Peter Michael Thomas is an English rock drummer best known for his collaboration with singer Elvis Costello, both as a member of his band "The Attractions", and with Costello as a solo artist. Besides his lengthy career as a studio musician and touring drummer, he has been a member of the band Squeeze during the 1990s and as a member of the supergroupWorks Progress Administration during the early 2000s. Tom Waits has referred to him as "one of the best rock drummers alive".
Career
Thomas states his favourite album and greatest influence is Are You Experienced by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. He first heard the album at the age of 14, and became greatly influenced by Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell. Thomas met his drumming hero as a teenager, after waiting outside Mitchell's house for multiple days. Following early work with Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and John Stewart, Thomas was recruited as a member of Costello's backing band the Attractions in 1977. Elvis Costello & the Attractions would spend the next decade touring the world, and recording nine albums, from This Year's Model to Blood and Chocolate. Although Costello split with the Attractions between 1987 and 1993, he continued to work regularly with Thomas during this period. Thomas played drums on the albums Spike, Mighty Like a Rose, and Kojak Variety and was a member of Costello's 1989–1991 touring band, The Rude 5. Costello reunited with the Attractions for the albums Brutal Youth and All This Useless Beauty. In 2001, Costello recruited Thomas, Faragher, and fellow Attraction Steve Nieve to record the album that became When I Was Cruel. Elvis Costello & the Imposters, as they were subsequently named, have gone on to tour extensively, and recorded the album The Delivery Man. From 2008 until 2010, Thomas was a member of the house band for Costello's television program Thomas lives in Los Angeles, with his wife Judy. Their daughter Tennessee is drummer for the band the Like. In 2003, Thomas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Elvis Costello & the Attractions. In Summer, 2015, Thomas hit the road as drummer for the summer tour of the folk-pop duo, The Weepies.
Studio work
Over the years Thomas has been an in-demand session musician. Among his many credits include, drums for Graham Parker's 1991 album Struck By Lightning and 1992 album Burning Questions. After Costello split with the Attractions for a second time, Thomas worked for the next few years primarily as a session drummer, recording with such artists as Suzanne Vega, Neil Finn, Richard Thompson, Vonda Shepard, Mikel Erentxun, Sheryl Crow, Fito Páez, Joaquín Sabina, Los Lobos, Wild Colonials, Matt Brown of 3 lb. Thrill, Wendy James, Tasmin Archer and John Paul Jones. In 1993, Thomas joined the band Squeeze for their album Some Fantastic Place replacing Gilson Lavis on drums, and for the tour in support of it. In 1994, Thomas was part of a trio that included vocalist/avant garde opera diva, Diamanda Galás, and former Led Zeppelin bassist/multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones, who recorded the album, The Sporting Life. He also played on the Elliott Smith album, Figure 8 on the songs "Junk Bond Trader", "Wouldn't Mama Be Proud?" and "Can't Make a Sound". Thomas currently plays local Los Angeles gigs with bassist Davey Faragher and guitarist Val McCallum, under the band name, Jackshit. In 2006, Thomas played drums on the album Doomed to Make Choices by Jason Karaban. He also plays drums on Karaban's album Sobriety Kills and Karaban's single "Succeed 101". In 2008, he joined a new eight-piece supergroup, Works Progress Administration, with Sean Watkins, his sister Sara Watkins, Glen Phillips, Benmont Tench, Luke Bulla, Greg Leisz, and Davey Faragher. The group released their debut album on 28 August 2009. Thomas played on Willy DeVille's Pistola album in 2008. In June 2008, Thomas recorded for a Kina Grannis album. In 2009 Thomas recorded for a Fito & Fitipaldis album titled Antes de que Cuente Diez. In 2012, Thomas was the drummer on two national tours by artist Tammy Lang; the "Chelsea Madchen" tour, in which the singer parodied Nico, of Velvet Underground fame, and her outing as subversive traditional country-and-western alter ego Tammy Faye Starlite. Violinist Lisa Germano also played on both tours, as did bandleader/guitarist Peter "Petey" Andrews. The band "played some of the best blues rock music I've heard in years," wrote Huffington Post music correspondent Wendy Block. In 2013, Thomas appeared on Arctic Monkeys' album, AM, on the song "Mad Sounds". The band described him as "saving the day" when their usual drummer Matt Helders broke his hand after punching a wall while drunk during recording sessions for the album. In October 2013, he appeared on Later... with Jools Holland as drummer for Jake Bugg. In 2014, Thomas played drums and percussion on most tracks of Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone for Lucinda Williams. In 2015, Thomas played drums and percussion on Award Winning Canadian singer-songwriter Leeroy Stagger's critically acclaimed album Love Versus. In 2019 Thomas co-founded the Los Angeles-based Old Man Dinner Band with Harvey Shield
