Many longtime fans were shocked earlier this month when iconic indie rock couple Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon split up. Married for over 25 years, with both acting as founding members of the legendary NY noise rock outfit Sonic Youth for 30 years, the duo seemed to be a beacon of incorruptible domestic bliss in the face of the thirty-second celebrity marriages seemingly preferred by the Kardashians of the world.
And now, with the future of the band uncertain, Moore and fellow SY guitarist Lee Ranaldo have both made some solo plans.
Moore has just announced an extensive tour in support of his fourth solo effort, including a date in London performing his 1995 album “Psychic Hearts” it its entirety. He’s also launching a poetry publishing company called Flowers and Cream.
Meanwhile, Ranaldo is releasing “Between the Times and the Tides,” on Sonic Youth’s label Matador Records. SY drummer Steve Shelley and former bassist Jim O’Rourke will be featured on the release. Shelley will also appear on the upcoming album from Chicago’s Dissappearers.
As of now, no announcement has been made about the fate of SY, but a future of touring together looks iffy, at the very least, for the 50-something band (and their 40-something bassist Mark Ibold, formerly of Pavement). However, bands in the past have survived domestic break-ups (Fleetwood Mac, No Doubt), so don’t count them out yet.
Sonic Youth’s tour-ending show in Brazil this week could prove to be the group’s curtain call. You can watch the first 30 minutes of the show here:
Here are Moore’s tour dates:
November 27 Dublin, Ireland – Button Factory
November 28 Glasgow, Scotland – Arches
November 29 Leeds, UK – Brudnell
November 30 Manchester, UK – The Ritz
December 2 London, UK – Union Chapel
December 3 London, UK – Electric Ballroom – performing “Psychic Hearts”
December 4 Cologne, Germany – Week-End film and music festivalDecember 5 Berlin, Germany – Volksbuhne
December 6 Munich, Germany – Kammerspiele
December 7 Ferrara, Italy – Teatro Comunale
December 8 Roma, Italy – Parco della Musica
December 9 Milano, Italy – Teatro Dal Verme
December 10 Zurich, Switzerland – Moods/Kilbi Im Exil
December 11 Paris, France – La Gaite” Lyrique
December 12 Amsterdam Netherlands – De Duif
January 28 Hartford, CT – Aetna Theatre @ Wadsworth Museum of Art
January 29 Burlington, VT – First Unitarian Church
January 30 Portland, ME – SPACE Gallery
January 31 Somerville, MA – Somerville Theatre
February 2, 2012 New York, NY – Lincoln Center
February 3 Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell”s
February 4 New Hope, PA – New Hope Winery
February 5 Washington, DC – Black Cat
February 7 Durham, NC – Duke Performances @ Reynolds Industries Theater
February 8 Atlanta, GA – The Goat Farm
February 10 Dallas, TX – Texas Theatre
February- 11 Austin, TX St. Davids Church