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Scott Thunes

b. 1960

American musician

Musician Session musician
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About Scott Thunes

Born 1960. Scott Thunes is an American musician and session musician.

Scott Thunes ( ; born January 20, 1960) is a bass player, formerly with Frank Zappa, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Andy Prieboy, Mike Keneally, Fear, The Waterboys, Big Bang Beat, and others.

Early life Thunes was raised in San Anselmo, California.

Career He played with Zappa's band from 1981 to 1988, joining at the age of 21, and plays on such albums as Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch (1982), The Man from Utopia (1983), Them or Us (1984), Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention (1985), Does Humor Belong In Music? (1986), Broadway the Hard Way (1988), You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, Make a Jazz Noise Here (both 1991), and Guitar (1988), a double-album compilation of Zappa's live guitar solos.

His most prominent bass performance can be heard on Frank Zappa's "Valley Girl", which peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100.

He played bass on Frank Zappa's Jazz from Hell, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1988.

More recently, he is touring on bass as part of ongoing The Zappa Band tribute group, Banned from Utopia, made up of ex-Zappa band alumni Ray White (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Keneally (guitar, keys, vocals), Robert 'Bobby' Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals), and Zappa Plays Zappa alums Jamie Kime (guitar) and ZAPPA archivist Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers (drums, vocals). In 2021, The Zappa Band tribute group opened for King Crimson multiple times.

Thunes is a Teaching Artist, for the Rock Band program at Marin School of the Arts at Novato High School in Novato, California.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Sir Francis Drake High School, College of Marin

People in Scott Thunes's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Scott Thunes's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Scott Thunes?

American musician

When was Scott Thunes born?

Scott Thunes was born on 20 January 1960 in Los Angeles.

What is Scott Thunes's occupation?

Scott Thunes is a musician and session musician.

What nationality is Scott Thunes?

Scott Thunes is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Scott Thunes

· Wikidata: Q840115

· DBpedia: Scott Thunes

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Scott Thunes. https://biography.guide/scott-thunes/

MLA: "Scott Thunes." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/scott-thunes/.

Chicago: "Scott Thunes." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/scott-thunes/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:18 UTC