Thor Lindsay, Co-Founder of Legendary Portland Record Label Tim/Kerr, Has Died

Thor Lindsay, a longtime fixture of Portland's independent music scene who issued early recordings the Dandy Warhols and Everclear through his label, Tim/Kerr Records, has died. He was 59.

Originally from Minnesota, Lindsay moved to Portland in the late '70s, where he opened a record store, Singles Going Steady, downtown, and worked for then-fledgling concert promoter Monqui Presents. In the '80s, Lindsay co-founded Tim/Kerr Records with namesake Tim Kerr, initially to release a set of spoken word pieces by William Burroughs featuring accompaniment by Gus Van Sant. The label went on to release the debut albums by Dandy Warhols and Everclear, as well as recordings by Poison Idea, the Wipers and Pere Ubu, among many others. Two years after a distribution deal with PolyGram subsidiary Mercury Records fell apart, the label shuttered in 1999.

Perhaps its most famous release was another Burroughs collaboration, this time with Kurt Cobain on guitar, titled "The 'Priest' They Called Him." Lindsay maintained a friendship with Cobain until the Nirvana frontman's death—a photo of Cobain and Lindsay, allegedly taken 10 days before Cobain's suicide, is purportedly the last known image of Cobain taken while he was alive.

The Priest They Called Him from Eliana Nava on Vimeo.

On Twitter, the Dandy Warhols referred to Lindsay as "one of the most influential figures not only in our career but in our entire adult lives."

Lindsay's son, Tyler, has set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs.