Thor Harris (born February 7, 1965) is an artist, sculptor, musician, painter, carpenter and handyman. He was the percussionist for
Swans (2010–2016). He has performed with
Shearwater (2001–2010),
Bill Callahan,
The Angels of Light,
Lisa Germano,
Yonatan Gat,
Gretchen Phillips,
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue a musical career. ...
, Rebecca Cannon,
Xiu Xiu,
Flock of Dimes &
Amanda Palmer, Whalesong,
and the
Grand Theft Orchestra. He has recorded at least six
instrumental
An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
albums with the Austin producer
Rob Halverson. He also contributed to
Ben Frost's 2014 album, ''
Aurora
An aurora ( aurorae or auroras),
also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
''. He joined the touring lineup of
Xiu Xiu as a percussionist in February 2017 and he has enjoyed touring with Thor & Friends since 2015.
In the early 21st century, Harris wrote a short outline on "How To Tour In A Band Or Whatever". This set of '21 rules' spread widely across the internet. Harris also wrote and illustrated the '
zine
A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...
/pamphlet ''Ocean of Despair'', about depression, as a companion to his recorded album of the same title.
Personal life
Harris posted a video to his Twitter account titled "How To Punch A Nazi" as a response to the rise of
Richard Spencer, and on February 8, 2017, Twitter briefly suspended Harris's account for the video. On August 10, 2017, Harris announced his candidacy for
governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces.
Established in the Constit ...
on Twitter. Thor Harris also builds custom musical instruments.
Discography
With Swans
*''
My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky'' (2010,
Swans)
*''
The Seer'' (2012,
Swans)
*''
To Be Kind'' (2014,
Swans)
*''
The Glowing Man'' (2016,
Swans)
With Thor & Friends
*''Thor & Friends'' (2016, Thor & Friends)
*''The Subversive Nature of Kindness'' (2017, Thor & Friends)
*''3'' (2020, Thor & Friends, on
Joyful Noise Recordings)
*''4'' (2020, Thor & Friends, on
Joyful Noise Recordings)
With Shearwater
*''
The Dissolving Room'' (2001,
Shearwater on Grey Flat)
*''
Everybody Makes Mistakes'' (2002,
Shearwater on
Misra)
*''
Winged Life'' (2004,
Shearwater on Misra)
*''
Palo Santo'' (2006,
Shearwater on Misra)
*''
Rook'' (2008,
Shearwater)
*''
The Golden Archipelago'' (2010,
Shearwater)
With Rob Halverson
*''Fields of Innards'' (1999, Thor Harris and
Rob Halverson)
*''Robinson Ear's Little Whirled of Sound'' (2000,
Rob Halverson)
*''One Night Only'' (2002,
Rob Halverson)
*''Second Whirled'' (2004,
Rob Halverson)
*''Fields of Innards II'' (2010, Thor Harris and
Rob Halverson)
*''Fields of Innards III'' (2019, Thor Harris and Rob Halverson, on
Joyful Noise Recordings)
[
]
With Shahzad Ismaily
* ''With Anni Rossi'' (2019, Shahzad & Thor, on Joyful Noise Recordings)
Joyful Noise Recordings - ''Artist In Residence 2019''
Harris's six 2019 releases on Joyful Noise Recordings were issued both as six individual digital albums and as one limited-edition ( 666 copies) set of six colored-vinyl records in a wooden box.
Other
*'' New Mother'' (1999, Angels of Light
Angels of Light was an American neofolk band that was formed circa 1998 by singer-songwriter and musician Michael Gira after he disbanded Swans, the group he had founded in 1982. The band has marked a distinctly different style for Gira sinc ...
on Young God Records)
*'' How I Loved You'' (2001, Angels of Light
Angels of Light was an American neofolk band that was formed circa 1998 by singer-songwriter and musician Michael Gira after he disbanded Swans, the group he had founded in 1982. The band has marked a distinctly different style for Gira sinc ...
on Young God Records)
*'' Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home'' (2003, Angels of Light
Angels of Light was an American neofolk band that was formed circa 1998 by singer-songwriter and musician Michael Gira after he disbanded Swans, the group he had founded in 1982. The band has marked a distinctly different style for Gira sinc ...
on Young God Records)
*'' Rejoicing in the Hands'' (2004, Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue a musical career. ...
on Young God Records)
*'' Niño Rojo'' (2004, Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Texas and raised in Venezuela and California. In 2000, he dropped out of the San Francisco Art Institute to pursue a musical career. ...
on Young God Records)
*'' A River Ain't Too Much to Love'' (May 31, 2005; Smog ( Bill Callahan))
*'' Woke on a Whaleheart'' (April 17, 2007; Bill Callahan on Drag City)
*''Drums and Drunken Circuit'' (2009, Thor Harris, Rob Halverson, and Bill Callahan)
*''You Knew'' (2012, Mother Falcon)
*'' Dream River'' (2013, Bill Callahan, on Drag City)
*'' A U R O R A'' (2014, Ben Frost)
*''Noplace'' (2017, Aidan Baker/Simon Goff/Thor Harris)
*Radiance of a Thousand Suns (2019, Whalesong, Self- Released)
Little Mazarn on Self Sabotage Records)
* Medicine Singers (2022, Stone Tapes & Joyful Noise Recordings)
* I Didn't Mean to Haunt You (2022, Quadeca, o
deadAir
*Mjölnir (2023, Cinema Cinema on Nefarious Industries)
References
External links
Shearwater's official siteYoung God Records official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Thor
Drummers from Texas
Noise rock musicians
Living people
1965 births
Swans (band) members
American percussionists
American rock drummers
American experimental musicians
20th-century American drummers
American male drummers
Shearwater (band) members
Joyful Noise Recordings artists