4A • June 29, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Views from the Rock
KISS guitarist celebrates degree, Cannon Beach
Pacific University held its 2018
spring commencement exercises
on Saturday, May 19, highlighted
by an honorary degree conferral
on university trustee and KISS
guitarist Tommy Thayer doctorate
of humane letters degree for his
philanthropic leadership efforts.
Tommy and his father, Brigadier
General James B. Thayer, are the
second members from a same fam-
ily to hold honorary degrees from
the university.
Thayer grew up in Beaverton
and graduated from Sunset High
School in 1978. After forming the
hard-rock band Black ’n Blue and
relocating to southern California
in the early 1980s, Thayer joined
KISS as a producer, songwriter and
business manager before becoming
the band’s lead guitarist in Febru-
ary 2003.
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Q: Honored to be speaking with
you, Tommy. How did you get
involved with Pacific University?
Thayer: Dad made the board
suggestion and they ran with that.
They thought that would be great
— Tommy Thayer, a local boy, with
the profile of being in KISS — an
interesting combination of back-
ground and experience.
Q: Are you a college graduate?
Thayer: No, I did not go to
college. I was straight out of high
school and into “rock ’n’ roll 101.”
I’d had a few bands, but ended up
forming a band called Black ’n
Blue in 1981. It was five guys from
the Portland area.
We played clubs for a certain
amount of time, but then decided if
we ever wanted a chance of really
making it, we needed to get out of
Portland and head to Los Angeles
where there were record labels and
management companies.
We took a shot at the big time in
early 1983. We moved and within
six months we were signed with
a major label — Geffen Records
— and put together a real nice
recording contract. Then we were
on our way.
Q: Those were the glory days of
heavy metal.
Thayer: The new wave of
British heavy metal was happening
at the time: (Iron) Maiden, (Judas)
Priest, Def Leppard — these bands
were coming up out of England,
and making a real splash so that
CANNON SHOTS
R.J. MARX
kind of carried over into the U.S.
Ironically, one of the early tours
we did was opening for KISS in
1985, and that is when I met (sing-
er-songwriter) Gene Simmons and
(bass player) Paul Stanley.
Q: Tell me about your time with
KISS.
Thayer: KISS’s first record
came out in 1974. And they have
been plugging right along ever
since, I should say “we” now
because I’ve been with them for the
last 15 years.
Black ’n Blue was the opening
act for KISS on a tour in 1985 and
that’s when I met those guys. When
Black ’n Blue ran its course in the
early ’90s, Gene and Paul asked
me to come aboard with the KISS
organization behind the scenes.
I did everything from getting the
coffee to directing and producing
documentary videos. Then they did
a reunion tour in ’96, and I became
the road manager. A couple years
went by and they had problems
with their lead guitar player. They
decided to make a change in 2002
and I was the heir apparent.
Q: Has it been a smooth transi-
tion?
Thayer: Absolutely. It’s like a
five-way marriage in a lot of ways.
The key, really, is being with people
who are professional, can get along,
support each other, and respect each
other. It just doesn’t happen a lot of
times.
People always ask, “What hap-
pened with this or that?” “Why did
this guy leave?” “Why do they hate
each other?” It really comes down
to personality issues.
We’ve been able to circumvent
that and make it work, Gene, Paul,
(drummer) Eric (Carr) and I all get
along famously. We actually enjoy
being together when we tour. We
love hanging out, having dinner and
sharing time together. It’s a huge
plus.
Q: Where do you live now?
Thayer: My primary residence
is in Southern California. I live
about 45 minutes outside of Los
Angeles in Thousand Oaks.
Q: What is your experience on
the Oregon Coast?
TOMMYTHAYER.COM
KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer.
Thayer: I grew up in Beaverton.
Cannon Beach is a big part of my
life and my background.
Q: In what way?
Thayer: My dad, the general,
grew up in a small town called
Carlton, Oregon. His parents and
his grandparents, took him to
Seaside, Cannon Beach, back in the
’20s, when he was just a young kid.
When we were growing up, we
were in Cannon Beach all the time.
Ten years ago I built a house in
Cannon Beach on Jefferson Street
in Midtown. I sold it just a year or
two ago. It didn’t make sense for
me to continue it because I just
wasn’t getting there enough, so I
actually sold the place.
Two of my brothers, Mike and
John, have homes there. To me, it is
one of the most special places in the
world. It’s so beautiful and unique,
and I love being there.
Q: Do you get recognized?
Thayer: Sometimes, If people
don’t immediately know I’m in
KISS, they have to suspect I’m
someone in rock ’n’ roll. People
PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
Pacific Univesity trustee Tommy
Thayer.
are pretty cool. Over the years
I’ve really gotten to know people
there and everybody is so nice and
friendly, but they let me have my
privacy and do my thing as well.
When I go into the Driftwood
in Cannon Beach, my favorite spot,
it’s kind of like old home week
to see all your friends and all the
locals.
