Tommy Thayer

Thomas 'Tommy' Thayer (born November 7, 1960) is an American musician best known as the current lead guitarist for the American hard rock band Kiss.

History

After playing guitar in several rock groups, Thayer formed a band with Jaime St. James. The band was originally named 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 he became the lead singer of Black 'n Blue. Jeff Warner on guitar, Patrick Young on bass, and Pete Holmes on drums rounded out Black 'n Blue's lineup.

After Geffen dropped the band, Thayer quit Black 'n Blue. Thayer and St. James were later 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 the band's personal assistant; Thayer immediately seized the opportunity performing such tasks as painting Stanley's house and cleaning Simmons' gutters.

When Ace Frehley left Kiss in 2002, Thayer was the band's choice to replace Frehley. Simmons and Stanley wanted to retain the classic look of the original lineup and chose Thayer to don Frehley's "Spaceman" makeup and replicate his performance antics. In March 2002, Thayer played his...
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