about thurston moore
An appropriate word to describe Thurston Moore is unique. With a height of 6’6, an interest in diverse music, a lack of friends as a teen, and being named "Thurston", he didn't fit the mold of the typical teen, saying: “You don't want something that stands out, that calls attention to any weirdness about you”.
Thurston Joseph Moore was born on July 25th, 1958 in Coral Gables, Florida to George Moore and Eleanor Naan. His parents bonded over a love for music, George introducing his wife to music she had never heard before. George played flute, piano, and piccolo. The couple had three children, Thurston being the youngest. His family relocated to Tennessee at age two, then moved to Bethel, Connecticut in 1967. As a child, he found an interest in writing poems, stories, and letters while his teachers often said he spent too much time daydreaming. Growing up in an extremely music family, Thurston was exposed to a range of music styles. His father introduced classical music to Thurston, while his oldest sibling Gene brought home the rock & roll records of the Beatles and Jefferson Airplane. At the time, Gene was known as the musician of the family. He began playing guitar first and eventually taught Thurston some basic chords, having to lock his electric guitar in his case to prevent his younger brother from messing with his instrument. Thurston found his way around Gene’s attempts and continued to fool around with his guitar, usually breaking a string and blaming it on the temperature.
As a teen he signed up for guitar lessons but left after one class as he found it intimidating. The extent of his guitar playing during his teen-aged years was eventually learning a riff from a Deep Purple song, since he wasn't really interested in learning how to play actual songs.
Thurston's first 45 rpm single was “Get Together” by Youngblood, and his first album was Iron Butterfly’s "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida". Rock of the era didn't fully appeal to him as he felt it belonged to his brother and his friends, he wanted to find his own taste in music. He developed his tastes through department stores’ dollar bins, basing albums on their covers. Through his purchases he found many disappointments, but also influential and interesting bands such as the Stooges and Amon Düül that had a strangeness he was attracted to.
Thurston was the class-clown in school but had difficulties making friends because of his adverse tastes for the time, best described as theater rock listing Alice Cooper and David Bowie among his favourites. A friendship was sparked with Harold Paris, a boy a year younger than him when he asked Thurston to tag along to a Patti Smith show in 1976. The two boys went to more concerts, as well as record stores and played records together. His musical tastes influenced his dreams of playing guitar in New York City punk rock band, but decided to go to university instead, enrolling at Western Connecticut State University, where his father taught.
In 1976 his father died from cardiac arrested as a result of his newly discovered brain tumor. Thurston took the death of his father very hard. His mother recalls him tearing apart a wool sweater with his hands shortly after receiving the news. He dropped out of college after a quarter semester and worked the night-shift job at a doughnut shop, befriending Mark, a person in a bad crowd. Mark would pick Thurston up after work to do drugs and at one point burgle a neighbour’s house. Once Thurston’s mother found out, him and Mark hit the road and went to Michigan with no food or money. Eventually the car broke down and Thurston decided to hitchhike back home where his mother was just happy to see him again.
One month after his father’s death in 1976, Harold Paris and Thurston left for New York City where they would go to many concerts including the shows of Blondie, John Cale, Patti Smith, and Philip Glass. He then received a letter in 1977 from John King asking if Thurston would be interested in playing bass in a band he was looking to put together. With a serious attitude to his career, Thurston brought one of Gene’s guitars to meet King. Thurston took the offer to play in the Coachmen, his first band, as well as sleep on the floor of King’s apartment.
John noticed Thurston’s lack of money, guitar strings, and attendance at practices shortly after he joined the band but was happy to have a teenager play. Although the music the band played was not his preferred style, he recognized the band as an opportunity, but he reached his limit at one show, walking offstage, and quitting the band. Thurston then moved out and found a cheap, broken down apartment of his own in which he stayed for only a small amount of time.
Thurston met Kim Gordon in 1980 when a friend introduced the two, Kim also attended one of the Coachmen shows. Thurston and Kim began to get close, and he eventually moved out of his bad apartment to live in hers. Thurston helped Kim to learn guitar and play their first show on December 17, 1980. Their act then expanded over the next year, turning into the early works of Sonic Youth. In 1984, Thurston and Kim got married. The couple gave birth to their daughter, Coco, in 1994 and were together for 27 years before separating in 2011.
Around this time he began learning experimental guitar techniques with Lee Ranaldo in Glenn Branca’s “guitar orchestras”.
