Thom Monahan
American producer/engineer and musician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]