“My main memory is thinking if I stood still for too long, I’d get hit with a beer can”: Thundercat on getting his start with hardcore punk legends Suicidal Tendencies – and how that developed his bass chops

Thundercat is one of the biggest names in jazz, fusion and R&B bass guitar – but he cut his teeth playing a completely different kind of music.

With four solo albums under his belt, and a repertoire that includes collaborators with Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu, Mac Miller, and Gorillaz, to name a select few, Thundercat is far removed from his early days as part of the Californian crossover thrash legends, Suicidal Tendencies.

At the age of 16, Thundercat joined his brother, drummer Ronald Jr., in the band.

“My main memory is thinking if I stood still for too long, I’d get hit with a beer can,” the now 41-year-old recalls of that formative time in an interview with The Guardian. “I think the same principle applies. Actually, I think that principle applies to every stage of life: stand still too long, somebody’s going to hit you with something.”

“Whatever brain disposition that lets you know you’re in a dangerous situation, I don’t think I have. I think constantly performing has allowed that to not be such a problematic thing to me.”

In an interview with the Whiteboard Journal back in 2021, Thundercat described how being in a band like Suicidal Tendencies served as a crash course in developing his playing style.

“That’s part of the informal training I would consider,” he said matter-of-factly. “It was very much developed on stage with Suicidal Tendencies.

“Working with Mike Muir taught me to stand in the front and be my own artist,” he extrapolates. “He taught me to not be afraid of the audience and the energy that hardcore punk music has had to offer. It taught me a bit of grit, attitude and to not think about anything other than what I was doing on stage.

“He would always push me out and he would force me to play. He would want me to play more, and I would have all kinds of things happen; people throwing shoes at me – I would be playing too many notes, and somebody would be like ‘What is this?’ – but it kind of molded who I am as a musician. Like being in my own world on stage. So it shaped the character of who I am a bit.”

That same year, in an interview with Bass Player, Thundercat offered deeper insight into his early days, what inspired his signature Ibanez, and how cartoon music shaped his approach to melody and harmony.