Thurston's achievements are ever growing, creating his Ecstatic Peace! record label in 1980, forming his major band, Sonic Youth, in 1981, playing in the hardcore punk band Even Worse from 1982-1983, playing with his most current band Chelsea Light Moving, as well as many collaborations along the way.
Thurston Joseph Moore was born on July 25th, 1958 in Coral Gables, Florida to George Moore and Eleanor Naan. His parents bonded over a love for music, George introducing his wife to music she had never heard before. George played flute, piano, and piccolo. The couple had three children, Thurston being the youngest. His family relocated to Tennessee at age two, then moved to Bethel, Connecticut in 1967. As a child, he found an interest in writing poems, stories, and letters while his teachers often said he spent too much time daydreaming. Growing up in an extremely music family, Thurston was exposed to a range of music styles. His father introduced classical music to Thurston, while his oldest sibling Gene brought home the rock & roll records of the Beatles and Jefferson Airplane. At the time, Gene was known as the musician of the family. He began playing guitar first and eventually taught Thurston some basic chords, having to lock his electric guitar in his case to prevent his younger brother from messing with his instrument. Thurston found his way around Gene’s attempts and continued to fool around with his guitar, usually breaking a string and blaming it on the temperature.
As a teen he signed up for guitar lessons but left after one class as he found it intimidating. The extent of his guitar playing during his teen-aged years was eventually learning a riff from a Deep Purple song, since he wasn't really interested in learning how to play actual songs.
Thurston's first 45 rpm single was “Get Together” by Youngblood, and his first album was Iron Butterfly’s "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida". Rock of the era didn't fully appeal to him as he felt it belonged to his brother and his friends, he wanted to find his own taste in music. He developed his tastes through department stores’ dollar bins, basing albums on their covers. Through his purchases he found many disappointments, but also influential and interesting bands such as the Stooges and Amon Düül that had a strangeness he was attracted to.
Thurston was the class-clown in school but had difficulties making friends because of his adverse tastes for the time, best described as theater rock listing Alice Cooper and David Bowie among his favourites. A friendship was sparked with Harold Paris, a boy a year younger than him when he asked Thurston to tag along to a Patti Smith show in 1976. The two boys went to more concerts, as well as record stores and played records together. His musical tastes influenced his dreams of playing guitar in New York City punk rock band, but decided to go to university instead, enrolling at Western Connecticut State University, where his father taught.
In 1976 his father died from cardiac arrested as a result of his newly discovered brain tumor. Thurston took the death of his father very hard. His mother recalls him tearing apart a wool sweater with his hands shortly after receiving the news. He dropped out of college after a quarter semester and worked the night-shift job at a doughnut shop, befriending Mark, a person in a bad crowd. Mark would pick Thurston up after work to do drugs and at one point burgle a neighbour’s house. Once Thurston’s mother found out, him and Mark hit the road and went to Michigan with no food or money. Eventually the car broke down and Thurston decided to hitchhike back home where his mother was just happy to see him again.
One month after his father’s death in 1976, Harold Paris and Thurston left for New York City where they would go to many concerts including the shows of Blondie, John Cale, Patti Smith, and Philip Glass. He then received a letter in 1977 from John King asking if Thurston would be interested in playing bass in a band he was looking to put together. With a serious attitude to his career, Thurston brought one of Gene’s guitars to meet King. Thurston took the offer to play in the Coachmen, his first band, as well as sleep on the floor of King’s apartment.
John noticed Thurston’s lack of money, guitar strings, and attendance at practices shortly after he joined the band but was happy to have a teenager play. Although the music the band played was not his preferred style, he recognized the band as an opportunity, but he reached his limit at one show, walking offstage, and quitting the band. Thurston then moved out and found a cheap, broken down apartment of his own in which he stayed for only a small amount of time.
Thurston met Kim Gordon in 1980 when a friend introduced the two, Kim also attended one of the Coachmen shows. Thurston and Kim began to get close, and he eventually moved out of his bad apartment to live in hers. Thurston helped Kim to learn guitar and play their first show on December 17, 1980. Their act then expanded over the next year, turning into the early works of Sonic Youth. In 1984, Thurston and Kim got married. The couple gave birth to their daughter, Coco, in 1994 and were together for 27 years before separating in 2011.
Around this time he began learning experimental guitar techniques with Lee Ranaldo in Glenn Branca’s “guitar orchestras”.
Thurston's achievements are ever growing, creating his Ecstatic Peace! record label in 1980, forming his major band, Sonic Youth, in 1981, playing in the hardcore punk band Even Worse from 1982-1983, playing with his most current band Chelsea Light Moving, as well as many collaborations along the way.