Thurston Moore Group
Pohoda 2017 will see the front man of Sonic Youth and one of the most influential guitarists in the world, Thurston Moore. David Fricke, editor at Rolling Stone, lists him as #34 in his “100 Greatest Guitarists” article. According to Spin, together with Lee Ranaldo, he even ranks #1 in the magazine’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time” list.
22. February 2017
As an 18-year-old punk fan, Moore moved to New York City and started out as an editor at music and literary magazines. In 1981, together with Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo, he formed band Sonic Youth, which, according to AllMusic “redefined what rock guitar could do.” Besides Sonic Youth, Moore collaborated with the likes of Yoko Ono, Steve Shelley, bands Sparks, Chelsea Light Moving, metal super group Twilight and many more.
Big changes in the musician’s music as well as personal life came with his and Kim Gordon’s separation after which Sonic Youth was put on indefinite hiatus. He’s played several projects and genres ranging from acoustic introspective solo album Demolished Thoughts through punk rock project Chelsea Light Moving back to a solo album The Best Day, which can be considered as today’s equivalent to punk and indie rock of the Sonic Youth times. The new backing band features the former Sonic Youth drummer, Steve Shelley, bassist Debbie Googe (My Bloody Valentine) and guitarist James Sedwards (Nøught). His latest solo albums received the score of 8.1 (Demolished Thoughts) and 7.1 (The Best Day) from Pitchfork. Exclaim gave the album The Best Day 9 stars saying: “Purists will always pine for Sonic Youth and their glory days, but with a band and album this good, who cares about the past?” Deciding who the most influential guitarist is is a matter of personal taste, but Thurston Moore is coming to convince the audience about his unquestionable qualities at Pohoda 2017.