THOR: It’s not that I don’t like touring…I love going out for select shows. At my age, you get overwhelmed by so much stuff: I’ve got to take care of the sportswear company, the Vulcan Sky Entertainment Company, and all the other things going. It’s tough to be so many places at one time.
I had a great time in Finland, had a great time in Sweden, and in London, Ontario, too, because it was done the way I like it. I like flying in. Comfortable hotels and good food. Treated real nice. The lighting is set up. The best engineers. I don’t want to be the guy babysitting the band. When you’re performing, all that can be stressful.
Jason: Tell us about your plans for touring North America
THOR: I’m planning on playing some select shows, and I’m talking to some promoters and agents who would be booking us in bigger venues. I want to play some select shows in Chicago, Boston, New York and Los Angeles. I don’t want to play 50 cities in 50 days. On the “Thor Against The World” tour, I was bouncing around all over the place. Hop on a plane up to Toronto, then to Texas…they had me zigzagging across the continent and, at the end of 50 cities, I got pneumonia. So, I just can’t do that kind of stuff anymore.
Boston is DEFINITELY a place I want to play. I have a really high regard for Boston. It’s one of the places I like playing. These are great markets for Thor.
Richard: Since you have a new film out now, I wanted to talk about your film career, from looking at the credits of Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare, a lot of guys “pitched in” in a lot of different ways. It seems, from watching it, that there was a real family atmosphere happening on the set. How was that and how did the project come together?
THOR: Yeah, yeah! (Director) John Fasano and his group from New York, Jim Cirile who played “Stig” and his wife Cindy were involved, Bob Connolly and a lot of different people we knew in Toronto (the movie was filmed in and set in a suburb of Toronto)…a lot of friends and family got together to make this movie. Originally, it was going to be called “The Archangel”. The way I wrote it, it goes back to my fascination with the characters of Hercules and Thor, a creature on Midgard or Earth causing trouble and the hero having to come down from the heavens….you know, the constant. It could be like Superman coming from Krypton…but mixed with rock and roll, mixed with a little horror. That was the formula. Someone asked me recently what would have happened if we did the movie with a $200 million budget. To me, you could do all the CGI and special effects, but you would lose the charm of the movie and the reason for its success.
Richard: Did you have the idea for the movie before you talked with John Fasano and the gang or did it evolve through conversations with those guys?
THOR: Basically, there were a lot of ideas that I discussed with Fasano, but I had a lot of notes written about this character that would come from the heavens and the story, and actually we were even throwing around the idea of a movie on the Thor character, like “Thor: Rock Warrior” or “Thor: Metal Avenger” and then we got to “the Archangel”. We were thinking about using the Midgard serpent as the creature, and we later incorporated that concept into “Thor The Rock Opera” (released in 2011).
Richard: Right. It wasn’t Thor. It was Thor playing Jon Triton. It’s pretty cool, actually, because it’s like one level of difference between your normal myth of Thor and the character you play in the film.
THOR: Yeah, I’ve always like the idea of mixing things up. For example, Edgar Cayce’s theories about all gods worshipped around the world were really from Atlantis and that Atlantis was populated by superhumans. My favorite stories were about these alternate universes. For example, in the comics in 1962 or ’63, the Justice Society of America, the Justice League, the original Green Lantern, Silver Era Green Lantern and so on all met one time in one of the issues. There were all alternate logos and teams and origins. It was fascinating. I loved stuff like that.
LISTEN: Thor on the film and soundtrack “Thor The Rock Opera”
Richard: So, on the soundtrack to the new movie, there’ll be an opportunity for even hardcore Thor fans to get some tracks they’ve never heard before…from the vaults?
THOR: Yeah, I like that…”from the vaults”. Exactly. These tapes, that were literally found in people’s basements and other places…they could have been destroyed. Some of the footage from movie could easily have been lost forever. I’m just glad they’re there. We’re going to re-release an album early next year that should have been released after “Keep The Dogs Away”. That’s going to be coming out probably early next year. It’s getting remixed right now.
Richard: Talk about the breadth of music that you’re playing on this tour because it seems that “Thor The Rock Opera” contains elements from every period.
THOR: Yeah, I’m really excited about this show. You can check out the videos posted from the show in Helsinki. The show spans from “Triumphant”, to the “Immigrant Song” with The Imps…paying homage to Led Zeppelin one of my favorite bands, to the way “Action” was really supposed to be performed… before Merv Griffin said “you have to play it with the Mort Lindsay Orchestra”. I become different characters… I reinvent myself on stage. I go from “Thor: the Gladiator” to “Rock Warrior” and then to “Thor: Overlord”. We’ve got these beautiful valkyries on stage…
Jason: I saw that.
Richard: Again, always a good choice.
THOR: Hahaha…yeah, well-supplied in every city. Yeah, we really try to put on a great show, and a diversity of songs from all the different periods. When we played Europe last in 2009, we did more songs from “Only The Strong” and that’s why I liked to mix it up. If I could, I’d do a six-hour show so people could call out songs…I just can’t do every single song.
LlSTEN: Jason asks Thor why he wasn’t tapped to provide the anthem for the Canucks playoff run
Richard: Well, what is your favorite stuff to play from your catalog…because it is extensive? What gets you fired up the most?
THOR: Well, I’m throwing some stuff in that might be obscure like “Into The Beyond” or “Corridors of Light”….obscure stuff that I haven’t done those songs live, really. “Into The Beyond” was done in 1974 and now I’m bringing it back. I had a lot of fun doing “Action” again. I do love doing “Let The Blood Run Red” because everyone knows that song…”Thunder In The Tundra”…”We Live To Rock”…I like anthems. I love it when the audience joins in. They know all the lyrics, so I can just hand the microphone off and let everyone sing! They’re fantastic, and it’s just a tremendous, tremendous experience.
LISTEN: Thor on how he fits in well in the Digital Age
THOR: Since the Merv Griffin show, the hammer’s gotten bigger. Those were just mallets I was swinging around back then…but, seriously, I feel really good physically. I just had all tests done. My heart’s perfect. My cholesterol’s perfect. So, with the experience I have now, I feel I know the right direction to take. I can still jump around 14 feet and do some karate kicks up on stage….ready to come out East and do some acrobats, some strength feats and some rock music!
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During the late ’90s, Jason Wentworth was the host of “Go Go Music Power”, a showcase of East Asian pop music from the ’60s to present day, on WHRB and WZBC. In keeping with that theme, Jason also provided vocals for The Wave Motion at 1999’s Giant Monster Electric Battle Masterpiece. He also has dabbled in turntablery, playing with electro-pop supermen Esotronica and the otherworldly glitch outfit Clue Display. Though he now works in government, he sometimes wishes he was still working at Mystery Train in Harvard Square and getting paid in records.
Richard Wentworth spent the 90s bathed in Clubman™ aftershave, playing in bands like ‘Bald Guys and the Peer Group. Richard also worked at the legendary Mystery Train Records before co-founding the short-lived experiment that was Phase Four Records in Harvard Square. These days he sings barbershop music, does professional voiceover work for film, tv and web, and is illustrating the world’s first Lovecraftian beach party comic book TEENAGE LUVKRAFT: BEACH BLANKET BEYOND (out this September from Hypno Komix). He denies any recollection of stealing his baby brother Jason’s blankey as a child.
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