My name is Andrew Thomas, though most folks call me by my initials, "AT." I have been playing music since age three and pursuing it professionally for my entire adult life. Throughout the years I have played and studied piano, voice, trumpet, guitar, drum set, electric bass, and various percussion instruments.
Presented below in list form is my personal account of the happenings and whatnots that make up the events, involvements, and peoples with whom I associate in music and beyond.
*My main instrument is the guitar; I am primarily a rock and blues player, though I have experience in and thoroughly enjoy many genres and styles.
*I teach guitar to wanting souls several days a week at an awesome place in Golden Valley called My Music Store . I've known the owner Jim since my youth, and the family-like atmosphere of the store is indeed very comfortable to work in. I've taught in one form or another since 1998, including summer school courses for the city of St. Louis Park and private guitar lessons. Somehow this rock n' roll kid turned into a mentor to others. Go figure.
*For many years I have owned a recording studio, first called Greenhouse Studios (1995-2000) and located in St. Louis Park, then called Soliton (2000-2008) and located in Bloomington, and most recently The Sandwich Shoppe (2008-Present) and located in St. Paul. My longtime associate and creative collaborator was veteran Twin Cities musician Jeremy Ylvisaker, who left the business in 2004. In my numerous years of studio experience I have worked and/or played on more than 300 unique projects. I also sometimes operate out of a small home studio and act as a freelance engineer and producer.
*I have played in several bands since I was a teenager. Throughout the 1990s I wrote, recorded, and performed primarily as a solo artist, but in more recent times that has taken a back seat to group projects, as I've found I very much favor interaction and collaboration. My current band-on-the-scene is AT/DT , which began as an exaggerated "mock rock" side project but later evolved into something more normal. My brother Dave ("DT") plays drums, one of my oldest and bestest friends Ben sings lead, and another old friend and musical comrade DJ plays bass. We enjoy tapping our rock n' roll roots for inspiration. I do continue to write and record solo music selectively, and I'll eventually see through to fruition an experimental/ambient studio project I've deemed Vampire Conspiracy. There is also this guy, Nelson May , with whom I am loosely related.
*I am a producer and music director with a film collaborative called Siege Perilous Films . We formed in 2002 around the production of a feature-length movie called revisions , which was the film school project written and directed by my good friend James Buffington. After lingering on in extended post-production, revisions was completed during the summer of 2008; it will be released in 2009, make appearances at various film festivals, and be available on DVD and for download online. Siege Perilous Films is currently considering new projects, including short films and music videos.
*I am a member of ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). In addition to studio, teaching, and band work, I write music regularly for other purposes, either with the intent of selling a song to another artist or producer or for things like film and television productions.
*In my "spare" time I like to assemble and build electric guitars. Each time I do it I dig a little deeper into the process. I appreciate the adventure of conceiving and creating something I will use specifically and functionally for my chosen occupation, and the end result is always very rewarding.
*I am a politically active individual and made a return to school a few years back to study political science. In an effort to not box myself up and maintain some level of objectivity, I avoid attaching specific titles to myself or my political views. If pressed, however, the term "progressive" fits fairly well. I take pride in being one who will always consider the opinion of others, though. It is a distant goal I have to one day, in some capacity, run for elected office.
*Baseball, Stanley Kubrick films, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Car Talk on NPR, writing, coffee, cheese and crackers, Windex, and excessive news intake are other things I enjoy. I am a pop culture sponge and will kill you in that subject area of Trivial Pursuit should we ever play together.
For contact information, regular news updates, recording studio queries, mailing list signup, and more, please visit:
www.andrewthomas.net
