T O M S

You Gotta Check Out This Music I Made

2011-03-25T00:24:00.001-07:00

A New EP

"The Dirty Soul Revival"

http://toms.bandcamp.com/album/the-dirty-soul-revival

check it

-Tom(s)

Weeks End

2011-02-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

hope everybody had a good weekend. let me contribute to your thoughts with some music. I bought some cds today. Here's one of the songs from one of the cds:

don't forget where you came from:

I played a basement gig saturday night, a grand old time. check out some of it:

"little wing" - Jimi Hendrix - Toms

Now I will take this space to provide you with a very special 'then and now' glimpse into the unfolding of time. Here is something that will provide you with another signification of time's passage. In my eyes We are perpetually progressing cyclically like a cosmic flower constantly unfolding itself, constantly blooming. Bloom-field. Mike Bloomfield. But dig this! here are two videos of the same song played with a year in between them.

"big machine" -Toms in 2011

"big machine" -Toms in 2010

Now be about your business! i love you

Tom(s)

Friday Joy

2011-02-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

Asanteni!

I hope that your happiness levels are steady if not increasing. I also hope that you're making a positive impact on the Earth that we all live in. I also hope that you are nourishing your soul with a healthy dosage of the Funk.

Let me give you a brief update on what's going on with my own personal musical endeavours:

Currently I am 85% finished with burning the 50 demo cds and then I will enter phase 3 and send them out across the USA to those of y'all who messaged me an address to send it to. Sorry it took so long, but unlike 'roots' I've been tediously burning each cd by hand which is a very toilsome process, but I do it because I love you. But if you want to get your address on the mailing list, act promptly, for sendoffs commence soon.

Also I've got 5 performances around san francisco lined up for next week, and more forthcoming. Hit me up if you're in the area and want to come check it out. As of now I'm not sure what the setlists will consist of, but I do know that the shows will be acoustic and will potentially incorporate slide and harmonica usage. I'm going to aim to mix it up set-wise every night, and perhaps if videos are taken, I'll throw them up on the blog.

Here's some music:

Sly and the Family Stone, a Jam

My Morning Jacket with a nod to the Band

Some Who tomfoolery

That's all for today, keep the funk train rollin'.

Habari!

Tom(s)

Love Wednesday

2011-02-23T20:10:00.000-08:00

Habari ya jioni!

it's the middle of the week, February is winding her way down. Here are some songs that you can listen to in order to soothe your soul.

Let me show some love to Josh Homme and the Queens straight outta Joshua Tree:

His Highness:

Love to the Parlor Mob and their hot rockin' jams

that's all I got for now, thank you for reading listening and being

love

Tom(s)

Latter February, President's Day Special

2011-02-21T21:50:00.000-08:00

Everybody!

I am sorry that I have been away from the blog; I have spent the weekend rambling and only now do I find myself in front of the keyboard. I hope that everybody is happy as time gradually unfolds for soon it will be March which means a much-awaited Springtime in the year 2011. Now that some time has passed, I have some things to share with you:

one of the most prominent modern bands, the Radioheads: they made a new record and released it this past week. check out this oldies act, Gnarls Barkley, do a rendition of an 'in rainbows' track. I would attest that this video is evidence for Cee-Lo's talent as a singer.

Alright now check out this song. that's Jorma Kaukonen, legendary bay area musician, playing guitar on this Jefferson Airplane number off of their 'surrealistic pillow'.

Some of the best music advice you'll never hear:

Let it be known that P Sizzle and I recorded a video for the weekly cover song round 2, but due to uploading troubles, it'll come later in the week. I still love you though

Peaze!

tom(s)

Funk Awareness Wednesday

2011-02-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

Ninataka muziki marafiki!

hello everybody how are you doing. thank you for reading these words. I earnestly hope you have come to read these words with the intent of excavating external soul stimulators by way of audio soundwaves and Soul transmission furthermore. Namaste!

to begin, Sacred music from Pakistan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, please listen to this when the time is right

Fela Kuti, utilizing the 2-5-1 chord progression

the Boys, be sure to catch Trey on his tour in the Spring

of all the posts thus far, let this one be proclaimed! to be the most 'eclectic (of all previous posts, of course)'.

we love you tonight!

tom(s)

Tuesday

2011-02-15T20:58:00.000-08:00

Habari ya jioni Marafiki!

