Thurston Moore

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Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore Performing 2014.jpg
Moore in 2014
Background information
Birth name Thurston Joseph Moore
Also known as Mirror
Fred Cracklin
Born (1958-07-25) July 25, 1958 (age 60)
Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer-songwriter
  • musician
  • poet
  • publisher
  • editor
  • teacher
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass
  • piano
  • drums
Years active 1976–present
Labels
Associated acts

Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958)[7] is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moore was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's 2004 edition of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."[8] In May 2012, Spin published a staff-selected top 100 ranking Moore and his Sonic Youth bandmate Lee Ranaldo together on number 1.[9]

In 2012, Moore started a new band Chelsea Light Moving, with their first track, "Burroughs", released as a free download.[10] Chelsea Light Moving's eponymous debut was released on March 5, 2013.

Early years[edit]

Moore was born July 25, 1958, at Doctors Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida, to George E. Moore and Eleanor Nann Moore, and moved with his family (including brother Frederick Eugene Moore, born 1953, and sister Susan Dorothy Moore, born 1956) in 1967 to Bethel, Connecticut.[11] He attended St. Joseph's School in Danbury Ct followed by St. Mary's School in Bethel CT and attended from 1973–76 Bethel High School. He enrolled at Western Connecticut State University in fall 1976 but left after one quarter and moved to East 13th Street between Aves A and B in New York City to join the burgeoning post-punk and no wave music scenes.[12] It was there that he was able to watch shows by the likes of Patti Smith and spoken-word performances by William S. Burroughs.[13] In 1980 he moved in with Kim Gordon to an apartment at 84 Eldridge St. below artist Dan Graham, eventually befriending him, sometimes using records from Graham's collection for mix tapes.[14]

Once in the city, Moore was briefly a member of the hardcore punk band Even Worse, featuring future The Big Takeover editor (and future Springhouse drummer) Jack Rabid. After exiting the band, Moore and Lee Ranaldo learned experimental guitar techniques in Glenn Branca's "guitar orchestras."[12] Moore has spoken about influences on his music tastes at this time, including British bands Wire, the Pop Group, the Raincoats, the Slits, and Public Image Ltd ("I used to have these fantasies in the 70s about leaving New York and coming to London to hang out with Public Image").[15]

Sonic Youth[edit]

Main article: Sonic Youth

Moore met Kim Gordon in 1980 at the final gig of The Coachmen, the band he was in with J.D. King, Daniel Walworth (replaced by Dave Keay), and Bob Pullin. Moore, with Gordon, Anne Demarinis and Dave Keay formed a band, appearing under names like Male Bonding and Red Milk and the Arcadians, before settling on Moore's choice of Sonic Youth just before June 1981.[citation needed] The band played Noise Fest in June 1981 at New York's White Columns gallery, where Lee Ranaldo was playing as a member of Glenn Branca's electric guitar ensemble as well as in duo with David Linton as Avoidance Behavior.[citation needed] Moore invited Ranaldo, who he had known when The Coachmen shared a CBGB stage with Ranaldo's 1970s band The Flux, to join the band. The new threesome played three songs at the festival later in the week without a drummer.[citation needed] Each band member took turns playing the drums, until they met drummer Richard Edson.[citation needed] The band signed to Neutral Records, then to Homestead Records, and then to SST Records.[citation needed]

Live in the Netherlands (with Sonic Youth), 1991

Moore and Ranaldo make extensive use of unusual guitar tunings, often heavily modifying their instruments to provide unusual timbres and drones. They are known for bringing upwards of fifty guitars to every gig, using some guitars for one song only.[12] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Moore and Ranaldo the 33rd and 34th Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

In 2011, Moore and his wife, Sonic Youth bassist Kim Gordon, announced they had separated; shortly afterward, Ranaldo announced the indefinite hiatus of Sonic Youth.[16] Though his marriage was ending Moore never claimed that Sonic Youth was finished.[17]

Work outside Sonic Youth[edit]

