Thurston Moore

Uncompromisingly punk rock in his ideals and relentlessly avant-garde in his execution of those principles, Thurston Moore occupies a unique position in rock 'n' roll history. After a brief stint as part of Glenn Branca's guitar army, he founded legendary art punk outfit Sonic Youth in 1981 with fellow no wavers Lee Ranaldo and Kim Gordon. The band went on to become one of the most important combos of the past two decades, fusing intelligent songwriting with bold experimentalism. Beyond his contributions with that band, Moore has also made a name for himself as a first-rate improviser. Inspired by the work of Rudolf Grey, Donald Miller, Keith Rowe and others, Moore made his first foray into the genre with Barefoot in the Head, a one-off project with Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich of Borbetomagus. Since then he's worked extensively with improvisers Tom Surgal, Nels Cline and Loren Mazzacane to name a few, crafting dynamic, sprawling and occasionally ear-shattering sounds with a subtle hand. Though his improvising is certainly his primary focus outside of Sonic Youth, he released a successful record of well-crafted Indie Rock entitled Psychic Hearts in 1995.