Currently based in the Austin, Texas area, Tom is a native of northwest Louisiana. His first experience in organized music was in this same Austin area playing snare drum in the marching band at Del Valle High School. His parents got some relief from him playing on the counter tops and furniture surfaces with butter knives by enrolling him in the marching band. It was during marching band season when Tom went to audition. The band director, Mr Farris, knew that he couldn’t read music and had him mimic simple rhythms that elevated to more complex rhythms. He passed the audition under those circumstances and Mr Farris gave him instructions to listen to the other drummers and have the pieces down completely before he joined in. So throughout the entire marching band season this is how he operated. His family moved back to Louisiana after he finished the ninth grade at Del Valley, Texas. At his new school, Notre Dame High School in Shreveport, Tom continued his music activities in both the marching band and choir. In his last two years of high school, he was first chair snare drum in the marching band. Also while in high school, he played in bands that performed in nightclubs and juke joints from northwest to central Louisiana. He was the youngest member by far and would have to be vouched for by the older members in order to play in some of the clubs. During the last three years of high school he played in several different bands including Soul, R&B, high school show bands as well as Rock & Roll and Rock bands. After high school, it was off to college for a couple of semesters and then his first stint in the Air Force as a weapons technician. For a couple years Tom was a spectator and fan of live music in particular. That would change while in Germany. He was invited to a jam session just outside of Bitburg where he was living at the time. He drove an old village where he found all the players set up in the barn and had a great time playing again. About a week or so later one of the people from the jam session asked if he would like to hear the tape of the session and of course he did…and he did. To the standard of playing he was used to for himself, it sounded terrible. A decision had to be made at this point. Either quit right now or buy a drum set and practice….a lot. He bought a drum set and practiced…a lot. Eventually found a band and soon was performing in clubs around west central Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland. The band members were also all in the Air Force. Not too long after he joined the band, they got wind of a competition for off duty bands. They entered the competition and kept winning until they wound up in England for the European finals. All the best off duty bands from their regions in Europe were there, which came out to six bands total. Tom’s band tied for first place and went to the finals in San Antonio, Texas for the ‘Tops in Blue’ competition. The contest had performers in 14 different categories ranging from comedy, drama, pop, jazz, hillbilly, vocal and instrumental. To list just a few distinguished members from the judging panel over the years…Barry White, Les Brown, Richard Roundtree, and Esther Williams, just to name a few. This was really big and cemented Tom’s decision of what he was going study when he went back to school once he was discharged. Unfortunately their band did not win a spot for “Tops in Blue”. Tom finished his enlistment and when he returned to Louisiana he enrolled in a Lakeside Music School. A little late for that semester when he arrived back in Shreveport. So he filled in that time by attending Southern University’s local campus as a liberal arts major until the next semester when he was accepted and admitted in the music school. Tom’s studies included operating principles of music, music theory, ear training, music composition, lab band performance and music business fundamentals. While attending school Tom was a not only a member of the top lab band, he was also a member of the faculty band as their drummer. Mainly by default since there was no faculty member for percussion. But the faculty band saw him as more than an ample candidate to fill the bill. Also he taught private lessons on Saturday mornings. This was a special feat starting at 7am after performing most Friday nights until 2am. Tom played in night clubs in and around Shreveport for a couple of years. But the pinnacle job he landed was with a house band on in the Waterfront area as the drummer for Mikki Honeycutt and Valhalla. At the time, both David Egan and Michael Johnson were members of the band. It was a rich environment and provided a wealth of needed knowledge and experience for Tom and he loved and relished every drop. While attending school, Tom and his wife had their first child. This was a good thing all around until little Tomy was two weeks old and developed a severe, incapacitating spinal infection. Long story short, Tom and his wife evaluated the situation and arrived at the logical conclusion. He would have quit school and find a job in order to pay