Jeff "Thumper" Thompson

Physical Description: 6'2", 190 lbs. Jeff has an stocky build with black hair he lets grow out, facial hair when he feels like, and green eyes. He wear glasses when reading. His left ear has three black hoops down the back of his left ear and after a night of too much partying, a belly button barbel. He has a massive string of tattoos that start on the back of his right hand, up his arm and stopping on his shoulder and neck. He has several scars, including from multiple surgeries to repair a torn knee ligaments and concealed beneath the tattoos on his shoulder are two small holes from gun shots he won't discuss other than they happened in high school. He does not look like a drummer, more like a football player. He walks with a slight limp.

Jeff's wardrobe is a mishmash of anything and everything. He simply buys and wears what he likes, both at home and on stage. It is not uncommon for him to do a set wearing a flipflops, shorts and a muscle shirt, then come out the next set in a football jersey, combat boots and leather pants. The band's agent once hired a stylist to try to improve Jeff's image, and he ended up punching the guy out for insulting his tastes once too often. That night to prove his point, Jeff went on stage in a bathing suit that was still wet from the hotel and a purple Hawaiian shirt, just to piss his agent off.

Bio:

Jeff, nicknamed Thumper by his buddy Nathan for his drumming style, never intended to be in a band. He had only taken a music class because he was a credit short in grade ten and thought it would be an easy course for a jock working on getting his scholarship to play football and if he got really lucky, the pros. But that all came crashing down on him the last game of the season when a fluke accident caused his left knee to be all but destroyed. He ended up needing surgery four times to repair all the damage and the rest of the school year was a write off.

Still on crutches the following year when he began retaking his grade ten courses, he considered dropping music, but an encounter with a new classmate changed that and set him down a different course. he had sat behind a drum set because he couldn't get behind the desks that were left when Nate had come in. They began to gab a bit and a shared a love of Van Halen. Nate asked if he could play and Jeff shrugged. Having never played, he picked up the drumsticks and started out slowly.   He found the motion on the high hats did not bother his knee, so he added bass drum with the other foot before throwing in a little stick work. The teacher came and snarled a bit, snapping at Jeff and Nathan before realizing who had been playing. He held the two of them back after class and apologized before encouraging Jeff to stay with the drums. He still hadn't made up his mind yet until Nate showed up at his place with a practice drum pad he had picked up at a pawn shop. It was his new best friend's encouragement that led him down the musician's path, and the two of them became the core of what would become Model Citizen.

The band's path to success is well documented,  but behind closed doors Thumper fell victim to the vices his lifestyle  brought. More than once the others had to bail him out of the police holding cell. Luckily no one was hurt either when he was involved in two DUI accidents. It was not until Nate's accident did he see what could happen. Right after the funeral, he went cold turkey which even made him more miserable. For over a month, he all but cut himself off from the outside world and did nothing but focus on music, and he began writing music, not only the sort Model Citizen played but other genres. By the time he got a clean bill of health, he had a portfolio full of rhythms and lyrics to shop around. After touching base with the rest of MC and Nate's wife, Jeff sort of became a hired gun, laying percussions on a song by song basis. That was until he got a call to do a tribute show at Planet Rock. He agreed, but never gave it much thought until he showed up at the show and found out what he had gotten into. It was a celebrity roast of Metallica and Thumper ended up on stage in a drummer duet with Bullet For My Valentine's Mike Thomas performing One. Preforming in front of a screaming crowd again and the kudos he got after the show gave him the bug to really get into the business again.

While Model Citizen was sort of floundering without Nate, a side project kept Jeff busy. Called Midnight Agenda, it featured  an ensemble cast of grunge guitarist Will Desmond and Allie Kazmar from Revolt, rapping turntable artist Billy Rhythm and country bass player Lon Harvick from Express Lane. Midnight Agenda began talking writing songs of their own, Jeff pulled out the songbook from his rehab stint. Several of the songs weren't befitting the alternative sound of Agenda, but they picked out enough to pick out and remix to the new sound of the band and unique talent pool. Within a month, they were in the studio and recording. Four months later, the haunting lyrics of  How you say Goodbye Jeff had written as a tribute to his friendship to Nate was splattered across the airwaves, though he told no one where the inspiration came from.

With Model Citizen getting back on track and about to tour, Jeff found himself refocused and ready to tour, except one major stumbling block. It meant dealing more closely with their manager. They had been friends since before she married Nate, and Jeff had been there if she needed someone to talk to, he had given her space because being close would stir up emotions since she was the only thing that had ever come between Nate and Jeff's friendship, not that it had ever been seen as a bad thing.