In addition to his work with Sonic Youth, Moore has also released albums as a solo artist. He and Gordon released a few songs as Mirror/Dash. Moore established Protest Records as an online gesture of activism but the project has since lapsed. Moore has collaborated with scores of musicians, including Maryanne Amacher, Lydia Lunch, DJ Spooky, William Hooker, Daniel Carter, Christian Marclay, Mike Watt, Loren Mazzacane Connors, William Winant, The Thing, Nels Cline, Cock E.S.P., John Moloney, Glenn Branca, Yamantaka Eye, My Cat is an Alien.[citation needed], John Russell, Steve Noble, John Edwards, Haino Keiji, John Zorn, Yoko Ono, Takehisa Kosugi, and others.

In the early 1990s, Moore formed the side band Dim Stars, with Richard Hell, Don Fleming, Steve Shelley with a guest appearance by Robert Quine. Moore performed solo on the side stage of the 1993 Lollapalooza tour. Additionally, Moore also contributed guitar work and backing vocals on "Crush with Eyeliner", which appeared on R.E.M.'s Monster. He played Fred Cracklin in the Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode dedicated to Sonny Sharrock. In 2000 he contributed improvised guitar pieces for a collaborative project with conceptual artist/guitarist Marco Fusinato.[18] Since 2004, he has recorded and performed with the noise collective To Live and Shave in L.A., the lineup of which also features Andrew W.K.. He recorded with the band at Sonic Youth's former studio in Manhattan, and later performed with them at the George W. Bush "anti-inaugural" Noise Against Fascism concert in Washington, D.C., which Moore curated, named in reference to Sonic Youth's 1992 song "Youth Against Fascism". Moore curated the "Nightmare Before Christmas" weekend of the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in December 2006.[citation needed]

On June 21, 2007, Moore revealed to Spin Magazine that he would be releasing a solo album titled Trees Outside The Academy. The album was recorded at J Mascis' studio in Amherst, Massachusetts. The album features Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and violinist Samara Lubelski. The album also features collaborations between Mascis and Charalambides' Christina Carter, who performs a duet with Moore on the track, "Honest James." The album was released on September 18, 2007, on Moore's label Ecstatic Peace.[citation needed]

On September 24, 2008, Pitchfork Media reported that Moore was working on a song with former Be Your Own Pet vocalist Jemina Pearl, a cover of the Ramones song "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker". The song was recorded for the teenage drama Gossip Girl and was featured in the episode "There Might Be Blood".

Since 2008, Moore has provided narration for a variety of documentaries on the National Geographic Channel. His work includes Inside: Straight Edge and the Hard Time series about life in prison.

In 2012 Moore and Kim Gordon announced that they were working on a collaborative album with Yoko Ono to be titled Yokokimthurston. The album was released on September 25 through Chimera Records.[19]

Moore announced in 2012 that he was to start a new band called Chelsea Light Moving. Their first track, "Burroughs", was released as a free download.[10] Their eponymous debut album was released on March 5, 2013. The release coincided with the 2013 SXSW Festival where they made numerous appearances including a free show at Mellow Johnny's bike shop.

In July 2012 Nachtmystium vocalist/guitarist Blake Judd announced that Moore had joined the black metal super group Twilight.[20]

On November 24, 2013, he played guitar on "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" alongside Ron and Russell Mael in a Sparks concert at the Union Chapel, Islington, London.

In September 2014, Moore released The Best Day, a solo album featuring Steve Shelley and My Bloody Valentine's Debbie Googe as rhythm section, and James Sedwards on guitar.[6][21]

In April 2018, Moore presented at London's Barbican Centre his work 'Galaxies', an experimental 12-string guitar ensemble. Among the twelve person orchestra were Deb Googe, Jonah Falco, Rachel Aggs, Joseph Coward and others.

Work on film soundtracks[edit]

Thurston Moore performing with Sonic Youth at the 2005 Roskilde Festival.