the mounting medical bills. As he was contemplating this one afternoon on his way to a recording session, the guy who hired him noticed there was something not quite right with Tom and inquired before the session began. Tom explained the situation and the guy responded…I’m in the Air Force Band. That’s what I do. I’m a musical soldier; a musical ambassador in the band 100% of my time in the Air Force. He told Tom that he could set up an audition for him and that this would allow him not only continue with his music career but also tend to his son’s medical needs. This one incident was the right time, right place and right direction sign if there ever was one for Tom. The audition was set, passed and all that was left was deciding where he wanted to be assigned. He chose the Seattle area and spent the next eight years with the 724th Band of the Northwest touring all of Washington State, Oregon, Northern California, Idaho, western Montana, British Columbia and even Hawaii a couple times. While in the area, Tom performed with several other groups and did a bit of freelance studio work as well. Country, Rock, Jazz Fusion as well as bands that played all original material…he considered himself a chameleon. Learning to speak the different dialects of music in way that reflected a sound amount of comfort and familiarity. This is what Tom did until the dreaded urinalysis test that was positive for THC. It’s something he did in his down time. Not the smartest move given that this definitely had the potential to end his time in the Air Force Band and have a serious financial impact his family. With the Air Force Band not in the picture, Tom worked construction for a while and played music mainly on the weekends. Shortly before being discharged from the Air Force, he had been putting some time into songwriting. He submitted material to music supervisors in the Seattle area as well as to his close friend Michael Johnson of The Killer Bees in Austin, Texas. Michael picked up a couple of his songs and was performing them live..a test run if you will. After about nine months of working construction and playing on the weekends, the call from Austin happened. Michael Johnson called and explained that The Killer Bees had split and the label wanted him to front the new band Michael E Johnson and the Killer Bees and offered him the job as their drummer. No brainer right. Tom made all the arrangements to sell his house, mange the children’s situation (as he was in the middle of a divorce and had custody of the children), soak up all the reggae music that he could and get to Austin. While in Austin Tom performed with Michael E Johnson and the Killer Bees, (One Nation) formerly Tribal Nation, Root One and a host of other bands as a freelance drummer. When he wasn’t performing he was also a house manager for the Austin Opera House, Stage manager and organizer for The Marcus Garvey Festival, organized a fund raiser in conjunction with the Red Cross for flood victims, Sponsor for Clinician and Instrument maker Odis Johnson (Percussionist and Expert in African Rhythms) and worked with local African Dance Troop as percussionist. All the while Tom has contributed not only his musician skills to the bands he performed with, he also handled merchandise, contributed to song writing, solicited sponsors for tours, assisted and booked bands, and organized fund raising events. Although he contributed material for recording with Root One and received some regional airplay, Tom was still aching for more time to concentrate on song writing. He developed a good sense for identifying and maintaining the soul of songs, speaking the dialects and infusing the unfamiliar on a familiar bed so it became attractive. Before you knew it, you had accepted all the nuance of the not so familiar and looking for more. Putting these practices to the test while performing his material live gave him the canvas that reaped instant response for what worked and what needed to be worked on more. That brings us to now and the current project that Tom has just completed. After being an integral part of helping others realize their dreams, now he’s working on his dreams. NEVER2LATE by his band IIKUID eKLEKTIK, his first solo project and whose title has layered meaning, is a collection of material that Tom refers to as World Hybrid. Heavily cultured melodies, rhythms and instrumentation served on a semi-contemporary platform. He goes into multi-instrumentalist mode, records and mixes the entire project. Although this, like all music, is not for everyone…everyone will get something out of one of the twelve songs. The collection is a fairly broad spectrum bound with tight rhythmic construction and attractive melodies. This is the first collective work of several that will follow on the road of songwriting for Tom. Keep you eyes and ears open…look and listen for FOREYES, LOUISIANA MINT and PAPA “T”…all bands that Tom works with and writes music for. Tom has looked forward to this moment and now that it has started, the page has turned and we’re now into the next chapter.