Whitmer Thomas (comic, musician, skateboarder) + Al Menne
Schedule
Tue Oct 25 2022 at 08:00 pm
Location
The Miniplex | Arcata, CA
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"Perhaps Thomas’ greatest skill as a comic and musician is his ability to let the tragic and comedic coexist." -PitchforkWHITMER THOMAS will admit that when he traveled home to small town Gulf Shores, Alabama to record his HBO stand-up special, The Golden One, he expected to be greeted as a returning hero, a conquering king, or at minimum, a guy with a moderately successful career as an entertainer in Los Angeles. “I expected a big welcome home, open arms, but when I went back I realized: nobody fucking knows me. Nobody remembers me,” Thomas says. “In the years I’d been performing that show, I’d been romanticizing my childhood in this mythologized place, but the visit made me see that I’m not really from there anymore.”
The sense of alienation compounded when Thomas recognized how few people in town remembered his mom, to whom The Golden One is dedicated and largely about. Thomas grew up watching her perform with her twin sister at the legendary Flora-Bama Lounge as Syn Twister, where he set the special, and still counts her as one of his musical influences. His new album, The Older I Get the Funnier I Was, isn’t overtly about his mom, but her presence is deeply felt throughout. While in Gulf Shores, Thomas discovered dozens of her old recordings, all of which had been wrecked by Katrina, but upon returning to LA, Thomas paid “a fancy place in Hollywood” to fix the tapes. “I was listening to songs she recorded when she was about my age, just these heartfelt, sweet Americana songs,” he says. “I decided then that I wanted to lose the Ian Curtis voice I always sing with; I wanted to do what came naturally, because my mom always sounded like herself, even when she was singing some cheesy reggae song about, like, Jamaica.”
Subtlety isn’t what Thomas aims for, and while he gives himself a hard time for it (“I wish I could be mysterious, so so badly”) his music joins a lineage of clear-eyed songwriters who eschew gauzy lyricism in favor of telling a coherent story. “The comedian in me won’t allow me to be murky,” Thomas says. “I need to figure out what a song is about before I can even start writing it.” A single listen through of The Older I Get the Funnier I Was conjures the ennui of Bright Eyes alongside the barefaced storytelling of John Prine, the overstuffed lists of Fred Thomas with the lackadaisical humor of Colleen Green, among many others.
Tour mate AL MENNE has a voice unlike any other. Soft and emotional with lyrical intimacy that calls back to Transatlanticism-era Death Cab for Cutie. Now based in Los Angeles by way of Seattle, Al has spent the last 8 years as the lead singer of Indie-Rock band Great Grandpa. In-between responsibilities with Great Grandpa Al stayed busy, they’re a frequent collaborator on friends' and peers' projects, writing and featuring with Christian Lee Hutson (ANTI-), illuminati hotties (Snack Shack Tracks/Hopeless Records), and Whitmer Thomas (Hardly Art). On top of all of the collaboration, Al has brought peers in to help with their own solo project recording with luminaries like Christian Lee Hutson and Melina Duterte (Jay Som), on new music that will become their upcoming debut album.
21 & up.
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Where is it happening?
The Miniplex, 900 Samoa Blvd,Arcata,CA,United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
