Only a final letter apart from being a member of the John Thomas guitar army, John Thoman took over guitar duties in the Rain Parade from David Roback in 1984, one of few events taking place during that year which was not predicted in the famous George Orwell novel. The Thoman touch debuts on the Rain Parade's Crashing Dream from several years later. Shortly thereafter, Thoman also began performing and recording with bandleader Chris Cacavas, picking some nifty licks on productions such as Dwarf Star and Pale Blonde Hell.

The Rain Parade eventually drizzled its way into another group, Viva Saturn, helmed by original member Steven Roback. The somewhat sleepy feel of recordings made in the era prior to Thoman's enlistment -- when the group had been a brother band -- gave way to an emphasis on psychedelic guitar layers, the musicians shifting their home base from Los Angeles to San Francisco to seek a more authoritative jangle to their jingle. Matt Piucci, also formerly of the Rain Parade, was featured in this collaboration along with drummer Carlo Nuccio and three different bass players. Viva Saturn could not in fact be revived by the end of 1998. Thoman worked on a Piucci solo project in 2000 and continues to play with Cacavas. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi