Jason Michael Thornberry (born 1971 in California) is a writer and musician who, after a severe beating, required months of hospital treatment, two-dozen casts, several medical procedures and over a year of intensive therapy before he could re-enter society.

A drummer, Thornberry was actively involved in music for many years, and with his band The Pressure

The Pressure

Formed in September 1996, mod-punk-noise unit The Pressure played their first show in San Diego. During their existence the trio lived crammed together in a tiny studio apartment in Costa Mesa, California, with their cat...

 he played a festival show with Eminem

Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...

, The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...

 and Blink-182

Blink-182

Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...

. His band was just about to bring out their debut album and begin touring when, on the day the album was released, Thornberry was in intensive care after being beaten nearly to death by gang members. He was in a coma for some time, while his assailants went free. Four months later Jason was released in a wheelchair. Within a year he was walking again, and started writing again, as he'd been doing since he was a child. He would continue to see therapists for a long period, having lost the ability to speak, eat, or use the left side of his body after the assault.

He returned to school following the injury and edited his college newspaper, along with contributions to The OC Weekly

OC Weekly

OC Weekly, a sister publication of both LA Weekly and The Village Voice, is a free, left-wing weekly paper distributed in Orange County, California and also in Long Beach....

, URB

URB

URB is a monthly American magazine devoted to electronic music, hip hop and urban lifestyle and culture. Based in Los Angeles, California, the magazine was founded in 1990 by Raymond Roker....

, Mean Street and more than two dozen online music magazines around the world.

Thornberry had been writing short stories and essays since elementary school, and spent his lengthy convalescence becoming reacquainted with his first love. Jason's style – a mixture of technical musical knowledge, wit, sarcasm, open-mindedness, and an often quirky sense of humor – has been seen in music magazines around the world, and it's only a matter of time until he's reached the notoriety he nearly gave his life searching for. Thornberry recently finished his first book, a memoir based upon his experiences in music, as well as overcoming a traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...

.

Discography

(This list includes musical artists with whom Thornberry appeared.)

• Pandemonium

Disturbing The Peace (1987).

• Lucy Fur

Lucy Fur (1988).

• The Fighting Bums

Gimme (1988).

• Powertrip

Powertrip (1990).

• SDBG

v/a The Raging Hessian Sessions (1991).

• Zad

Gratest Hits (1992).
Scenes From a White Trash Picnic (1992).

• Mulch

Nowhere to Climb (1994).
13 Dayz (1995).
Aces and Spaces (2008).

• The Pressure

My Heart Was Lost (1996).
The Pressure (1997).
I Wanna Call Someone (1998).
v/a Brother Can You Spare Some Ska Vol. 4 (1998).
v/a Al's Bar Compilation, Vol. 2 (1998).
v/a Styzine Compilation (1998).
v/a The Buddy List (1999).
Things Move Fast (1999).
v/a Orange County Weekly compilation’’ (1999).
v/a Sampler WE 20.0’’ (year?).

Journalism

Newspapers:

• The Coast Report
• The Orange County Weekly

Magazines:

• American Music Press
• The Blacklist
• Mean Street
• Mic Stand Magazine
• Skratch
• URB

Online:

• Adirondack Review
• Alternative Zine (Israel)
• Americore
• Aversion
• Beat The Blizzard (UK)
• Bendies
• Bite Me!
• Blistering (Canada)
• Buzzine
• California Pop
• Chaos Control Digizine
• Chaotic Critiques
• Cosmik Debris
• Crud (UK)
• Daily Vault
• Geek America
• Gepetto
• Global Hip Hop
• Inkblot
• Legion (Russia)
• Maelstrom
• Metal Crypt
• Metal UK (UK)
• Misfit City (UK)
• Music-Reviewer AMZ
• Open Up & Say
• Pandomag
• Punk News
• Rockezine
• Sweet Tea (UK)
• 2Walls

External links

• Orange County Weekly http://www.ocweekly.com/related/to/Jason+Thornberry
• Cosmik Debis http://www.cosmik.com/bios/jason_bio.html
• 2 Walls http://www.2walls.com/writers_jthornberry.asp
• Daily Vault http://dailyvault.com/reviewers.php5?id=41
• Mavis's Dream http://www.mandiapple.com/mavisdream/jasonreviews.htm
• Spock http://www.spock.com/Jason-Thornberry
• The Pressure's page http://www.myspace.com/thepressureisdead
• What Else? Records http://whatelserecords.com/
• Elastic Records http://home.att.net/~amin.ghashghai/
• Mulch page http://www.myspace.com/mulch19941996
• Bull Branch Records page http://www.myspace.com/mulchsq
• a Zad page http://www.myspace.com/zadisabandcalledzad