M: I’m interested in how one gets a rad name like Thor. T: Thundercloud hired me. That’s where I got my name...In 1985 when I got here and needed a job…I spoke with this cool chick at Waterloo Ice House and she said ‘I know my boss won’t hire you with that longhair, but you should go to this place called Thundercloud because they will hire long hairs.’ It’s funny to think like now, that a long haired person or a tattooed person or dude with a beard or weird piercings doesn’t have to search that hard to get a job [in Austin].
“One of the reasons this column sprouted was that idea, that as this town grows we are becoming so much more than just the live music capital of the world. Images of Stratocasters don’t really represent everything that goes on here anymore, because the creative class is growing in so many different ways.”—Moody
M: I love it that a ‘long-hair’ was actually a term. T: In ways we don’t remember the conservatism that we have overcome. M: You are a killer drummer. How many bands have you been a part of? T: I have no idea. More than 20 for sure. I started playing in the school band when I was 10 and in clubs when I was 20. I’m 45 now, so I guess I have been playing for at least 25 years. M: The music industry has changed so much since you started, what is your take on things? T: When I was growing up in the 80s, we hated the record industry but we knew we still needed a record deal to make it. Now the record industry is disintegrating. The biggest selling indie rock record from last week was Cake, selling 40,000 physical copies, which is super pathetic compared to what it used to be. No one knows what’s going to happen. All you can do if you want to make a living is play shows…and that’s cool. People are going to shows. Nine Inch Nails is giving their music
away online and touring. People continue to go to see them play. Sometimes I think that is kind of smart.”
M: I know that you are a hands-on carpenter, tell me a little bit about your house. T: I don’t have a gas line, I heat it with a wood stove and I cook with propane. I also have a solar hot water heater.
M: Tell me a little bit about Thorzine. Where did your inspiration come from? T: My porn zine? Sexual deprivation while on tour. You don’t have sex for weeks on end. It’s really not healthy to go that long without sex. So when you think about it constantly, you think of weird stuff. So I draw it. In fact I recently dropped some copies off at Mohawk.
M: One of the reasons this column sprouted was that idea, that as this town grows we are becoming so much more than just the live music capital of the world. Images of Stratocasters don’t really represent everything that goes on here anymore, because the creative class is growing in so many different ways. You’re a great example, you are a painter, a carpenter, a plumber, and a percussionist. And so many people are like that here. It’s just the best place in the world to be creative and try new things—to be a nerd. T: It is. If you watch that movie Slackers, it’s about weird people being nerds or geeks pursuing whatever weird passions that they are into. It’s about all of these interesting brainy people, instead of like, making tons of money with their brains, they are just like doing some weird ass something that they are really into. Plus, the people don’t seem to be that good at self-promotion here. And I find that pretty [expletive] refreshing.
Each month, Moody (who is the founder and owner of The Mohawk and co-founder of Guerilla Suit) will have a conversation with a different nerd here in town. In Austin, “nerd” is a term of endearment for people totally consumed with their craft who care about it deeply and are working hard to bring something new to the world. As Moody explains, NERD ALERT celebrates the fact that because Austin is so full of us nerds, “It’s just the best place in the world to be creative and try new things.” P h oto g r a p h y by Ja k e H o lt
tribeza.com
MARCH 2011
99