TOMMY THAYER BIO

Tommy Thayer (born November 7, 1960 in Portland, Oregon) is an American musician and the current lead guitarist of the rock group Kiss.

Thayer was a fan of such bands as Alice Cooper, Kiss, Rory Gallagher and Deep Purple, which inspired him to pick up a guitar in the early 1970s. In High School, Thayer met drummer Jaime St. James. After playing guitar in several rock groups, Thayer and St. James formed the band Movie Star, which morphed into the band Black N' Blue in late 1981. By that time, St. James had given up his drumsticks for a microphone, and became the lead singer of Black N' Blue. "Woop" Warner on guitar, Patrick Young on bass, Pete Holmes on drums, and Thayer on lead guitar rounded out Black N' Blue's lineup.

After Black N' Blue disbanded in 1989, Thayer and St. James later were reunited in a Kiss tribute band called Cold Gin, with Thayer playing Ace Frehley, and St. James playing Peter Criss. The band didn't go unnoticed by Kiss themselves, and they were invited to play at Kiss rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley's birthday party. Consequently, Gene Simmons, co-founder and the bassist of KISS, offered Thayer a job as his assistant and Thayer immediately seized the opportunity. Thayer was an all-around gofer for Simmons; sometimes making coffee, sometimes travelling the country securing hotel venues for Kiss' KISS CONVENTION tours.

When Ace Frehley left Kiss, Thayer was the choice for replacement. He had assisted Ace in relearning some Kiss guitar licks for the Reunion Tour. Kiss, who wanted to retain the classic look of the original lineup, chose Thayer to don Frehley's makeup. In March 2002, Tommy played his first Kiss show, at a private function in Jamaica. The next month, he appeared at the 50th anniversary show of Dick Clark's American Bandstand, playing the Spaceman. Since then, Thayer has played for Kiss in the Kiss Symphony show at Melbourne, Australia, a mini tour of Japan, a tour with Aerosmith, the Rock The Nation World Tour and several other single shows.

Tommy has also been involved in the production of various video and CD products related to Kiss including the Kiss Symphony: Alive IV DVD, the Second Coming DVD, and the main title sequence for the film "Detroit Rock City".

Thayer was elected to the board of trustees of Forest Grove, Oregon's Pacific University in 2005.

On March 16th, 2008, Tommy sang the Ace Frehley classic "Shock Me" for the first time on the opening night of the KISS Alive/35 World Tour in Melbourne.

Tommy has recently released a signature amp by Hughes and Kettner based on their classic amp the DuoTone Head.

It was announced that Black 'n Blue would play one reunion show on December 8th, 2007. The concert was a benefit for a crew member of the band, Kenny Nordone, to help pay for his cancer bills.