1. Tommy Thayer was the lead guitarist and vocalist for the hard rock band Kiss from 2002 to 2023.
17 Facts About Tommy Thayer
1. 2.
Tommy Thayer was the lead guitarist for the band Black 'n Blue.
3.
Thomas Cunningham Tommy Thayer was born on November 7,1960, in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in the nearby suburb of Beaverton, Oregon.
4.
Tommy Thayer's mother Patricia Thayer was a classically trained violinist and singer, and his father, James Thayer, was a businessman, community leader and retired US Army Brigadier General.
5.
Early on, Tommy Thayer was raised with three brothers and a sister in a musical family, exposed to genres that ranged from classical to the Beatles and other classic 1960s pop music.
6.
In 1989, Tommy 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 Tommy Thayer songs "Betrayed" and "The Street Giveth, The Street Taketh Away".
7.
Tommy Thayer co-produced and played guitar on Doro Pesch's 1991 Polygram Records release, Doro.
8.
In 1992, Tommy Thayer joined Los Angeles rock band Shake the Faith and recorded the album America the Violent, which was released in Japan in 1994.
9.
Tommy Thayer managed the 1995 Worldwide Kiss Convention tour and the Kiss MTV Unplugged concert.
10.
Tommy 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.
11.
One month later, Tommy 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.
12.
Tommy Thayer uses Seymour Duncan pickups and inspired by Jimmy Page, each signature guitar has the neck pickup covered and the bridge uncovered.
13.
Tommy Thayer was elected to the board of trustees at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, in September 2005.
14.
Tommy Thayer continues to serve on the board in 2019.
15.
In 2012, Tommy 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.
16.
The 2014 "All-Star Salute to the Oregon Military" organized by Tommy Thayer, raised $1.2 million in one night for the museum campaign.
17.
Tommy Thayer organized a similar event in 2017, with funds raised being donated to the development of the Oregon Military Museum.