Fireside: with Lamont 'Bim' Thomas, part II

Who are some of the artists you relate to the most or whose careers you respect the most?

Most of the artists I relate to the most couldn’t make careers out of their art…as far as music, I tend to champion the best underground stuff from the best music towns like New Orleans, Memphis, Austin, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, San Fran,and LA because its not a good idea to suck in those cities, even if you’re just passing through.  I’m sure there are wonderful people all over the map, but I find myself returning to these places again and again, usually because of the artists that live there, and in most cases, those artists occupy the underground.

Tell me about your bands Obnox and Puffy Areolas.  Elijah Vazquez, who plays with you in Obnox seems to have a very different disposition than the guys in Puffy Areolas.  Having spent a few evenings with you guys over the past couple months, I have to say, you enchanting.   Everyone has their own magic, intelligence and insanity.

Obnox came to be in order to make a 7″ while the TMIBH guys got their bearings as new fathers, but after playing around the house for a little while, I had more material than I anticipated, so then I thought to make an ep.  Hey why not a 12″ ep?  How bout some improv and a couple of my favorite Howland tunes.  Just little things I’d always wanted to do…and who would argue with me if I tracked everything myself?  I could do whatever I want which most drummers have no idea what that’s like.  Once people started to dig it a lil, I decided to find a drummer that had a similar style as mine or would be willing to imitate it and that’s when I reached out to Elijah. He’s super talented…he’s always trying to learn more even though he’s a music educator.  He’s got his own solo agenda, makes hip hop beats and is way into punk as well, so we get along great.  Cleveland is the type of place where a small cache of black artists can function right along side say hardcore bands and metal bands.  Its the kind of place that has more brothas at shows than just about anywhere.

I joined Puffy Areolas as a fill in for a couple of gigs and we’ve been rocking ever since…its really Damon’s thing.  I just rehearse and record and try to make it hot.  I’m only as good as the guys I play with and these dudes are swell.  And it feels good to rock with yet another bruh, not unlike hanging with Rafeeq Washington, Larry Caswell, or Elijah.  Lots of hip hop cats are parallel to us as well as some new young black rock cats like Chubbs and Retro.  What I like about Dame though is he’s interested in putting real raw and wild sounds out in the streets.  I wasn’t hearing that distorted abandon that’s a part of my favorite garage and punk records…everyone wanted to sound like they had it all together whereas he fucking lets it all hang out to the point of near absurdity and/or injury which is perfect for a guy like me whose into really gnarly and fucked up music.  Not just making noise, but a very rhythmical noise that’s peppered with soul, improvisation, and psychedelia.  That’s why he’s right on time and we ride deeper than Atlantis…it also helps that the boy chain smokes weed too, which kinda keeps us locked into the groove, innately, like second nature!

You all were about the only saving graces of sxsw.  That was my first and last experience with sxsw… how did you feel about the experience?

SXSW has always been good to me.  I have a lot of good friends in Austin, so its just great to see them and sometimes the music is the only way I can get back to them.  The size of the conference has gotten to be a bit much.  It used to be a lot easier to get around from gig to gig, and there wasn’t so much animosity toward showcases and parties unrelated to SXSW.  But yeah, I enjoy playing, and I don’t mind touring.  God gave me this gift and I wanna use it as often as possible.  Being a father, I can’t tour as much as before, so SXSW is a chance for me to play to hundreds of people from all over that would never see me, and that’s good for the bands I’m in and the records I have out at any given time.  Puffies/Nox tour had me doing 18 shows in 10 days, including two shows with Unholy 2.  Most people would consider this a hassle, but this is what I do and I have no problem driving far or sacrificing sleep to be a part of it.  Most people shouldn’t be in bands either, but that’s another story.  I appreciate the fact you enjoyed our performances.  There are some bands that are really shitty out there…we don’t have to name them, because they know it.  In some cases the nation’s better bands don’t even want to participate because of that fact and the size of the fest.  I wish someone would put me on Fun Fun Fun or Chaos in Tejas, but SXSW doesn’t bother me like some.  Maybe growing up near the amusement park Cedar Point had something to do with it.  South by reminds me of that environment, ya know, surrounded by tourists.  That tourism thing is definitely taking its toll on a city that tons of people are destined to live in.  Hell, I even thought about moving there back in the early 90′s when one of my friends moved there.  Needless to say, he lives in Houston now with a little more room to breath I suppose...

I think being a father may be one of your proudest accomplishments.  Do you hope to have more children?  What are your thoughts on love?

My daughter Mia is wonderful…smart, healthy, happy, and damn funny, but I don’t see myself having anymore kids.  If I could afford it maybe…whatever I did for money would leave no time to play any music.  I love my family though…they can tolerate me going off and doing a lil music here and there for a couple of weeks at a time.  If it weren’t for them my music wouldn’t be nearly as interesting for sure…see when you leave your family for any given time, whatever your doing is not more important than they are, so if you’re absent because of recording and touring, those better be your best recordings and best shows because you made great sacrifices to get there.  Yeah that’s love…I got love for everybody in the game too, not just my family…I even got love for the niggas that don’t like me anymore! Hahahahaha!  I’m even trying to articulate that love in song…no one around here sings about love anymore, just these diary entries about themselves and their stupid and ridiculous lives.  So yeah the original L-word is pretty important to me.  If you don’t have any love in your heart I suppose its hard to sing about it huh?  Oh by the way I also love strong reefer as well as strong women! Hahahaha!

Where does ‘Bim’ come from?

My family has called me Bim since I could remember…I don’t ever remember my ma once saying my given name, Lamont!