In 1994, Moore teamed up with Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs, Don Fleming of Gumball, Mike Mills of R.E.M., and Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters, to form the Backbeat Band, which recorded the soundtrack album to the movie Backbeat. In 1998 Moore played on the soundtrack of the film Velvet Goldmine as a member of Wylde Ratttz. Moore composed original music for such films as Heavy (1995), Bully (2001), and Manic (2001). In 2007, Moore also appeared with noise/improv group Original Silence, featuring Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, guitarist Terrie Ex, Jim O'Rourke, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and bassist Massimo Pupillo. The group released the live album The First Original Silence in 2007, on Oslo (Norway) label SmallTown Superjazz, and a second album The Second Original Silence in 2008.[citation needed]

Record label and writings[edit]

Moore and other Sonic Youth members published the irreverent music zine Sonic Death. Moore runs the record label Ecstatic Peace!. Beginning in 1993, this label jointly released records with rock critic Byron Coley's label, Father Yod, as Ecstatic Yod Records.

Moore reviewed new music in Arthur Magazine in a column entitled "Bull Tongue" written jointly with Byron Coley. Since the demise of Arthur, Bull Tongue exists as a fanzine edited by Coley an features a wealth of underground music writing. Moore created, with Chris Habib, the website Protest Records, named for its protest against United States' invasions in the Middle East. Moore was the editor/overseer of the 2005 book Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture. He published a highly influential list of collectible free jazz records in Grand Royal magazine.[22]

Ecstatic Peace Library is the book publishing company founded by Thurston Moore and visual book editor Eva Prinz in 2010.[23] The company publishes mainly poetry, but also a collection of books about Norwegian Death metal, experimental jazz from the 70s and other niche subjects.

Teaching[edit]

In 2015 Moore was appointed Honorary Professor at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory (RMC) in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he periodically conducts workshops and master classes.[24]

Personal life[edit]

On June 9, 1984, Moore married Sonic Youth bassist/vocalist Kim Gordon. The pair have a daughter: Coco Hayley Moore (born July 1, 1994). On October 14, 2011, the couple announced that they were separating[25] due to an extramarital affair Moore engaged in with married art book editor Eva Prinz.[26] They divorced in 2013. Moore currently resides in London.[27]

Equipment[edit]

Moore is known for using a large selection of Fender guitars during Sonic Youth gigs, most frequently a Jazzmaster. His primary stage amp has been the Peavey Roadmaster paired with a Marshall cabinet. He has used the ProCo Rat, Big Muff, and MXR Blue Box pedals in various combinations to achieve his unique distorted and feedback-laden guitar sound.

Since Ranaldo and Moore, together with Elvis Costello, J. Mascis, Nels Cline, and Kevin Shields, are known for being key figures in the popularization and resurrection of the Fender Jazzmaster, in 2009 Fender introduced a Lee Ranaldo signature edition of a Sapphire Blue Transparent version featuring two Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups and a Forest Green transparent finish for Moore, equipped with a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Jazzmaster single-coil pickups.[28]

In 2016 Yuri Landman made a special ten string drone guitar on request of Premier Guitar for Thurston Moore [29]

Principal solo discography and collaborations[edit]

