I am the drummer for the NY Thrash Metal band THE JUDAS SYNDROME. Please check out our website at WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEJUDASSYNDROME .
I also play and collect BC Rich
USA hand made guitars (not the import shit!).
Check out the portal to my madness here at TOM's BC RICH GUITAR PAGE .
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And now for some info about me cause after all this is "MY SPACE" and I can ramble if I want to!!!
My musical life story from the
beginning:
For those of you who may not know this, I've been a guitarist/bassist for much longer than
a drummer. I started playing bass back in 1986. Shortly after picking up the bass I
realized that guitar was even cooler because I could write my own songs. This eventually
led to me purchasing the 2 best tools a musician could ever buy - the drum machine and the
4-track (I highly recommend any musician to buy 'em). I started writing songs and
recording them playing both the guitar and bass parts. The songs varied from straight up
rock to blistering fast thrash/death metal. I searched for other musicians to form a band
but this usually led to nothing more than a few jam sessions and hanging out/getting
drunk. In the early 1990's I got my first semi serious band together playing guitar with
friends Mike M. - drums (ex Mortician ),
Doug D. - bass ( Splitbolt ) andChris S. - guitar/vox.
It was straight up rock and we played a few talent shows and battle of the bands. Our set list consisted of originals and cover songs from Metallica and Tesla to name a few.
When that band fizzled out I started working with a singer named Eric Camacchio (where the hell are you now?) somewhere around 1995/96. We wrote a few kick ass rock songs together and got a halfway decent 3 song demo together. It was around this time that I decided to purchase a drum set. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time since they always fascinated me. I fiddled around with them a little and made my earliest attempts to record live drums. I continued to get more involved with recording and building up my own home studio.
In 1996 I became friendly with the Steve, Tony and Chris of Red Vianna. When they told me that their bassist quit in late fall '96 I jumped at the opportunity to audition since they were my favorite local band at the time. I made the gig and played with them through the summer of 1999. Stylistically they were comparable to Life of Agony meets Stone Temple Pilots. We had gotten some pretty good shows opening for such acts as Coal Chamber, Life of Agony and Overkill to name a few. This was the one band that made the most impression on me. I had found a true home with them and I loved the music more than anything I had ever done. I will always cherish everything I did with them. While I was part of RV we released the "Sky Eyes" 5 song CD and I co-wrote much of the music on the follow up CD which I did not perform on. The band folded shortly there after. Currently Steve and Tony have joined forces with Phil and Rob formerly of Mercury Bath to form My Own Lucifer while Chris was hitched up for a brief period with Only Hell Remains .
In 1999 while still in Red Vianna my long time HS friend Ray and I formed Enemy Dawn as a mere side project. This was the first band where I was drumming. We picked up our guitarist (Sab) from their prior band Idiot Syndicate and decided to keep it a 3 piece band with Ray performing vox/bass. This band was to become my main project after my departure from RV. I recorded a 5 song CD with ED in my basement studio. Three of the songs from this recording were released officially by the band later down the road. I eventually switched from drums to guitar in ED and we found a new drummer (Jon) to replace me. After a strange falling out, I made my exit from ED in 2000 virtually putting a halt to my musical career. Frustrated and burnt out I decided to quit music all together. I packed all my music gear up and got it out of my sight. It was time to re-evaluate my life so I focused on my career for a while. On a side note, Enemy Dawn has evolved into the band No Affiliation .
About a year and half later (in early 2002) I started getting the itch to play again. I began practicing my chops and jammed with a few friends. Then long time friends of mine Chris and Alex (Afflitus) gave me call and asked me what I was up to and if I'd be interested in joining Afflitus on drums (this was at least the 3rd time I was asked). I was already a friend and a fan so it was a no brainer. I always gravitated toward listening to heavier faster stuff so it was a perfect fit. I had also helped them out in the very first incarnation of Afflitus by producing/recording the original "Angels Now Ashes" demo. Afflitus
Backtracking just a bit to 2002 I also had joined forces with Fast Eddie as their original guitarist. At the time it was a side project for everyone involved. The music was so different from anything I had done prior that it really caught my attention. I was involved with them for about a year and performed on their "Put On Your Rubbers" CD. As Afflitus and Fast Eddie both got more serious I had to choose and FE and I agreed to part ways. Fast Eddie is still going strong and are now a Jagermeister sponsored band. Check them out!
The next chapter begins in Fall 2008 with formation of The Judas Syndrome ! Check out the MySpace for the lastest updates and offerings...
In addition I've played with many other bands and musicians along the way, the above are just the ones that are the most note worthy!
Tom's Musical Discography:
2008 - THE JUDAS SYNDROME (TBA)
2006 - AFFLITUS "...fall where they may" (performed drums)
2005 - Bronx Underground "Our Scene is Cooler Than Yours" Compilation CD: AFFLITUS "Fail Me Again" (performed drums), 4 IN THE CHAMBER "Solution" (performed drums)
2005 - AFFLITUS "Promises You Can't Keep" (performed drums and various)
2003 - FAST EDDIE "Put On Your Rubbers" (performed guitar)
2000 - ENEMY DAWN "S/T 5 Song Demo" (performed drums and various)
1998 - RED VIANNA "Sky Eyes" (performed bass)
** If anyone is interested in obtaining copies of the RV or ED cds please let me know as I do have some originals left collecting dust! The AFFLITUS and FAST EDDIE CDs are currently available through the band websites.
So there ya have it! Thanks for being
interested enough in my musical past to read this! I would also like to add that as you
may have noticed the scene is really connected from one band to the next. It's always been
about the music so help keep the scene alive. The journey continues!
Cheers!......
TOMMY
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