Forty with a Heart: Thom Alive Fest Brought Together Music, Friends and Support for an Animal Shelter

Tomáš Fröde is celebrating forty. He actually celebrated his birthday back in May, but now, on the day of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius, when we celebrate a national holiday, he planned a public celebration. He organized his very own music festival called Thom Alive Fest, where he performed with all of his bands. And that sounded like an event the Rebel Sound editorial team simply could not miss.

The whole event took place at Sportcentrum Koráb in Prague, and it was also the venue's final farewell event, as this great place is closing after many years. The program was designed as a family festival, so there was something for everyone. In the courtyard of the sports center, there is a concrete area where the main stage was located. Just around the corner, by the pétanque court, stood a small improvised acoustic stage more like a tent  with the working title "pétanque stage." Next to it, there was also a beach volleyball court and other sports facilities, although unfortunately, due to the weather, they were not used very much. On the other hand, the children's playground next to the main restaurant was absolutely ideal, as whole families with children really did arrive.

A Slow Start with Walkmanz…

Even before two o'clock in the afternoon, the courtyard was already fairly crowded. Thom welcomed us, and a ceremonial toast took place. Then the microphones were taken over by the hosting duo Ondřej Pech and Anna Knauerová, Thom's colleagues from Radio RockZone, who took charge of the entire celebration for the day. They welcomed us to the event and introduced Thom's first band of the day — Walkmanz.

Walkmanz is a side project of singer Thom, drummer Zbyněk Raušer(formerly of Portless and now in O5 and Radeček) and guitarist René Rypar(who is still currently in Portless). It is a band characterized by a modern guitar sound and energetic rock with Czech lyrics, formed during the coronavirus pandemic. Back in the Covid days, they released one album, while otherwise the band tends to hibernate quite a bit. Several songs from their album Mono were played — including tracks such as Spoutej, Sex, Až přijde láska, as well as a brand-new, never-before-played song called Rtuť.

Whenever the stage equipment was being prepared for the next band, a singer-songwriter or acoustic act would perform on the "Pétanque stage." At that moment, Souhra nehod began their acoustic set a Prague-based band combining elements of pop, rock and folk music. They also invited us to their own concert, which will take place on August 20 at Club Varšava, together with the band Zrcadla.

Showers, Byt číslo 4 and a Plush Totem…

Although a heavier shower caught us by surprise, it did not stop anyone from listening to a thematic presenter's joke about canoeists and then going to enjoy the next performance and dance along to the Šumperk band Byt číslo 4. Thom had worked with this band on their album, and for his birthday they brought him a funny plush gift from a fairground. As Thom mentioned, it was a plush totem expressing masculine strength even at this age. Their new song Boty Heroiny was also played.

Nearby, Tomáš J. Holý was getting ready a Prague-based experimental guitarist who transforms the guitar into a versatile instrument. Besides using its strings, he also taps various tones out of it, allowing us to drift away on a purely artistic musical arrangement without words.

A Charlie Chaplin Audition and LABe…

Meanwhile, the band LABe was already doing their soundcheck. LABe is a successful music project by drummer Adam Jánošík, in which Thom also appears as the singer. Host Ondřej jokingly compared the day to "Charlie Chaplin auditioning to play himself" . Thom was returning to the stage for the second time that day, and in the evening he still had the final concert with Imodium ahead of him, so it was up to us to decide which Thom Fröde would be the most Thom of them all.

The LABe project also released one album in 2022, called Noční směny. The title track was played that evening, along with other songs from the album  Žárovky, V bublinách, Kousek tvýho nebe and Dvě srdce – Dvě hlavy. Just like with Walkmanz, this was an exceptional event and a rare chance to see this project live, as they have played only a minimal number of live shows. Apparently(in Prague, they had only once christened the album some time ago).

The hosts came back again with a few jokes, gave visitors space to grab a hot dog or something (even better to eat).Wished us "Dobrou chuť a dobrou piť," before freeing up the stage for the next performer. Meanwhile, over by the pétanque area, local singer-songwriter Coubey sang a few songs to go with the beer.

