|
But enough of that...
Small town America: I was raised here, I live here, and will die here. And that's ok with me. The foothills of Appalachia are not the most prosperous place to live – or maybe it depends how you define prosperous. It's a good place to live.People here wave and speak to you whether they know you or not. We don't get all the conveniences and high tech as soon as the cities, but we make do. City folks might think we are a little backwards here in Perry County, Ohio. But the way I see it, "Small Town America" is the blood and guts of this country. We live in the heart of the eagle and are proud to be who we are and where we are – and we know we're blessed to be born in the greatest nation on planet earth. I have loved music all my life. I grew up listening to the music my parents listened to, everything from Bing Crosby to Elvis, old player pianos, sing alongs, and church hymns. Then came The Beatles, The Stones, The Bee Gee's. You get the picture. I actually started playing the harmonica at an early age, and didn't pick the guitar up until I was in my early twenties. Song writing came soon after. It just felt more natural playing my own music. I never liked the idea of trying to sound like somebody else. Any of you who have heard us play over the years know that I'm not afraid to play original material, and I think you will be familiar with most of the tunes on the CD. In fact, some of these songs go all the way back to the late 70s. I felt obligated to include certain older songs on this disc since it's my first bonafide release in all these years. I have come to realize that time is not to be taken for granted. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. If I was going to leave something behind for my children and grandchildren and those of you who have come to know my music, I better be gettin' it done. Of course, this is not the only motivation: in the end, its all about the music. I hope you enjoy!
A Little Bit About My Friends And Family
There are many people to talk about! I'd have to be crazy not to mention the people who have supported and played beside me all these years. I guess you don't realize how hard it is to put into words how much you appreciate the people who surround you till you actually have to do it. It would be easier if it were a song. I don't have a problem singing but it seems like I always step on my tongue whenever I have to talk.My wife Lynn has always supported my love for music. All the late nights – lets face it, musicians only come out at night. All the trips to Jasper, Indiana to make the CD. All the ups and downs and trials and tribulations, all the struggles and all the discussions about the CD. You know I imagined it would be done in a couple weekends, maybe three trips to Indiana. It was more like a dozen trips over 18 months. It almost drove me insane but she never let on... She just kept saying, "It'll be OK Tom. It'll be worth it in the end." And I suppose it will. Tim Harman. I feel like this project belongs as much to Tim as it does to me. We co-produced the CD and Tim has put his heart and soul into this thing. Tim engineered the whole project, not to mention playing all the off instruments. Piano, dobro, bass, electric and acoustic guitars, electric slide, keyboards and backup vocals. With his computer skills he also helped design the CD cover. (He lets me take credit for some of it but he was tappin' the keys.) Like he said when we started this project, "One stop shopping." Of course, he let me supervise everything he did so he had me to put up with also. Not that I'm that bad – but Tim is far more picky than I am. . . John Kokensparger – Kokie to most people. I called John up one day out of the blue and asked him to play on this CD and he didn't hesitate. So we set a date and off we went. We spent a week out in Jasper, Indiana getting the rhythm tracks down; John played drums on all tracks. It's 330 miles one way to Jasper so that shows you the lengths John went to – plus he took a week off of work to do it. But I just couldnt see this CD without John. I've played with John for years, off and on, and I couldn't imagine anyone else but John doing the drums. He worked his butt off and also became the KING OF TRIVIA out in Jasper. (You'll have to ask him about that, because Tim and I were busy in the studio that night.) Ronnie Padgett, "The Smokeman." You'll understand what I mean if you ever see him play! My style and Ronnie's sometimes seem to clash but I think that makes an interesting combination. Ronnie is a rocker at heart, and rock for rock he can bang with anyone. There were a couple of songs on the CD where I wanted to hear Ronnie's style of playing so I was pleased when he agreed to play. He too went 330 miles to play on this CD. I kept saying to him on the way out and back "Dammit boy, you're going a hell of a long ways to play two songs." We'd laugh. Ronnie spent a weekend doing this for me. It was right after 9/11, and a very weird time. We felt just as sick as everyone else, and it was hard to feel like it was worth it, but we got it done, and Ronnie smokes the leads with his typical fire. The kids. . . From the outset I wanted to include my kids on this project. They've been singing with me as far back as their memory goes and I feel very blessed to be able to include their family harmonies. We had a lot of fun getting it done. We didn't get them in on every song but I'm more than satisfied with what we did considering the time restraints. Tim pushed them hard up into the wee hours of the morning both nights they recorded. Jeff, Angie, Jenny, and Rod Barnette (my black haired son) worked long and hard to contribute. I think they were all hoarse by the time we headed back home! By now you know how far it is out to Jasper, but the trip out and back was as much fun as getting the work done. A weekend to be remembered for sure. Shawn Burgett. I've chatted with Shawn throughout this whole project. Shawn has about eight CDs under his belt (at least half of them his own), so he knows all the frustrations one can endure along the way. After I blew out a reed in a blues harp in Indiana, and had to order a new one, we recorded the harmonica part for Nothin's for Sure down at Shawn's Ohio studio and then I put it in the mail and Tim put it in the mix out in Indiana. Shawn was very generous about giving advice, doing some research, and giving some tips along the way. Shawn is a hell of a musician and a songwriter in his own right so his advice and experience are very helpful and much appreciated. I hope to work with Shawn in the studio in the future.
Email Me!
tomthumb43764@yahoo.com
Links to Other Sites
My Links |