it's tuesday night and rainy in san francisco, I hope everybody is keeping each other warm with friendship, that's what counts. take some time now to open your mind to some songs that i've come into contact with currently and maybe just maybe if we hear the same music we can sync up onto the same vibration and coexist harmoniously, you dig?

check this out: the godfather of soul, James Brown. listen to this song, it contains the number one sampled rap beat. you can hear it when James breaks the band down in the middle of the song.

two records I listened to today: 'apostrophe' by Frank Zappa and 'let's take it to the stage' by Funkadelic. my groove levels were sufficiently nourished throughout the duration of the day.

alright so now that we're knee deep in the Tuesday Swing, let me show y'all what's been happening here: my friends from back in st louis Nick and Kyle have been playing music in the Regis Colorado area, they threw this video up on the facebooks today, I checked it out, and now I'm sharing it with y'all

well that's all I got for tonight. let it be known that I am pursuing a job as a guitar teacher at a music store 'round these parts, and I am excited about it. other than that all the news is nzuri.

kwaherini!

tom(s)

san francisco stormy monday

2011-02-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

this is whats up right now: allman brothers

let it be known that I have entered a phase, let's title it 'ZAPPA'

today I watched the flaming lips' documentary, 'fearless freaks'. I have struck newfound love. check it out if you're down with the lips

rollin' round in your hot sweaty love,

tom(s)

week's end, sunday

2011-02-13T13:55:00.001-08:00

check out this howlin' wolf song; check out this howlin' wolf record. the name of it is 'the howlin' wolf album'; it came out in 1968 I believe, a most joyous time for music. but you see this particular howlin' wolf record should be contrasted only against his contemporary Muddy Waters' record, 'electric mud.' both records feature the backing of psychedelic studio group Rotary Connection, and they most certainly lay it down.

what's more interesting about these records is that both Muddy and Wolf are traditional electric chicago bluesmen, the real bridge between acoustic down-south blues with the rock and roll from the late 60s and early 70s that we all know and love. needless to say, these records came late in the careers of both Wolf and Muddy, and with influence from the psychedelic blues sounds of acts like Jimi and Cream, Muddy and Wolf, blues greats, responded like-such:

howlin' wolf was reported to have expressed that he was NOT in fact down with the usage of wah-wahs. typical traditional bluesman, ya dig? be careful because this music can do things to you.

be sure to check in on the blog regularly to get your daily dose of blues jams, i love you

tom(s)

saturday night

2011-02-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

here are some songs to rest your weary bodies and souls at the end of this week

rest in peace, lowell george:

rest in peace, nick drake:

rest in peace, gram parsons:

take some time to listen to these songs, they know how you feel.

somebody out there loves you,

tom(s)

Friday

2011-02-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

habara ya asubuhi!

as i write this it is friday morning and I am sitting in san francisco. today I would like to share with you some of this:

music

if you haven't heard, Sam 'iron and wine' Beam made another record. you can definitely discern his songwriting style, but the real breath of fresh air is the addition of the full band arrangements. i think he's touring with the full band as well. if he comes to your city I'd recommend going to the show, it'd be real good.

New:

Old:

movie

the other night we watched this movie that came out in 2009 called 'enter the void.' I must admit, netflix was acting up quite a bit during the viewing; it would stop randomly and take a minute to re-buffer, which I must add was rather undesirable. never the less, I've never seen anything like it. here's a first-hand testimonial.

"(Enter the Void) Doesn't fuck around! It's a movie for adults!"

-Poor Yorick

"a mind-fuck"

-Gabe

also shout-out to P duffy for the viewing. check out a trailer:

book

let it be known that I am a Duane Allman devotee. I really got into the Allman Brothers band heavily last year around this time, when I gave 'live at the fillmore east' a good long listen. also I started to really check them out; the influence of the Allman Brothers is so profound- in my eyes they're one of the ultimate bands. needless to say Duane is a fascinating character. in terms of guitarists, he has certainly influenced me extraordinarily.

thus, I picked up a biography him, I think it's one of the few. it is quite interesting and I thought I'd share it, in case any of y'all would be into things like Duane and the Allman Brothers.

listen to what they sound like, this is off of their second album I think it is- one of my favorite Allman songs. When you're ready, check out 'whipping post' off of fillmore east. then you'll know.

well hey that's all for now, I hope you dig these things that I share, I love all y'all. listen to a song I made:

Asanteni!

tom(s)

extended blues edition

2011-02-10T13:11:00.000-08:00

thursday, ankle-deep in the blues. the music in this post comes from America in the more fledgling years of the 20th century. historic sounds resonate in the fibers of the bluesmen voices; expressed with the utmost emotion.

here is john lee hooker in 1965, delta blues, notice how he only uses one chord

also find the TOMS in the background, can you dig it?

and then charley patton, a throwback. blues forefather

and now our Jimi doing a pumped up howlin wolf rendition- the White Stripes do a version of this song too, and, if you'll heed, the lyrics are also the source of a Zeppelin pilfer, namely "the Lemon song", ya dig?

it is important to be well versed in your Blues

jivin and hi-fivin,

tom(s)

thursday

2011-02-10T01:01:00.000-08:00

marafiki sana-

check out some blues music. it is imperative that the tradition of blues music be kept alive in these times. in my human eyes, i have grown to see the blues as being the ultimate expressive music. the influence of the blues is staggering to say the least, and the history furthermore is fascinating.

take some time, listen, let it soak into your mind.

live,

tom(s)

songs to check out, wednesday's editon

2011-02-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

habari za mchana!

let it be known:

i am a devotee of the fleet foxes. I must admit, I am jazzed that they are releasing their long awaited second LP as well as supporting it with a tour this coming spring. check them out if you haven't, lest you miss out on some of the music that's paving the way for the future.

in between their first and second records, the foxes' off-season if you will, Fleet Fox himself Robin Pecknold (the front-man) released some recordings under the alias of White Antelope. my main man tim hipped me to Robin's endevours (by way of the maiden emily, of course) and I was reassured that Robin's musical gifts would not be left to be lost to the recesses of time.

homebabys, hear his cover of this old tune 'silver dagger', and be sure to notice the way that His voice resonates with Your soul.

now isn't that just lovely? Joan's got this next one.

in honour of this song and it's legacy, I did a rendition of 'silver dagger' alongside one of my own compositions, 'lyric of limerence' at a show I played in st. louis in january. the quality isn't the best, but I must pay my respects to Robin and Joan and everybody everywhere always.

dig it! :

music is the best. be good to yourself, and get lay down with the Fleet Foxes if you haven't yet.

subalkheri!

tom(s)

2sday

2011-02-08T10:57:00.001-08:00

namaste, marafiki!

it's all brisk-like in san francisco today, let me tell you. still no complaints from myself, I must add. this is what it sounds like in the city today:

marafiki, be sure to check out WEEKLY COVER VIDEO no. 1 that was posted yesternight, it's a nod to one of my favorite albums by one of my favorite bands. everyone is welcome to suggest song ideas for next week's WEEKLY COVER VIDEO no. 2.

furthermore, if y'all are looking for a swell movie to tickle your fancy, be sure to check out BLACK DYNAMITE. it's teeming with the funk, it's definitely at least 4 times your daily funk dose compacted into one feature length film. check it out, turkeys.

namaste for now, tom(s)

"just another day at the Office"

WEEKLY SONG-COVER VIDEOS no. 1

2011-02-07T23:01:00.000-08:00

yesternight and today i watched the documentary "stones in exile", which delightfully captures the times in which the Stones recorded their legendary "Exile on Main Street." I remember back in '09 when my St. Louis mates and I really started to dig exile. now-a-days I try and re-visit with it every once in a while, as it has become one of my top records of all time. not to mention, the Stones occupy a most special place in my soul.

having all this music fresh in my brain, I decided it necessary to pay my respects to the Stones by my first of the weekly song-cover videos, "torn and frayed" is track number 7 off of Exile.

here, dig it:

and then:

Be sure to check out next week's cover video, love love love

O but wait I almost forgot

2011-02-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of Joyce, let me put up a video of one of my songs that I made in like December.

or if you want, you can listen to my record that I made this yaer. Or the one I made last yaer. Or the EP I made in between the two. Any way you spin it, I love you.

Habari!

2011-02-07T19:20:00.000-08:00

san francisco is nice in february, i live in san francisco. i also can read and write and sing; some of my more advanced technical abilities include knot-tying, knot un-tying, and Swahili.

from henceforthe i will post insights and invitations of the machinations of my everyday meddles and twidds. pray holier!

-tom(s)

also hear some music,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSpKLgwcXD8