two ghosts, one bedsheet

Jex Thomas

Writer, game designer, nonbinary parent, mental health worker, occasional artist and photographer, sometimes musician, always anarchist. Enjoys TTRPGs, movies, TV, fiction, comic books, loud music, and cats (despite being allergic). Lives in Milwaukee, WI with their spouse, two cats, and their child, a literal goblin. They/them.

Writing

An as-close-to-complete-as-possible list of my published work. There is some older work that seems to be lost forever, but I’ll continue to update either as new pieces are published, or I continue to find old ones.

Tabletop Roleplaying Games

  • Bump in the Dark

  • Hunters, Inc.

  • EMBERS (work in progress)

Music Writing

  • Best Milwaukee Music series (elmwood-townhall.com, ongoing)

  • Milwaukee Noise Fest 2010 (Third Coast Digest)

  • Zola Jesus (Fan-Belt)

  • Quest for Fire (Fan-Belt)

  • Lightning Bolt (Fan-Belt)

  • Liars (Fan-Belt)

  • BzyBodies (Fan-Belt)

  • Holy Fuck and Nice Nice (Fan-Belt)

  • Freaks Come Out (Fan-Belt)

  • Psychedelic Horseshit and Aluminum Knot Eye (Fan-Belt)

  • Cartilage Party and Sonic J (Fan-Belt)

  • Realicide (Fan-Belt)

  • The Congress: Jungle Mercies (Mung Being)

Non-Fiction, Essays, and Reviews

  • Lately I Dream About Angels with Molotovs: ‘Rogue One’ and the politics of hope(lessness) (Medium)

  • Review: Seconds, by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Medium)

  • The Wolf and the Dead: Telltale’s Perfection of the Adventure Game Genre and the Push to Make Games Something More (Medium)

  • My Pull List: Week of July 2, 2014 (Medium)

  • Review: Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (Third Coast Digest)

  • Milwaukee Film Fest Review: Happy (Third Coast Digest)

  • Know Milwaukee: Outwards Books (Third Coast Digest)

  • Review: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Reall His Past Lives (Third Coast Digest)

  • Riverwest Social Action Center Becomes Reality (Third Coast Digest)

  • Ghosts, Lies, The Devil’s Drink & A Shining, Stately Moon (Mung Being)*

*Note that this is by a long shot the most pretentious thing I’ve ever had published

Fiction

Coming soon

Poetry

  • Scorched Earth Love Song #2 (Mung Being)

  • I Vow (Mung Being)

  • Cities (Mung Being)

  • 2nd Floor Bathroom, Curtin Hall (Mung Being)

  • Experimental Cinema (Mung Being)

  • A Prayer for the Wobs (Blue Canary)

  • Ten Vignettes (Mung Being)

  • New Beginnings (Mung Being)

  • Bro-Torch, with A. Bill Miller and Scott Emmerich (Mung Being)

Music

Discography: EPs, Splits, and Full-Lengths

With links as available.

  • Lamb’s Legs - A Dozen Torsos Within Spitting Distance (2016)

  • J. Ebben - “Men” b/w “Song For Red Wing’s Daughter“ (2013)

  • Lamb’s Legs - SUMMER OF LAMB’S LEGS (2013)

  • Lamb’s Legs - Drinks Bats Milk (2012)

  • J. Ebben - Songs With No Home (2012)

  • The Spur & The Long Lost - Early Demo (2011)

  • Dear Astronaut - Escape from Rainbow Mountain (2010)

  • Dear Astronaut - The Death Mountain Tapes (2008)

  • Dear Astronaut/The Spur - Dark Agriculture (2008, reissued as J. Ebben)

  • Sonic Typewriter - His Rotten Milk Smells Like Gasoline (2007)

  • Dear Astronaut - Owls (The Capital of Forever) b/w Sandstorm (unreleased, 2007)

  • Dear Astronaut - The Dark Forest (2007)

  • Dear Astronaut - Attic Songs (2007, reissued as J. Ebben)

  • Dear Astronaut - Songs from the Closest of Light & Swords (2006, reissued as J. Ebben)

  • KTWMD - Kill the White Man Dead (2003?)

  • Antithesis/Cachexia - split (2002?)

Live Only Projects

  • Toad Throat

  • Kindergarten Litterbox

Further Information

Lamb’s Legs - guitar, noise - 2011-2016
AV Club sez:The latest product of Milwaukee’s penchant for freewheeling local-band incest (band members have done time in Dear Astronaut, Mother Orchis, Disguised As Birds, Stock Options, Bored Straight, etc.), the band Lamb’s Legs taps into a damaged, lower-class sense of musical urban blight that calls to mind the ugly proto-punk of Pere Ubu. If the demons in Dave Thomas’ head found a new, ripe vessel in which to take up residence, it’d likely be vocalist Bjorn Severtson, who flails and barks over the Factory Records-music bed of songs with titles like “Legomaniac’s Kiss” and “I’m Not Married To The Tedium” like a caged animal being experimented on with Tesla’s abominable AC power. These are vocals less reliant on content than they are on mood—and good thing, too, since Severtson himself yelps, “The lyrics don’t matter anyway / You’re not meant to hear them / Don’t listen!” on the hypnotically paranoid “Sunburned Thighs.”Still, Severtson is simply amplifying the paranoia and tension already present in the darkly pulsing rhythms of bassist Dan Agacki and drummer Kevin Demars as well as Jeb Ebben’s discordant guitar scrapery. It’s sometimes Joy Division, sometimes Birthday Party, and always moody and driving, with a lo-fi (but not half-assed) aesthetic that matches the bands getting name-checked in each Lamb’s Legs riff. There’s just something about a classic end-of-verse pause followed by a one-two-three-four stick click; in the aforementioned “Topping Topsy,” it’s employed in classic fashion, except that the rapid-fire punk beat that follows the opening dirge is in 6/4. Ooh, tricky.
http://www.lambslegs.comDear Astronaut – guitar, vocals, organ – 2004-2010
Noise/sludge rock with literate and sometimes mystical lyrics, taking musical cues from all over the fucking place. Played hundreds of shows (including a 2 week East Coast tour with Pink Reason and a Midwest tour with Partisan) with some of the best bands around and released several albums that I am very proud of.
http://www.dearastronaut.comToad Throat – guitars, effects – 2009-???
Improvisational drone/noise project led by Frank Knaebe (Dear Astronaut/Partisan) featuring a revolving cast of players. Picked up where Sonic Typewriter left off.The Spur & the Long Lost – guitar & backing vocals – 2009-2010
Project started with Charlie Hoehnen after Partisan broke up. Originally consisted of Charlie, myself and my brother Josh. Recruited Bob Schaab (of Cartilage Party) on drums. Josh left the band and was replaced by Scott Emmerich (Dear Astronaut/Partisan). I left the band in mid-2010 to devote more time to writing and I was replaced by Frank Knaebe (Partisan/Dear Astronaut). Really great band with an excellent live show.
http://thespur.bandcamp.com/Sonic Typewriter – guitars, effects, all kinds of things – 2006-2009
Improvisational noise project led by Scott (Dear Astronaut/Partisan) featuring a revolving cast of players. Released one CDr, His Rotten Milk Smells Like Gasoline. Played a couple dozen shows including two years at the Milwaukee Noise Fest.
http://www.myspace.com/sonictypewriterKTWMD – vocals – 2000-2004
My first “real” band that played “real” shows. Political hardcore/thrash with screamy vox. Lyrical content dealt with typical subject matter: the war in Afghanistan, how letting your kids play with toy guns is probably a bad thing, President George W. Bush, punk rock being a fucking joke, that kind of thing. Released one demo (originally under the name Antithesis) and one rip-roaring full-length that clocked in at about 20 minutes. Pretty proud of that one, though some of the lyrics are fairly embarrassing. Oh well. We also played on a float in a 4th of July parade once.
https://killthewhitemandead.bandcamp.com

Elmwood Townhall Records

Releases

Elmwood Townhall was a small record label ran out of various bedrooms and basements, 2005-2016.

  • ETH 014 Lamb’s Legs - A Dozen Torsos Within Spitting Distance // digital

  • ETH 013 J. Ebben - Men b/w Song for Red Wing’s Daughter // digital

  • ETH 011 Lamb’s Legs - Summer of Lamb’s Legs // CD, digital

  • ETH 010 Lamb’s Legs - Berserker (single) // digital

  • ETH 009 Lamb’s Legs - Drinks Bats Milk // CAS, digital

  • ETH 008 Dear Astronaut – Escape from Rainbow Mountain // CAS, digital

  • ETH 007 Gridworks Collection Project – Gridworks 2k8, A. Bill Miller // DVDR

  • ETH 006 The Spur/Dear Astronaut – Dark Agriculture // CDR OOP*

  • ETH 005 Dear Astronaut – Owls/The Capital of Forever b/w Sandstorm // 7″

  • ETH 004 Sonic Typewriter – His Rotten Milk Smells Like Gasoline // CDR

  • ETH 003 Dear Astronaut – The Dark Forest // CDR

  • ETH 002 Dear Astronaut – Attic Songs // CDR OOP*

  • ETH 001 Dear Astronaut – Songs from the Closet of Light & Swords // CD OOP*

*Re-released digitally under artist name J. Ebben instead of Dear Astronaut