Jeff Thacher

Jeffrey Thomas Thacher (born December 23, 1967) is an American musician, best known as a member of the vocal group Rockapella. A professional vocal percussionist (a practice also referred to as "mouth drumming" and related to the hiphop-derived beatboxing) and singer who emerged on the early contemporary a cappella scene in 1991, Jeff Thacher co-founded the Boston-based a cappella group Five O'Clock Shadow (aka FOCS) that year and went on to join Rockapella in 1993 as their full time mouth-drummer. Thacher was a 1990 graduate of Berklee College Of Music's Music Production & Engineering program, and afterward spent several years in television & radio production when not performing^[1][2]

Vocal percussion, as a full-time occupation amidst a band or ensemble, was a fairly new idea in 1991,^[3] and Thacher performed as a tenor in Five O'Clock Shadow when not mouth-drumming. At that time, Rockapella was halfway through their stint on the children's television geography gameshow Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? on PBS(1991–1996) and had created several albums for the Japan-only record label For Life Records, as well as a soundtrack album for the Carmen Sandiego show. These albums had utilized individual computer-sequenced samples of mouth noises for their drum tracks. Rockapella sought to translate this approach organically to their live shows via a human performer,^[1][4] and after a search, Thacher got the job.

Thacher's first concert with the group was on May 15, 1993 at the Berklee Performance Center^[1][5], after which he began touring internationally with Rockapella, making his first CD appearance with them on the song "Big Wet Rag" from the Carmen Sandiego soundtrack sequel Carmen Sandiego: Out Of This World (1993). The first album to feature Jeff's distinctive sound throughout was Rockapella's first all-originals album, Vocobeat (1994), for the Japanese market.^[6]

As the mid 1990s progressed, the terms "organic" and "imitative" began to be used to describe contrasting a cappella vocal percussion styles, with Thacher as the most prominent progenitor of the "organic" approach, combining blatantly literal replication of drums with sounds that didn't seek to duplicate, but rather fill the role of a drum or percussive instrument.^[1][3][7] Thacher was also the first vocal percussionist to employ a throat microphone (aka "throat mic") using electronic guitar pickups adhered to the larynx area of the throat (see piezoelectric sensor). The technique allowed intentional throat grunting sounds to be heard more effectively in live shows and on recordings (1997).^[1] He became the first such artist to be professionally endorsed by a guitar pickup company (Seymour Duncan, from 1998 to present, now D-TAR).^[8]

Thacher continues to tour actively with Rockapella, appearing recently in the group with the Boston Pops Orchestra as guest performers, as well as in various media outlets around the USA and abroad.

Thacher has also been an independent recording engineer and music producer since 1995, working constantly with numerous a cappella groups and singer-songwriters. He works occasionally as writer/performer on television promo spots, such as Nickelodeon's "Big Summer Movies" (2006) and holiday news promos for The WB in New York. His work as a graphic artist can be seen throughout the artwork of his clients and collaborators.

Performer Discography

Domestic releases

International releases

Compilations

Unaffiliated releases

Various releases

Solo/Other CDs As Guest Performer

References

External links

• Jeff Thacher at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Rockapella website