Donnette Ruth Thayer is a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter most active in the 1980s and early 1990s indie rock scenes of Northern California. Thayer was a member of the band Game Theory, and later formed Hex with Steve Kilbey of The Church.
Donnette Thayer in 1983
Thayer in Game Theory rehearsal studio
Game Theory in Arizona, 1988, during Two Steps from the Middle Ages tour. L-R: Gil Ray, Thayer, Miller, Shelley LaFreniere, Gui Gassuan.
Game Theory was an American power pop band, founded in 1982 by singer/songwriter Scott Miller, combining melodic jangle pop with dense experimental production and hyperliterate lyrics. MTV described their sound as "still visceral and vital" in 2013, with records "full of sweetly psychedelic-tinged, appealingly idiosyncratic gems" that continued "influencing a new generation of indie artists." Between 1982 and 1990, Game Theory released five studio albums and two EPs, which had long been out of print until 2014, when Omnivore Recordings began a series of remastered reissues of the entire Game Theory catalog. Miller's posthumously completed Game Theory album, Supercalifragile, was released in August 2017 in a limited first pressing.
Game Theory publicity photo in 1986 (Scott Miller, Donnette Thayer, Shelley LaFreniere, Guillaume Gassuan, Gil Ray)
First Game Theory line-up, Davis, CA, 1982. L-R: Irwin, Juhos, N. Becker, Miller.
Game Theory, Sacramento, 1982. L-R: Irwin, N. Becker, Juhos, Miller.
Game Theory band photo, 1983. Unused outtake from original cover shoot for Real Nighttime. L-R: Gill, N. Becker, Juhos, Miller.