Thom Monahan
Thom Monahan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Massachusetts |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1991-present |
| Spouse | Shirley Halperin (m.2004) |
Thom Monahan is an American producer/engineer and musician who is best known for his work with the bands Pernice Brothers, Fruit Bats and Vetiver. He has also produced albums by Devendra Banhart, Wild Nothing, Beachwood Sparks, [1]and the Chris Robinson Brotherhood.
Biography
Thom Monahan was the bassist and singer of Connecticut indie-rock band Monsterland from 1991 to 1994, the bassist for Lilys from 1995 to 1998, and a member of the Pernice Brothers from 1998 to 2005. He began his recording career in 1995 with the Scud Mountain Boys' debut album, Dance The Night Away. When Scuds singer Joe Pernice formed Pernice Brothers in 1998, Monahan was enlisted to play bass, provide background vocals and produce the band's debut album, Overcome by Happiness. He went on to produce additional Pernice Brothers albums The World Won't End, Yours, Mine and Ours and Discover a Lovelier You.
Monahan moved from his native New England to California in 2005 and began working with bands in the San Francisco folk scene, recording many albums in Sacramento's The Hangar studio, including Devendra Banhart's Cripple Crow and Vetiver's To Find Me Gone, Thing of the Past and Tight Knit. [2] At his home studio in Los Angeles,[3] he has recorded albums by Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Fruit Bats, Vetiver, Fujiya & Miyagi, Little Joy and Papercuts. Volmers, Eric (February 4, 2026). "Reflections of now: Fruit Bats newest album covers a week-and-a-half of Eric D. Johnson's life". Calgary Herald. Retrieved May 19, 2026. Music from the 2010 film Ceremony was also recorded at Monahan's space.
As a co-producer, Monahan and Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson worked on Vagabonds, the first solo album by Jayhawks singer Gary Louris, which features vocals by Jenny Lewis, Susanna Hoffs and Jonathan Wilson. Monahan also co-produced the Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion album Bright Examples with Andy Cabic.[4]
In 2012, Monahan collaborated with Fujiya & Miyagi on a remix of the Moebius & Plank track, "Conditionierer," which was featured on Who's That Man – A Tribute To Conny Plank. The same year, he mixed a cover of Betty Davis' "If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up" by Iggy Pop and Zig Zags, which was featured in a series issued by Light in the Attic Records.
As an engineer and mixer, Monahan is credited on albums by Neko Case, Bedouine and Nina Persson.
[5]Songs produced by Monahan have appeared on such television shows as Weeds, Parenthood, Skins, Grey's Anatomy, and Entourage.[6] The Peter, Bjorn and John song "If I Was A Spy," used in the children's show Yo Gabba Gabba!, was engineered and mixed by Monahan.
Monahan married journalist and author Shirley Halperin in 2004.[7]
Selected discography
| Year | Artist | Release | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Scud Mountain Boys | Dance the Night Away | Producer, mixer, engineer |
| Massachusetts | Producer, engineer | ||
| 1996 | The Lilys | Better Can't Make Your Life Better | Arranger, musician, composer |
| Silver Jews | The Natural Bridge | Engineer, mixer | |
| 1997 | The Lilys | Services (For the Soon to Be Departed) | Arranger, composer, musician |
| 1998 | Pernice Brothers | Overcome by Happiness | Producer, engineer, musician |
| 2000 | Chappaquiddick Skyline | Chappaquiddick Skyline | Producer, engineer, mixer, musician |
| J Mascis + The Fog | More Light | Engineer | |
| 2001 | Beachwood Sparks | Once We Were Trees | Producer, engineer, mixer |
| Pernice Brothers | The World Won't End | Producer, engineer, mixer, musician | |
| 2002 | J Mascis + The Fog | Free So Free | Engineer |
| 2003 | Pernice Brothers | Yours, Mine & Ours | Producer, engineer, mixer, musician |
| 2004 | Vetiver | Vetiver | Producer, engineer, mixer |
| 2005 | Devendra Banhart | Cripple Crow | Producer, engineer, mixer[8] |
| "Heard Somebody Say" (from Cripple Crow) | Producer, engineer, mixer | ||
| 2006 | Vetiver | "You May Be Blue" | Producer, engineer, mixer |
| To Find Me Gone | Producer, engineer, mixer | ||
| Brightblack Morning Light | Brightblack Morning Light | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| 2007 | Lavender Diamond | Imagine Our Love | Producer, engineer |
| Pop Levi | The Return to Form Black Magick Party | Mixer | |
| Devendra Banhart | Love Above All | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| Brad Laner | Neighbor Singing | Mixer | |
| 2008 | John Doe | "The Golden State" (Neighbors remix) | Producer, engineer, mixer |
| Vetiver | Thing of the Past | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| More of the Past | Producer, engineer, mixer | ||
| Gary Louris | Vagabonds | Producer, engineer | |
| The Chapin Sisters | Lake Bottom | Producer, engineer, mixer, musician | |
| Little Joy | Little Joy | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| 2009 | Vetiver | Tight Knit | Producer, engineer, mixer[9] |
| Au Revoir Simone | Still Night, Still Light | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| Alela Diane | To Be Still | Mixer | |
| Jason Lytle | Yours Truly, the Commuter | Mixer | |
| 2010 | Kevin Barker | You & Me | Producer, engineer, mixer |
| Fruit Bats | "Papa Hobo" (from Ceremony soundtrack) | Mixer | |
| Eric Johnson | Ceremony (score) | Engineer | |
| Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion | Bright Examples | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| 2011 | Vetiver | The Errant Charm | Producer, engineer, mixer, musician[10] |
| Fujiya & Miyagi | Ventriloquizzing | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| Fruit Bats | Tripper | Producer, mixer[11][12] | |
| Jonathan Wilson | Gentle Spirit | Mixer | |
| The Donkeys | Born with Stripes | Mixer | |
| Papercuts | Fading Parade | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| 2012 | He's My Brother She's My Sister | Nobody Dances in This Town | Producer, engineer, mixer |
| Night Moves | Colored Emotions | Producer, engineer, mixer[13] | |
| Beachwood Sparks | The Tarnished Gold | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| Chris Robinson Brotherhood | Big Moon Ritual | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| The Magic Door | Producer, engineer, mixer | ||
| Neal Casal | Sweeten the Distance | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| Sera Cahoone | Deer Creek Canyon | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| Mary Epworth | Dream Life | Mixer | |
| Iggy Pop & Zig Zags | "If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up" | Mixer | |
| Galen Pehrson & Death Grips | "True Vulture" | Mixer | |
| 2013 | Möbius & Plank | Who's That Man: A Tribute to Conny Plank (Fujiya & Miyagi remix, "Conditionierer") | Mixer |
| 2014 | Chris Robinson Brotherhood | Phosphorescent Harvest | Producer, engineer, mixer |
| Nina Persson | Animal Heart | Mixer | |
| Medicine | Home Everywhere | Mixer | |
| Vashti Bunyan | Heartleap | Engineer | |
| 2015 | Vetiver | Complete Strangers | Co-producer, engineer, mixer |
| EDJ | EDJ | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| 2016 | Wild Nothing | Life of Pause | Producer, engineer[14] |
| Peter Bjorn and John | "If I Was a Spy" (Yo Gabba Gabba!) | Producer, engineer, mixer | |
| Breakin' Point | Producer (two tracks), engineer | ||
| Juana Molina, Devendra Banhart & Vetiver | "Hay Que Ver se Voy" | Engineer, mixer | |
| Liv | Wings of Love | Producer, engineer | |
| 2017 | Bedouine | Bedouine | Mixer |
| Dave Depper | Emotional Freedom Technique | Mixer | |
| 2018 | Neko Case | Hell-On | Engineer |
| Peter Bjorn and John | Darker Days | Engineer | |
| Meg Baird and Mary Lattimore | Ghost Forests | Producer, engineer, mixer[15] | |
| 2019 | Bedouine | Bird Songs of a Killjoy | Mixer |
| 2025 | Fruit Bats | Babyman | Producer, engineer, mixer[16] |
| 2026 | Boys Go To Jupiter | Now You're a Circle EP (High Rotation Records) | Mixing |
| Fruit Bats | The Landfill | Mixing, additional production | |
| Golden Void | Out On In | Editing, mixing, music editing |
References
- ↑ INCOMING ALBUMS. (2012, May 18). Music Week, p 40
- ↑ Simpson, Dave (September 8, 2025). "'Most of the time I was only wearing tiny shorts': how Devendra Banhart made I Feel Just Like a Child". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
- ↑ "L.A. Grapevine: Checking in with Thom Monahan and the Hangar". Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ↑ "Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion Set Good 'Examples' - the Boot". The Boot. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- 1 2 "Thom Monahan — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews". AllMusic. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
- ↑ "Thom Monahan Sync Reel - YouTube". Youtube.com. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ↑ "Shirley Halperin, Thom Monahan (Published 2004)". The New York Times. October 24, 2004. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ↑ "Reviews of new pop, country/roots and jazz releases". Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. September 20, 2005 – via ProQuest.
- ↑ "Vetiver: Tight Knit". KQED.
- ↑ "Best albums that you didn't know existed". University Wire. August 29, 2011 – via ProQuest.
- ↑ Leahey, Andrew. "Tripper – Fruit Bats". AllMusic.
- ↑ Leitko, Aaron (2011). "Tripper Review". Pitchfork.
- ↑ Riemenschneider, C. (March 23, 2012). "POP MUSIC: MINNESOTA POWER AT SXSW". Star Tribune – via ProQuest.
- ↑ Sendra, Tim. "Life of Pause – Wild Nothing". AllMusic.
- ↑ "Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore's 'Between Two Worlds' Conjures A Spectral Sunset". NPR.
- ↑ Volmers, E. (2026). "Reflections of now: Fruit Bats newest album covers a week-and-a-half of Eric D. Johnson's life". Calgary Herald. Postmedia Network Inc. – via ProQuest.