About
I was born in Washington DC in 1948 and grew up in Cheverly, Md. I graduated from Bladensburg High School in 1966, and in 1968 started a 20 year career in Prince Georges County Fire Department, retiring in 1988 and starting another 17 year span as a self employed newspaper distributor with the Washington Post. In 2006 I left that job and became a full time retiree, enjoying family and friends, golf, music, and traveling a bit.
The best gig in my life started in 1970 with the birth of my oldest son, then another in 1972, and a daughter in 1974. And the other best gig in my life began in 1998 when I became “Pappy” to the first of four grandchildren.
So looking back, I remember liking all of the music that my parents listened to, and my mom loved to sing along, especially harmony parts. I think that was a huge influence in what I mainly like in music, which is a nice melody and pretty harmony vocals. And then along came Elvis, so I needed to learn how to play guitar, right? I got a guitar for Christmas in 1959 and took lessons for a year or so, doing well but losing interest and giving in to the early teen year desires of more fun and less work! Then in 1970 my best friend gave me a guitar for Christmas. I remembered most of the chords from taking lessons, so as I relearned how to move amongst them I was able to start playing songs by James Taylor, John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, America, the sound of the 70’s. Then I fell in with some local friends of friends who played and sang and we became interested in bluegrass music. We rehearsed weekly, learned a lot and had a bunch of fun, played a few gigs here and there, but drifted apart as families grew and time for music became hard to find. I still love those bluegrass harmonies and that is a major influence in my music. In the mid 90’s I began to write and through the next few years wrote a handful of songs that I considered worthy to try at open mic venues in the area. They were generally well received and that was encouraging to me. During this time I crossed paths with a childhood neighbor who headed up an Irish band, and when I saw them perform I knew I wanted to be a part of Irish music. Their mandolin player soon left and I asked them if I could try to learn to play enough to fit in. They graciously agreed and 12 years later I’m still a proud member of TIPSC (Traditional Irish Pub Song Club) and still learning to play the mandolin! It is such a joy to make music with my band mates and watch people sing along and clap and dance and hoist their pints…pure joy! I much prefer the band setting to being a solo performer, and the friendships I have made through the years are priceless.
One of my wife’s customers is a music producer, and for Christmas 2018 she paid for a few recording sessions at his studio. The idea was to simply record my original songs for prosperity. Well then we thought wouldn’t some bass sound good in here, how about some drums here, what about harmony vocals? So three years and a pandemic later I am proud to offer I’m Your Huckleberry. It consists of nine original songs, one co-written with a band mate, and one traditional tune. From the first recordings of just me and guitar to this final product has been an amazing process with the help of some great supporting musicians and the genius of producer Marco Delmar. I am grateful for the support and encouragement of all who contributed to the project.
I am always thankful for my loving family and friends who have supported and encouraged me through the years in my musical endeavors, thank you one and all!
Cheers, Tommy