Author: Tom

Clapton Is Good

As a guitar player who was a teenager in the 80s, when I just started learning the instrument, there are two players that shaped me more than everybody else, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton. Yes, I played along with…

Dio

I don’t feel I have to apologize for having a soft spot for Ronnie James Dio. I saw Dio in 1986 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on the Sacred Haart tour when I was 16. I’m that age where…

Pursuing the Muse

Alrighty, it’s go time. The trailer episode for my new podcast, Pursuing the Muse, has dropped. Pursuing the Muse is a podcast about songwriting. In season one I’ll be interviewing artists from around the country about their craft. We’ll learn…

Top Ten Albums of 2023

1. Andrew Bryant – Prodigal This is a deep, artistic statement from an artist who needs to explore his roots and we are privileged enough to be invited along for the journey.  Andrew resurrects characters from his past, visions from…

Degrees of Kool Aid

Now that I’m an old guy, concerts are a big commitment. The fact that I went to two this week is a Herculean achievement.  I saw Arlo McKinley Sunday night at the Old Town School of Folk Music.  I saw…

New Music

There has been some great new music coming out lately. Most recent is Ruston Kelly’s record that came out last Friday, “The Weakness”. This is some dark stuff with a lot about the fallout of his marriage breaking up. Yet…