmons and played session guitar on
song demos for Kiss' 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. 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. 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' 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.
The Spaceman Thayer became the lead guitarist for
Kiss in 2002. In his debut concert, the first time performing on stage with Kiss
at a private concert in Trelawny, Jamaica. In 2003 Thayer with Kiss joined
forces with the 70-piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 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 No. 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.
The Tour played 43 concerts as co-headliners starting on July 20, 2012,
in Bristow, Virginia and ending on October 1.
A new Kiss studio album Monster, was released in October 2012 debuting at No.
3 on the Billboard magazine album chart. Thayer co-wrote 10 songs and sang lead
vocal on "Outta This World." During a New York City promo stop in early
October Kiss performed live on the Late Show with David Letterman and Good
Morning America. Kiss embarked on their worldwide Monster Tour with the Kiss
Kruise II in the Gulf of Mexico on October 31 through November 4 and
continued on with six South America stadium and arena shows through November
18. Thayer's Epiphone Les Paul signature
model "Spaceman" guitar was officially released on January 1, 2013. In October,
Epiphone announced the first run of 1,000 guitars had sold-out.
The Kiss Monster tour continued in 2013 covering Australia, Europe, N. America
and Japan. Public service and philanthropy
Thayer was elected to the Board of Trustees at Pacific University in Forest
Grove, Oregon, in September 2005. He continues to serve on the board in 2013.
Through 2006 and 2007, Thayer arranged for new musical instruments to be
donated to jump-start ailing school band programs in Oregon. In February 2010,
Thayer and 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 headlined Rockin' the Corps, an
outdoor concert in 2005 at Camp Pendleton, California dedicated to 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 with a rally and live performance featuring a medley of the armed forces
anthems; it was filmed for an hour-long Gene Simmons Family Jewels TV special on
A&E that aired on Memorial Day 2007. 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. In 2012, Thayer was actively involved in
the organization of the fundraising event "All-Star Salute to the Oregon
Military", on May 18 at the Oregon Golf Club in West Linn, Oregon. The event was
the kick-off of the two-year $6.5 million capital campaign to raise funds
in support of the new Oregon Military Museum that will be named in honor of
Thayer's father, Brigadier General James B. Thayer Sr.
The 2013 "All-Star Salute to the Oregon Military" took place at the Governor
Hotel on April 20. The event raised $400,000 towards the ongoing Oregon
Military Museum Capital Campaign. Personal life
Thayer and his wife Amber, who designs custom jewelry, were married on June 4,
2006, and currently live in the Los Angeles area.
Discography = 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 2007: Rarities
= Kiss= 1989: Hot in the Shade
1992: Revenge 1997: Carnival of Souls: The Final
Sessions 1998: Psycho Circus
2003: Kiss Symphony: Alive IV 2008: Jigoku-Retsuden
2009: Sonic Boom 2009: Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe
2012: Monster References
External links Tommy Thayer official website