By Joshua Encinias
Comedian and musician Whitmer Thomas hoped Gulf Shores would welcome him home with open arms.
“But the truth is, I wasn’t even in the Mullet Wrapper in Gulf Shores,” Thomas told Inweekly.
At 18, he moved to Los Angeles to become an entertainer, and months in California turned into years. Eventually, stories from his childhood made it into his 2020 HBO special “The Golden One,” which was filmed at the Flora-Bama.
Despite the national platform, the Flora-Bama didn’t really promote the show. It’s led Thomas to think he still isn’t well-known in Gulf Shores. But Pensacola knows him well, and he knows Pensacola.
Thomas is bringing his autobiographical comedy and music act to The Handlebar on April 12 for a headlining show in support of his new album, “The Older I Get The Funnier I Was.”
He would visit Pensacola for everything growing up—shopping at Cordova Mall, seeing bands play at the old Handlebar, finding new bands at East Hill Records (now Revolver Records) or even to eating at Chili’s or Hooters.
One of his most vivid memories of Pensacola is seeing Against Me! at The Handlebar with an audience of 20 people. Years later, he saw them play for a few thousand people in Los Angeles.
So when his brother Johnny told him The Handlebar reopened last fall in the same location with new owners, Thomas knew he wanted to play at the esteemed venue.
“The Handlebar was one of my favorite venues as a kid. I’m stoked they reopened and they’re down to have me,” said Thomas.
Growing Up
Thomas’ new album, released by Sub Pop Records, features a cover illustration that should be familiar to anyone who’s lived on the Gulf Coast for more than a decade.
There’s a scruffy little boy front and center; presumably, that’s Thomas as a kid. There’s a woman in an American flag bikini to his left and punks to his right. And don’t miss the raccoons and opossums snacking on the beach picnics.
“I always describe Gulf Shores as a place where all the black sheep of the Southeast go to raise their family,” said Thomas.
As a kid, Thomas loved its “hippie-dippy” vibe, citing his deceased mom, Jenny, “who just wanted to get fucked up on the beach while their kids skimboard,” as an example.
“I don’t know many people who’ve had an upbringing or a childhood like that, and I feel very lucky to have gotten to live that way,” said Thomas.
Jenny Thomas and her twin sister Jude Hammock lead Flora-Bama’s house band Syn Twister, where they played original bops like “He’s Hot.” You can even watch Syn Twister play the song on the YouTube channel for “The Uncharted Zone.” Phil Thomas Katt liked the group so much that he filmed one of their performances in 1990. “I always thought they were a cool band with some unique songs,” said Katt.
Thomas said that vibe he recalls so fondly changed when the Deepwater Horizon disaster washed globs of oil onto Gulf Shores. When the tide receded, so went that bohemian paradise, and when it came back in, a new vision for the beach town came with it.
According to Thomas, the new Gulf Shores was less accessible to locals. So the album art for “The Older I Get the Funnier I Was” is a tribute to the Gulf Shores he knew.
The Movie
As a kid, Thomas and his best friend Clay Tatum tried their best to get into trouble. They would skate all day, sneak into pools at hotels and condos, and go to Waffle House all night.
The boys were thick as thieves. At one point in the eighth grade, Thomas and Tatum’s parents were having some issues and had to move. Their parents rented condos next to each other for a few months, “which was a blast,” said Thomas.
The bond Thomas and Tatum developed as kids endured when they both moved to Los Angeles. And when the opportunity to make a movie presented itself during the pandemic, the duo turned to their ability to have fun on a budget into the hit indie movie “The Civil Dead.”
The movie follows a struggling photographer (Tatum) who just wants to watch TV and eat candy while his wife is out of town. When a desperate old pal (Thomas) resurfaces, his plans are thwarted with spooky consequences.
Their ghost story, which was made on a $30,000 budget, won top honors at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2021, earning Best Narrative Feature. And this spring, the movie was a hit at art house theaters across the country. Someone on Letterboxd said Thomas’ performance is the best take on the Joker they’ve ever seen, but you’ll have to watch the movie to find out what they mean. (“The Civil Dead” is available to rent or buy online.)
“We shot it deep in COVID, but it wasn’t as stressful as you would think,” said Thomas. That’s because their crew was never more than five people. Like when they were kids, Thomas and Tatum made something away from the watchful eyes of adults, but this time it was because the world hit pause.
The Stage Show
Thomas’ upcoming show at The Handlebar is basically a hometown show. He sowed his oats in Pensacola, so it’s the perfect place to bring his not-so “raw and unfiltered” show.
“It’s a joke when I call my show ‘raw and unfiltered,’ because there’s absolutely nothing controversial about anything I make,” said Thomas. “Agro alpha comics will say, “This show’s going to be raw and unfiltered. I’m gonna say what nobody else will!” And it always ends up being that they’re obsessed with non-binary people or some stupid shit.”
Raw and unfiltered isn’t the worst way to describe his music, though. After 10 years making music and comedy, Thomas thought it felt inauthentic if he didn’t talk about heavy things on stage like his mom drinking herself to death.
When he tried writing songs about his mom’s alcoholism, he would get sick of trying to build the stories with metaphor. A friend invited him to play at a comedy show but there was one rule—no stand-up comedy. So Thomas fused stories from his stand-up show with songs and just like that, he found his niche.
“My music isn’t necessarily comedy. It’s some sort of hybrid,” said Thomas. “I felt trying to be more poetic wasn’t earnest. I can’t get away with being too cool. It just doesn’t work for me.”
WHITMER THOMAS LIVE
WHAT: A night of comedy and music with Gulf Shores native Whitmer Thomas
WHEN: 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 12
WHERE: The Handlebar, 319 N. Tarragona St.
COST: $15 in advance, $18 at the door
DETAILS: whitmerthomas.com, thehandlebar850.com
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