Richard Thurston (born January 6, 1973) is an American musician,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. Thurston was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in his late teens. He notably performed in such

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

and metalcore bands as

Timescape Zero Timescape Zero is an American metalcore band from Miami formed in 1991. They are seen as one of the lesser known bands which helped start the metalcore scene. The band formed after the break-up of Hangman (who released only one song on a 7-inch c ...

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

Blood Has Been Shed Blood Has Been Shed was an American metalcore band based in Granby, Connecticut. The band came together in 1997 and has featured members of Killswitch Engage, Diecast, Light the Torch, Red Tide, Terror, Walls of Jericho, Bury Your Dead and ...

, Until the End, Diecast, Terror, Walls of Jericho and

As Friends Rust As Friends Rust is an American melodic hardcore band based in Gainesville, Florida. The original line-up, which included vocalist Damien Moyal, guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez and drummer Matthew Crum, formed in Davie, ...

. He has lived in and performed with bands from Florida,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, the latter of which has been his home since 1997. Thurston is a

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

musician and

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, having performed guitar, bass and drums in addition to vocals in several of his bands. He has also been

straight-edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, thi ...

and

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

since the early 1990s, participating in several bands that vocalized those beliefs and ethics. Thurston began training as a mixed martial artist in 2003. During his inaugural amateur fight on November 5, 2004, he dislocated his elbow while against opponent Joshua Blanchard. In November 2006, Thurston became a professional fighter.

Bands

* Ego Trip - guitar * Severance - drums *

- guitar * Grip - bass *

- guitar , bass guitar , lead vocals , drums * Elijah's Message - guitar * Prayers Unanswered - guitar *

- bass guitar , guitar * Until the End - guest vocals * Diecast - guitar * Broken Glass Everywhere - guitar * One Nation Under - guitar * Terror - bass guitar * Against - guitar * Still Crossed - guitar * Walls of Jericho - touring bass guitar * Anthem - guitar * On Bodies - guitar, bass guitar, drums * Justified Defiance - vocals * Treason - guitar, drums * Deep Breath - vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums * Lowest - guitar, bass guitar, drums *

- drums

References

External links

Interview with Music Scan (2002)

Interview with No Echo (2018)

Interview with No Echo (2019)

Interview with Mass Movement (2020)

Interview with Decibel Magazine (2021)
1973 births 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American singers 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American drummers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American singers American heavy metal bass guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American male bass guitarists American male guitarists American male mixed martial artists American rock songwriters American punk rock bass guitarists American punk rock drummers American punk rock guitarists American punk rock singers As Friends Rust members Culture (American band) members Blood Has Been Shed members Guitarists from Florida Guitarists from Ohio Hardcore punk musicians Heavyweight mixed martial artists Living people Mixed martial artists from Florida Songwriters from Florida Sportspeople from Florida Terror (band) members Walls of Jericho (band) members {{US-punk-rock-guitarist-stub