ATKINSON — Atkinson’s fire chief uses one ax to fight fires and another to shred on stage with his Ernie Ball five-string bass.
His two worlds will collide, however, at 6 p.m. June 13 when the Annie Brobst Band, a Danvers-based contemporary country act, takes the stage at the Kimball Library courtyard, right next door to the fire station on Academy Avenue.
Brobst was named the female performer of the year at the New England Music Awards in 2022 and 2023. Chief Erik Thomas is the bassist in her band.
His fire department will hold a fundraiser during the concert and cook hamburgers and hot dogs to benefit the Atkinson Firefighters Association while he’s on stage plucking his bass.
While being a full-time chief and musician have been a part of his identity, he’s kept them separate. He’s Thomas the bassist when he performs, not Chief Thomas who plays the bass.
“I want to be there on stage on my own merit for my playing ability rather than be a firefighter who plays,” Thomas said.
“But when you’re in emergency and fire services for your whole life, you need something in your life that’s not related to this to decompress,” he added.
From working as an EMT, lifeguard, ski patroller, firefighter and fire chief over the course of his career, he said it’s easy to get immersed and feel there’s no way out from things experienced every day. First responders can develop PTSD just from what the job entails on a daily basis.
“Doing something outside of the fire service and outside of emergency service is just important for your psyche,” Thomas said.
“There are times in your life where you’re playing with a group of people and you’re all in this zone something synergistic happens,” Thomas said. ”You’re on a whole other level.”
The 52-year-old first picked up the strings in third grade. Although, it was the violin back then in New Jersey as part of a school district program.
He decided to continue playing the violin, but also started playing bass guitar about a year later.
He played violin for the New Jersey Youth Orchestra until he was 18, before switching to bass when they needed a bass player and Thomas was tall, he said.
He’s played in the New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra and Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra with his background in classical music when he moved to the state in 1994.
As he entered schooling for paramedics, he picked up electric bass as he didn’t have enough free time for classical music.
He began playing in blues bands across New Hampshire, hanging around the music scene in different venues and bars. He’d fill in when needed for various bands covering genres like original acoustic and country.
A few years ago, things changed when he ventured into country music.
He remembers one night playing in Laconia, opening for Annie Brobst.
Annie Brobst and her husband, Ryan Dupont, approached him to fill in for some gigs and the rest is history.
After a few months, he became a full-time member of her band.
That first full-time gig was two years ago in June and has opened the doors to new experiences such as playing at the House of Blues in Boston.
Those have been some of his favorite shows and he’ll be there again on July 20 with Annie Brobst.
The venue hosts different acts for a few hours after big Fenway Park shows for people coming out of the early curfew shows to hear some more music, and for free.
For Thomas, there’s no other atmosphere like it as the stage shakes and the sound amplifies from the speakers.
“You get to stand on a stage where so many people have played,” Thomas said. “And the sound is so huge. The bass is huge and you can feel it in your whole body. It’s a whole thing.”
Thomas said it’s easier to play music now that he’s fire chief in Atkinson.
Before, he’d have to take time off to play a show with rotating 24-hour shift schedules into the weekend. As chief, he now has time for 40-hour work weeks and full-band sets on show nights.
His double life as a bassist is about passion and the joy he finds in that five-string bass, Thomas said. Playing with Brobst, he recognizes he’s not the focus and it’s about allowing her talent to shine while he gets to live out a dream.
“I’ve been around music my whole life and played in a lot of different bands and she just is so talented,” Thomas said.
“I’m just the guy standing in the back of it.”
Other local shows include a spot in Salem, New Hampshire, on July 19 at Tuscan Village and July 24 at the Danvers Summer Concert Series at the Peabody Institute Library, 15 Sylvan St., Danvers.
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