Robert Vegas Bob Swetz says goodbye to his close friend Thor Lindsay ...
Robert Swetz and Thor Lindsay have know each other since we were 8 years old. Thor and I lived in a small suburb of a major city in the Midwest, we lived in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools and did many activities together.
Thor had a grandfather that lived in Portland Oregon so back in 1975 Thor and I decided to hitchhike out to Portland for a fresh start and to get away from the long cold winters of the Midwest.
Rich Johnson, Roseann Johnson and several other close friends from the Midwest moved out to Portland several years after Thor and I.
Thor and I were into rock music and would attend every concert we had the chance to go to.
We would see bands like the J Geils Band, Foghat, Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Blonde, Iggy Pop, BTO, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peter Frampton, Paul McCartney & Wings, Robert Gordon, Ramons, Santana, Rolling Stones and many more rock bands from the 70's.
In 1975 Thor and I went to see Bruce Springsteen when he first put out the album Born to Run. At this time Bruce was not very popular and hes started his tour in Portland Oregon. Thor and I had front row seats for the Bruce Springsteen concert and we were only teenagers at the time, and get this ... Bruce was sporting a huge beard at his concert in Portland before he shaved it off days later while touring. Anyway Bruce was singing Born to Run he jumped up on the a small rail in front of Thor and I, we both put out our hands and Bruce slapped both of our hands. Thor and I looked at each other like ... WOW!
Well this was the start for a very successful career for Thor Lindsay. While Thor and I continued living in Portland we got into the Punk music in the late 70's and Thor actually played in one of the Punk bands in Portland.
As the years went by Thor continued his interest in the music industry, created a partnership with his own record label in Portland, became friends with Curt Cobain and produced several albums for Nirvana and many other bands.
Kurt Cobain & Thor Lindsay March 26, 1994
Thor also hooked up lighting and sound systems for night clubs that had live music.
Later on Thor went on the road doing the lighting for David Bowie and some other famous bands.
Thor Lindsay was a very close friend of mine and we were like brothers growing up, and this post is only a fraction of Thor's success and some of the things we did growing up.
It really saddens me to say that my friend Thor Lindsay passed away on the evening of 7/16/2017, I just found out today.
Thor was suffering from lung complications and has went to a better place with less worry and pain.
I was planing a trip to visit Thor in October of 2017 in Portland Oregon, we have not seen each other in almost 30 years. I did have the chance to talk with Thor over the phone about one month ago for over one hour. We talked about everything and it was a great conversation.
I am so sorry that we will not be able to meet in this world.
I miss you my friend and this post is for you, you will be missed by many and until we meet again in the next life ...
Goodbye ;o(
