Former Molly Hatchet Bass Player Banner Thomas (1954-2017)

[Zoneboy]

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Banner Thomas, who joined the Jacksonville-based rock band Molly Hatchet in 1974 and played on the band’s first four albums, has died. He was 63.

News of his death was posted yesterday on the Molly Hatchet Facebook page.

“It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of ‘original’ Molly Hatchet band bass player Banner Thomas,” Tom Nitzsche wrote on the page, which is not affiliated with the current Molly Hatchet band. “He helped start the band on its way!”

Banner played bass and helped with songwriting on the band’s first four studio albums, “Molly Hatchet” (1978), “Flirtin’ with Disaster” (1979), “Beatin’ the Odds” (1980), and “Take No Prisoners” (1981).

During an interview in 2002 with Philippe Archambeau, he explained why he left the band in 1981: “We all started thinking we were stars, and that drove wedges into the cracks that started forming. I was as guilty as anybody else. I got into an argument with [band founder] Dave [Hlubek], got mad and quit.”

He subsequently was a founding member of another Jacksonville-based band, Big Engine.

Thomas most recently lived in St.. Johns County and played regularly at the Tradewinds Lounge in St. Augustine. According to posts on his own Facebook page, Thomas had been battling pneumonia in recent weeks.