Solo albums
Other
Albums with Sonic Youth
Main article: Sonic Youth discography
Albums with Chelsea Light Moving
Albums with Pvre Matrix
  • 2015 – Burning Sulfur[32]
Collaborations
Limited Edition Noise, experimental, drone projects
Free Improvisation Albums
  • 2004 - Thurston Moore - Kapotte Muziek By Thurston Moore ( CD, Korm Plastics, Kapotte Muziek) [33]
  • 2007 – The Roadhouse Session Vol. 1 [Thurston Moore / Chris Corsano / Paul Flaherty / Wally Shoup 4tet]
  • 2008 – Untitled [Paul Flaherty / Thurston Moore / Bill Nace]
  • 2011 – Les Anges Du Péché [Jean-Marc Montera / Thurston Moore / Lee Ranaldo]
  • 2013 – "@" [John Zorn / Thurston Moore]
Live Albums
Caught on Tape series (documenting the free improv touring of Thurston Moore & John Moloney)
  • 2012 – Fundamental Sunshine (Antwerp-Paris-Rotterdam-Amsterdam March 20–23, 2012. Cassette)
  • 2012 – Caught on Tape (Recorded live to cassette in Europe – March 2012. Limited edition of 133 hand numbered copies)
  • 2013 – Acting the Maggot (recorded at the Beachland Ballroom 2012. Limited edition of 120 lps)
  • 2013 – Fundamental Sunshine (Cassette)
  • 2013 – Banjaxed Blues (Recorded in Baltimore, MD in December 2012 and Belfast, Northern Ireland in January 2013. Edition of 45 copies)
  • 2013 – Irish-American Prayer (Live in Brooklyn December 2012. Limited CDr)
Albums with Diskaholics Anonymous Trio [Jim O'Rourke, Mats Gustafsson, Thurston Moore]
  • 2001 – Diskaholics Anonymous Trio (Recorded at Kulturbro Ystad-Österlen, Sweden, 2000)
  • 2006 – Weapons of Ass Destruction (Recorded Live, Ystads Teater, Sweden, October 6, 2002)
  • 2006 – Live in Japan Vol. 1 (Recorded Live, Tokyo, Japan, 2002)
Albums with Original Silence
  • 2007 – The First Original Silence (Recorded Live, Teatro Ariosto, Reggio Emilia, Italy, September 30, 2005 )
  • 2008 – The Second Original Silence (Recorded Live, Brancaleone, Rome, September 28, 2005 )
Early work with Glenn Branca
  • 1981 – Symphony No. 1 "Tonal Plexus" (w/Glenn Branca, Lee Ranaldo, Anne DeMarinis & others)
  • 1982 – Symphony No. 2 "The Peak of the Sacred"
  • 1983 – Symphony No. 3 "Gloria" – Music for the first 127 intervals of the harmonic series
Early work with the Coachmen
  • 1979 – Failure to Thrive
Singles
  • "Sputnik" 7" (1997) Thurston Moore and Don Fleming on one side, Pete Kember aka Sonic Boom on the other. Gilltery vinyl.
  • "Wonderful Witches" single (2007)
  • 1995 – "The Church Should Be for the Outcasts, Not a Church That Casts People Out" (7") [as Male Slut]
Split LPs
  • From the Earth to the Spheres (2004, split with My Cat Is An Alien)
  • Thrash Sabbatical (2008, Deathbomb Arc, four-way split 12" + 2x7" w/ Men Who Can't Love, Barrabarracuda, Kevin Shields)
  • Mature, Lonely + Out of Control/Alternative Hair Styles (2008, Nihilist Records, split LP with Graham Moore)
Album appearances
  • 1992 – Do You Wanna Dance (by Dim Stars)
  • 1994 – Monster (by R.E.M.)
  • 1997 – Legend of the Blood Yeti (by XIII Ghosts & Derek Bailey)
  • 1998 – Velvet Goldmine – Music From The Original Motion Picture ("T.V. Eye" with the Wylde Ratttz)
  • 2007 – Touch The Iceberg (by Owl Xounds Exploding Galaxy)
  • 2017 — 7/11, Moore's remix of L'homme à la caméra by Un Drame Musical Instantané (transparent vinyl)

Music videos[edit]

  • "Ono Soul" (1995)
  • "Circulation" (2011)
  • "Speak To The Wild" (2014)
  • "Smoke Of Dreams" (2017)
  • "Aphrodite" (2017)

Books[edit]

  • Alabama Wildman (2000)
  • Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture (2005)
  • Grunge (with Michael Lavine, 2009)
  • Punk House: Interiors in Anarchy (with Abby Banks, Timothy Findlen, 2007)
  • No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976–1980. (with Byron Coley, 2008)
  • James Hamilton: You Should Have Heard Just What I Seen (with James Hamilton, 2010)
  • Lion: Only Noise (And Poems) (2011)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Phares, Heather. "Thurston Moore". Allmusic. Retrieved October 24, 2015. 
  2. ^ Ashton-Smith, Alan (May 17, 2015). "Thurston Moore @ Oslo, London". musicOMH. Retrieved October 24, 2015. 
  3. ^ "Thurston Moore to release solo 7" inspired by Stoke Newington activists; supporting Lee Ranaldo in London next week". Fact. November 14, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2015. 
  4. ^ Grebey, James (July 7, 2015). "Thurston Moore and Pussy Riot's Maria Alyokhina Discuss Putin and FIFA". Spin. Retrieved October 24, 2015. 
  5. ^ "Jonathan Kane and Swans". Young God Records. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013. 
  6. ^ a b Young, Alex (August 4, 2014). "Thurston Moore forms new band with Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley and MBV's Debbie Googe". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 5, 2014. 
  7. ^ Holly George-Warren and Patricia Romanowski, ed. (2005). "Sonic Youth". The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. New York City: Fireside. p. 912. ISBN 978-0-7432-9201-6. 
  8. ^ [1] Archived January 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ "SPIN's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time | SPIN | Best of SPIN | All Time". SPIN. May 3, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-25. 
  10. ^ a b "Thurston Moore starts new band". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2012-09-25. 
  11. ^ Dixon, Ken, "Music Hall of Fame proposed for state", article in Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, Connecticut, April 26, 2007 ("Thurston Moore, leader of alt-rock legends Sonic Youth, who grew up in Bethel")
  12. ^ a b c Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. New York: Little, Brown, 2001
  13. ^ "William Burroughs at 100: Thurston Moore on seeing him watch Patti Smith at CBGB, his response to Kurt Cobain's suicide and 'cut-up' songwriting – The Collected Works of Kevin EG Perry". The Collected Works of Kevin EG Perry. Retrieved October 18, 2014. 
  14. ^ "'H/C' by Thurston Moore". Joyfulnoiserecording.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013. 
  15. ^ "'Sound City Liverpool onstage interview". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved May 6, 2014. 
  16. ^ "Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore Announce Split". SPIN Magazine. 
  17. ^ Lennon, Andi. "Thurston Moore interview". Collide Art & Culture Mag. Retrieved 2016-08-10. 
  18. ^ "TM/MF Thurston Moore/Marco Fusinato - Log illustrated 12 - The boy-girl pink and blue issue - A publication from the Physics Room". www.physicsroom.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-01-23. 
  19. ^ Young, Alex (June 20, 2012). "Yoko Ono, Thurston Moore, and Kim Gordon team up for collaborative album". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2012-07-15. 
  20. ^ "Nachtmystium Interview Part 2: Fuzzy Synths, Working With Thurston Moore, And The Possibility of Happy Black Metal". The 1st Five. July 30, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-25. 
  21. ^ "The Echo and Echoplex " Thurston Moore / Sebadoh – Tickets – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA – October 10th, 2014". Theecho.com. November 21, 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-24. 
  22. ^ "SAUCER-LIKE SONIC YOUTH # ARTICLES". Saucerlike.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014. 
  23. ^ "Ecstatic Publishing: Thurston Moore, Eva Prinz Discuss Their New Venture". Printmag.com. 2010-08-17. Retrieved 2016-10-07. 
  24. ^ "RMC appoints Thurston Moore". rmc.dk. Retrieved 5 September 2017. 
  25. ^ "Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore Separate". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2014. 
  26. ^ Morrissey, Tracie Egan. "Is This the Woman Who Broke Up Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore?". jezebel.com. 
  27. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (June 1, 2015). "Thurston Moore interview: Former Sonic Youth frontman on London, Patti Smith and musical memoirs". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-08-10. 
  28. ^ [2] Archived June 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  29. ^ "DIY: Yuri Landman's Flying Double Dutchman Crunch Project". www.premierguitar.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10. 
  30. ^ Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK – Update 4.06.2011". Zobbel. Retrieved 2011-06-05. 
  31. ^ a b "Thurston Moore | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2017-05-06. 
  32. ^ https://www.discogs.com/artist/4505697-Pvre-Matrix
  33. ^ "Thurston Moore - Kapotte Muziek By Thurston Moore (CD)". Discogs.com. 2004-06-02. Retrieved 2016-10-07. 

External links[edit]

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