INTERVIEW: CHRIS THOMSON PT I
Chris Thomson has been in such significant Washington D.C punk bands as Lunch Meat, Ignition, Unrest, Fury, and Circus Lupus, as well as many other units since moving from the area many moons ago. Considering his involvement in some of the most important bands from the American Underground, I was shocked no one had conducted a career-spanning interview with him. Here is my attempt at such an act.
Our first installment covers Thomson’s early years and his entry into the Washington D.C punk scene.
Tony Rettman: I’ll start this out by asking where, when, and how you grew up. Also, what music were you into prior to punk and how did you find out about punk?
Chris Thomson: I was born in Alajuela Costa Rica, the love child of two Peace Corps volunteers. My birth mother was called back to DC and I was surrendered to DC’s Child and Family Services at a week old. By my first birthday, I had joined the Thomson family and would live in DC for the next 30 years or so years.
I grew up in Northwest DC, after a short stint on Long Island where my Dad had taught at Stony Brook. When we returned to DC in the early 70s, we moved next door to the Sullivan family — children included Mark and Bobby, more on that later. By Junior High I had discovered classic rock — AOR staples like The Who, Doors, Led Zep, Stones, and Pink Floyd. By 9th grade, I found New Wave like Cars, Blondie and Gary Numan and Reggae via DJ Dr. Dread on WHFS and the Dance Craze soundtrack. They all nudged me towards Punk.
I took piano lessons in elementary school and somehow gotten on the subject of Kiss with my teacher; an older woman. I was talking about how Gene Simmons spits blood and she was like, “That sounds as awful as the Sex Pistols. They put safety pins through their cheeks and spit on their audiences.” So in ‘78 or so I found out about punk. I filed this information away but didn’t follow up on it until a few years later.
Mark Sullivan of the Slinkees and King Face was one of the older kids on my block and was worshipped for his style and coolness; first as a skater and then a punk. He might have been on the skate team with Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins for Sunshine House, a Bethesda, Maryland skate shop. Soon after I heard about Sex Pistols, I remember hearing a loud racket coming from the Sullivan’s house. I would find out later that it was a Slinkees practice. It was a brief rehearsal but I remember spying a group of funny-looking boys milling about when the garage door flung open. Years later I would confirm the band’s identity with Alec MacKaye, who was also in attendance. During this time, I also remember Mark wearing a trench coat with lots of safety pins and The Vibrators written across the back. My takeaway at the time was that this was the uniform of punk. Hippies had their own style and if you wanted to Punk, this is what you wore. Being 11 or 12 at the time, it didn’t exactly resonate with me. By 8th grade and deep into classic rock I remember learning about the Teen Idles and Untouchables via Bobby Sullivan who was funneling info from his brother. “These guys put out their own record!” It blew my mind that they could do that, but I was still a few years away from hopping on board. Ian MacKaye and Mark Sullivan were super tight and Ian would often visit the Sullivan home. I remember meeting Ian when I was 13 or 14, but not really appreciating the significance.
From ‘82 to ‘83, I was in the 10th grade at DC’s only alternative public high school, School Without Walls. There I met Dante Fernando and bought Iron Cross’s Skinhead Glory off of him when it came out. I again was blown away that he was in a band and that he had a record out. I also discovered that the DC scene was small, Dante knew Mark Sullivan and connected the dots to other folks who I knew only by name. Dante also told me about shows and bands that I should check out, Bad Brains being top of the list. The more I learned the more I wanted to be part of it. At the same time, Dante warned me that I couldn’t just show up at a show dressed punk. I needed to be known and vetted or I would be teased and blackballed as a poseur. So as curious as I was about punk shows, I went to shows that I thought would be more welcoming and usually went by myself. I saw the Slickee Boys and Insect Surfers and other indie new wave bands. By the end of 10th grade, I was dressing funny, stenciling t-shirts with band names in permanent marker, buying records, and learning all I could about punk and inching closer to going to shows. The first show I went to was a Bad Brains matinee show in ‘83. They were in their reggae phase and everything about it blew my mind. That summer, I would go to shows at Fort Reno. DC Mayor Marion Barry had a Summer Youth Employment Program and some of that money was used to put neighborhood kids into bands. These kid bands performed one night at Fort Reno and that was the spark, I told myself that next summer, I was going to be a part of this. One of the bands that performed that night included Andy Rapoport and the Muoio brothers who grew up down the street from me.
So where would you say you entered the D.C punk scene?
I was a second-wave punk rocker and it was the fall of ‘83 when I started 11th grade at Woodrow Wilson High School that I anointed myself a punk. Wilson Alumni included Ian, Alec, and later on Amanda MacKaye as well as Chris Bald, Eddie Janney, Bert Queiroz, Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindel, and lots more. My crew at the time was Bobby Sullivan and Johnny Temple and some of Johnny’s friends from Georgetown Day School. We all went to what would be Minor Threat’s last show with the Big Boys and Trouble Funk. There was a lot to be excited about, punk, early metal, and hip hop. I remember the 930 Club would have Metal Mondays and Breakdance expos. With the Minor Threat show under my belt, I went to check out more and more. I remember a Metal show in ‘83 of New Jersey and New York bands. I think Overkill was on the bill.
To make sure I would be a part of the Summer Youth band program, I got an after-school job at a place called the Neighborhood Planning Council 2 & 3. It was part of the DC Department of Recreation and the administrators of the Summer Youth Employment Program in my neighborhood. This was early ‘84 and through that job that I met Guy Picciotto, who also happened to be working there. The office became a pit stop of sorts. It was there I met Brendan Canty, Mike Fellows, Mike Hampton, Chris Bald, and Terry Scanlon. I hit it off with Guy and he shared all kinds of great music with me including the original Rites of Spring demos. ROS had come out of Guy and Brendan’s band Insurrection and Mike Fellows I think was involved too. Fellows also did a short stint in the GIs. Together they were known as the Death Of Dance kids for their crazy dancing at shows which were becoming increasingly violent. The first ROS demo was recorded to document the group before Mike Fellows went off to Los Angeles. I remember the tape being like nothing I had ever heard in terms of punk or hardcore. Funnily enough, Mike Fellows showed up at the NPC one afternoon unannounced, having given up on LA. ROS would get back to work soon after. Connecting with Guy opened a lot of doors for me and sparked introductions to the Dischord folks who I started seeing at shows.
That ‘83-’84 time period was when I started going to shows regularly. It was an odd time, with the break up of Minor Threat and the Faith, The OG Dischord folks kinda bowed out and the void was filled with a lot of people who didn’t give a fuck. There were skinheads and bent edge folks who started shit at shows. Also with the popularity of punk and hardcore, the shows were getting bigger. There was a Black Flag show on the My War tour that I remember being particularly violent. I went to a lot of shows by myself and always had to watch my back. Shows like GBH, UK Subs, and COC.
Summer of ‘84 I was part of a band through the Summer Youth Employment Program that included Alexis Fleisig, Scott McCloud, Eli Janney - younger brother of Eddie Janney - and Melody Kirschner. We played a bunch of cover songs and performed at summer camps, old folk homes, and of course Fort Reno. When I started my senior year in the fall, I got Alexis and Scott to commit to forming a band including Bobby Sullivan and that’s how Lunch Meat was born, which a year or so later turned into Soul Side. Bobby, Alexis, and I have known each other since elementary school and we connected with Scott in Junior High.