The Alter Ego Pan Lynx, Arguments over Cobain and Snapping Strings…

Next up on the stage was Pan Lynx. This is a kind of alter ego of Thom's friend and neighbor, musician and music producer Michal Skořepa. This musical and visual project has even won, for example, a Žebřík award and received nominations for the Anděl music awards. Although musically it is a solo project, Pan Lynx performs live with a full band, and his style sits somewhere between grunge and alternative rock. He performed songs such as Cylilinx, Výlety do temnoty and Kdo se bojí, musí do lesa.

He also prepared a special gift for Thom — a T-shirt featuring the two of them, with their nicknames Píďa and Pupík, sharing Kurt Cobain. Apparently, they used to argue over him, which was clearly tied to personal childhood memories. He then dedicated the song Na dně postele to Thom.

Afterwards, the hosts reassured us that hopefully all the showers had already passed and that no more rain was expected just as we were not expecting the arrival of the Minister of Culture either. Then we headed a few steps away to watch the acoustic performance by Thom Artway. Thom reminisced about Imodium and their first joint tour in 2016, and dedicated the song Many of Horror by Biffy Clyro to Thom. His probably best-known hit, I Have No Inspiration, was also included. He even managed to snap a string on his guitar, but since there were plenty of musicians around, he had several guitars to choose from as a replacement.

Imodium, a Family Shuffle, Guests, a Coffin and Booze…

And then came the highlight of the evening — Imodium took the stage. Of course, since this was a special birthday concert, there were plenty of guests. Songs such as Břehy, Divoká řeka and Kluci nepláčou were played. Thom's wife Žanet and Ondřej Potužník, a longtime friend and frequent guest of the band, joined them for Tajný lásky. Klub 27 was sung with Thom by his nephew Marthy, who is also an active musician(sings in the band VIVIAN).

Shortly afterwards, Thom's father was invited onto the stage. Thom had helped him release an album, and one of his songs, Mezcal, was performed together with Imodium. Former member Daniel returned to the guitarist's spot for this song. At the same time, together with Thom's nephew, they wished him a happy birthday and gave him a present — a case for a new guitar(which had not arrived in time yet), and a bottle of spirits. "A coffin and booze," as Thom commented.

The song Jsou první, jsou silný followed, performed completely in the original line-up — Kárl briefly replaced Adam behind the drums. Then came songs such as Tuláci and Severnské mosty, after which the final guest arrived — Thom's colleague from the radio and former singer of Ovoce, Pišto. He told Thom that his main gift was a pair of trousers, because Thom always used to go everywhere in shorts. A funny debate had recently been going around Facebook about how shorts do not belong on stage. Then, without the band, he at least sang the chorus of the song Koník, before joining Thom for the song Ruce se sejdou.

There was still Deset životů to come, which Thom ran down to sing acoustically among the fans. Before that, there was also one more toast  this time with Jameson. The whole set was brought to a close with the single Valerie.

A Birthday Gift? A Contribution for Cats and Dogs…

Since Thom is a good-hearted person who loves animals, he decided to organize the whole celebration as a charity event and support the Městský útulek Trója animal shelter. The money from ticket sales will be sent as a collective donation, along with the money that visitors were able to contribute throughout the day. QR codes were placed around the venue so fans could contribute instead of bringing a birthday present.

If you would also like to contribute and wish Thom a happy birthday in this way, take a look at the shelter's website. Since it is a city-run shelter, it cannot have a public transparent account, but we truly believe that material support would make them very happy. And if it is too far away from you, you can choose any other shelter that is closer to your heart. Every crown, and every single piece of kibble for abandoned animals, counts.

In Conclusion…

It was a celebration the owners of Sportcentrum Koráb will definitely remember — and not only because it was their final event. We are grateful that we could be part of this wonderful occasion, attended by a small group of the most devoted fans and a huge number of people from the music scene. The organization of the event was excellent, and the charitable purpose behind it was fantastic. Hopefully, a good amount of money was raised.

Here's to another 40, Thom!

Šári