The discreet joys of a lazy weekend
I
was on our front patio, comfortably set back
from the street, drinking coffee, reading the
paper, idly texting with a friend back east. It
was 8:30 on a sunny Sunday morning. In a little
while I’d get dressed and we’d get in the car and
head over to Sea Level Bakery in Tolovana Park
for a cappuccino and a cookie and nab a baguette
for later.
I wasn’t intending to write about this, but I’ve
devised entire meals around Sea Level bread. Both
the ba-
guette and
the bâtard
VIEW FROM
stand up
THE PORCH
well to
EVE MARX
marinara
sauce
should
you decide to go Italian; I’ve made open face
sandwiches with roasted tomatoes, arugula, and
buffalo mozzarella. We’ve eaten it very simply,
slathered with good butter. My husband likes dip-
ping it into a small bowl of olive oil. Even if you
don’t get around to eating it until the next day, it
freshens up nicely popped into a 350-degree oven
for three minutes, sprinkled first with a little water.
Meanwhile, I was enjoying the morning out
front in my bathrobe.
Let me say I have a very nice bathrobe. It’s
pink and made by the company called Natori. I got
it a year ago and it’s been washed a fair amount
and soon I should probably think about replacing
it, but not yet. It’s not stained and no threads are
hanging off. It does a great job masquerading as a
light overcoat when I want to sit out on a summer
morning while still in my pajamas.
Some people are very energetic Sunday morn-
ings. They burst out of bed and take off for a run
on the beach or 90 minutes of yoga at Cannon
Beach Yoga Arts. People on vacation like to take
advantage of the fact they can amble over to the
Wayfarer or the Driftwood and have a Bloody
Mary with their breakfast, or, better yet, as their
breakfast. Me, I like to come to life slowly, coffee
in hand. I make the first cup at home in Seaside,
Publisher
Kari Borgen
Editor
R.J. Marx
Circulation
Manager
Jeremy Feldman
Production
Manager
John D. Bruijn
Advertising Sales
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Classified Sales
Danielle Fisher
Staff writer
Brenna Visser
Q: Bringing this full circle to
your honorary degree — what do
you say to kids who say he didn’t
go to school and now you’re
promoting education at Pacific
University. What are you trying to
impart to a new generation?
Thayer: For me, I had the
opportunity to go to music and it
worked. Whether you’re in school
or pursuing a career, perseverance
is the key to success.
Q: Do you have a family?
Thayer: I was married, got
divorced a couple of years ago, I’m
kind of just doing my thing, enjoy-
ing life and going down the rock ‘n’
roll road and doing well.
Q: Do you have plans to come
back to Cannon Beach?
Thayer: I hope so. I would
love to be there for the Fourth of
July, but KISS is going to Europe,
to headline festivals in Spain and
Portugal, so I won’t have an oppor-
tunity to be there
Q: When do you hit the road?
Thayer: We start in Barcelona,
Spain, on July 7.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY, July 3
Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
MONDAY, July 9
Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection
District, 6 p.m., 188 Sunset, Cannon
Beach.
TUESDAY, July 10
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m.,
work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
MONDAY, July 16
Ecola Creek Watershed Committee,
4:30 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
TUESDAY, July 17
Cannon Beach Public Works Commit-
tee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
THURSDAY, July 19
Parks and Community Services Com-
mittee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Design Review Board
Meeting, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gow-
er St.
THURSDAY, July 26
Cannon Beach Planning Commission,
6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
R.J. MARX
TUESDAY, Aug. 7
Is there any other way to get around Cannon Beach? One of many sights you’ll see as you take in
the streetscapes.
Cannon Beach City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
grinding my own beans, using a French press. I
like to engage my spouse in meaningful conversa-
tion since it’s the only day of the week at least one
of us isn’t rushing out. If the weather is coopera-
tive, we like to take this talk outside.
We could sit out back, which is 100 percent
more private. We finally got around to having
a backyard table and chairs. But somehow the
streetscape is more alluring. People are walking
by. There are families in surreys. One day I saw a
guy riding a bike towing a surfboard. What with
the parade of dogs, children, hot rods and people
in funny hats, there’s a remarkable Dr. Seuss “To
Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street” vibe
MONDAY, Aug. 13
Contributing
writers
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Nancy McCarthy
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
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going on streetside.
Which I prefer to take in wearing a bathrobe.
Not long ago I realized I have become that
woman who talks to people over the fence. For
most of my life, this has been a derisive image.
But something’s shifted. Mostly I talk to my next
door neighbor when she passes by with her pup.
The other day I talked to a woman exercising her
twin pugs. Sometimes while I’m out there, I do a
bit of weeding.
I’m proud to say I’ve grown into a time in my
life where it’s no biggie to face the world wearing
a bathrobe.
I call that progress.
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Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection
District, 6 p.m., 188 Sunset, Cannon
Beach.
TUESDAY, Aug. 14
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m.,
work session, City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
THURSDAY, Aug. 16
Parks and Community Services Com-
mittee, 9 a.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Design Review Board
Meeting, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gow-
er St.
THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING