| Tobacco | |
|---|---|
Tobacco (Tom Fec) |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas Fec |
| Also known as | Maniac Meat |
| Origin | Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock, electronic, alternative hip hop |
| Occupations | Singer/multi-instrumentalist |
| Instruments | Analog synthesizer, vocoder, digital audio editor |
| Years active | ca. 1998-present |
| Labels | Anticon, The 70s Gymnastics Recording Co., Rad Cult |
| Associated acts | Black Moth Super Rainbow, The Seven Fields of Aphelion, Beck |
| Website | maniacmeat.com |
Thomas Fec, better known by the alias Tobacco, is an American electronic musician. He is the frontman of the band Black Moth Super Rainbow, in addition to working as a solo artist; in both settings he works most conspicuously with pre-digital electronic instruments such as analog synthesizers and tape machines.[1]
Little is known about Tobacco, as he, along with the rest of Black Moth Super Rainbow, is very private and rarely does interviews. It is known that Tobacco grew up in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Hampton High School in 1998 along with fellow bandmate Seth Ciotti. In a 2009 interview with Skyscraper Magazine, Tobacco said that his name derived from "a character that freaked me out as a kid, the Tobacco Man", referring to the character from the Troma film Redneck Zombies.[2]
Tobacco released a solo album entitled Fucked Up Friends on Anticon Records on October 14, 2008.[3] The album was recorded using entirely analog equipment.[4] Rolling Stone said of the album, "one of the year's best stoner-rock records - only it's powered by synths, hip-hop beats and vocoders instead of guitars."[5] Exclaim! called it "worthy of obsessive listening."[6] The album featured a guest appearance from Aesop Rock.[7] A DVD of the album had been released more than a year prior, on September 3, 2007, by the 70s Gymnastics Recording Company.[8]
In an interview with Kotori Magazine in September 2008, Tobacco explained the difference between BMSR and Tobacco: "Mostly everything I've done with BMSR is made to be pop. And alot [sic] of people say BMSR is bordering on hip-hop beats. So with Tobacco, I wanted to embrace my beats and get darker and sleeker with it all. I want to make you feel paranoid in a good way. There’s something seriously fucked about workout tapes from the mid 80s, and just about everything obscure on beta tape. They make me feel awful, but really good and curious at the same time. With this Tobacco stuff, I’m trying to translate that feeling." [9]
Tobacco's live shows mainly consist of him and BMSR bandmate The Seven Fields of Aphelion, and an unnamed person from Portland, OR playing along with video projections from Fucked Up Friends and Fucked Up Friends 2.
In late February, an e-mail sent out to the Black Moth Super Rainbow/Tobacco e-mail list announced a new CD by Tobacco entitled Maniac Meat that would feature Beck Hansen on two tracks titled Fresh Hex and Grape Aerosmith. Tobacco revealed that in making the album, the two exchanged parts for songs via e-mail, and that they had never actually met in person. Maniac Meat came out on May 25 on Anticon Records.
On March 30, 2010 the website Pitchfork Media released the first song from "Maniac Meat" titled "Sweatmother".[10]