David Thomas
David Thomas (June 14, 1953 - April 23, 2025) was an American avant-garde rock, singer, poet, songwriter and folk singer, best known as the lead singer of the avantgarde rock group Pere Ubu.
Thomas' first band was called Rocket From The Tombs. This proto punk group, active between 1975 and 1982, mostly played parody songs which satirized 1950s and 1960s rock 'n' roll.
In 1975, Thomas launched his band Pere Ubu, notable for their experimental sound and his wailing, high-pitched voice. The group split in 1982, but reformed in 1987 and kept performing until Thomas' death in 2025. Throughout their long career, Pere Ubu always remained in the margins of the rock scene, being a critics' favorite with a loyal cult following. Many musicians came and went, with Thomas remaining the only permanent member.
Frank Zappa
When Thomas played with Rocket From The Tombs, one of the songs they covered was Flower Punk. Thomas claims to have been a huge fan of Zappa while he was at high school.
"The first records I ever bought were Uncle Meat and Captain Beefheart. I bought Uncle Meat and then I bought Hot Rats and I heard the singer on it and I thought, "This guy’s good." And so I went out and in a week and bought everything Beefheart had done up to that point. So I had some musical appreciation before I started writing, but it was really of a very particular kind. I listened to Beefheart a lot; I though he was great. I didn’t know it was supposed to be weird or anything." (Interview with David Thomas in the magazine "Razorcake") [1]
Thomas bought Trout Mask Replica after hearing Captain Beefheart on Hot Rats. [2]
References
External links
- Wikipedia article about David Thomas
- http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=3351%7C Interview with David Thomas)
- http://www.razorcake.org/site/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9036%7C Interview with David Thomas)
