Tom Hambridge

Tom Hambridge - Balderdash - 2000 - Artemis

Though he may wear a touch too much make-up in his press shots, there is no prettied-up B.S. on this post-Wreckage rocker from T.H. Instead, Tom and a very talented band of rock and bluesmen (and one special blues woman) throw together a baking dozen of passion-rooted rock that make some question whether or not they're in Boston anymore. Aside from a pair of loose affiliations with Aerosmith ("Fever" and "12 Inches") and the support of local "monsters" and Stompers like Mike Welch, Sal Baglio, Duke Levine, Brother Cleve, Tom West, and a certain Ms. Tedeschi, Hambridge shows more upstate edge and recently-acquired Nashville twang than Berklee cleanliness. "Big and Empty" may be, but the lascivious rock-a-bye "Rachel Fay" is far from an obvious lullaby. "Boneyard" creaks and crunches with fibular firmness; "Gas" pumps like a runaway V-8, and the singular duet "Opposites Attract" has not even the slightest scent of DJ Skat Kat. Though Susan T. brings even more transplanted Southern fire to her four cameo tracks, Hambridge's self-cover of "Rock Me Right" digs through his blues-stained throat and deep into his rock & roll soul. Matthew Robinson © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/balderdash-r503030

Buffalo, N.Y., native Tom Hambridge's solo debut is a rockin' good time, with no illusions about its nature: folk and country influences aside, it is a rock record through and through. Hambridge has a gravelly, strident voice and pours it fully into every track, from the tortured "Strong Enough" to the country-inspired "Opposites Attract," a duet with Grammy nominee Susan Tedeschi, to the stripped-down straightforwardness of "Fever." Hambridge began his musical career as a drummer and plays all the drums on Balderdash. Playing drums rather than guitar lends him a different perspective on music and makes the 12 tracks he's written on this record original. They have a rhythm to them that is centered around the heartbeat of his drums. He teams with Tedeschi a second time for a power ballad called "Long Way Home." Their voices are perfectly suited for this kind of tortured love song, which still has an upbeat drum track and screaming guitars. "Big & Empty" sees Hambridge on drums and tambourine, with a bit more sadness in his voice. He softens his tone to showing his range as a vocalist as he sings about a relationship breaking up. Hambridge adapts a lullaby he sang to his oldest daughter in "Rachel Fay" -- as unlikely as it sounds, he's turned it into a kickin' ode to "my little redhead girl." He searches for a place and a woman to call home in "Highway," featuring Tedeschi again on background vocals. The flow of the record falters a bit towards the end, with "Rock Me Right" and "12 Inches"; he sacrifices originality for rock 'n' roll heroics. On the whole, this is a strong record -- the songwriting is good and the music is part good old rock 'n' roll and part modern pop/rock. His music harkens back to an earlier era of pure rock, while the majority of his lyrics fit with the more complex themes of modern popular music. © & by Rachel Jagt 8 July 2001 http://www.rambles.net/hambridge_balder.html

Although "Balderdash" leans towards the "commercial" rock side, it is fundamentally good old fashioned Rock 'n' Roll, in the Bob Seger mould, and worth a hearing. "Monster" Mike Welch helps out on guitar and Susan Tedeschi on vocals. If you are not setting your expectations too high, this is quite a good and enjoyable rockin' album. Check out Tom's "Boogieman" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Gillian - Hambridge 3:37
2 Strong Enough - Hambridge 4:04
3 Opposites Attract - Hambridge 3:32
4 Boneyard - Hambridge 5:29
5 Fever - Hambridge, Hull 4:32
6 Long Way Home - Hambridge, Nicholson 4:10
7 Big and Empty - Hambridge 4:03
8 Rachel Fay - Hambridge 3:17
9 Highway - Enik, Hambridge 3:12
10 Gas - Hambridge 3:30
11 Rock Me Right - Hambridge 4:51
12 12 Inches - Baglio, Hambridge, Moore 2:35

MUSICIANS

Tom Hambridge - Drums, Piano, Tambourine, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Monster Mike Welch - Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Rick Harris - Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin
Milt Reder - Guitar, Sitar
Billy Loosigian, Duke Levine, Ducky Carlisle, Sal Baglio - Guitar
Brad Hallen - Bass
Tom West - Organ (Hammond), Clavinet
Brother Cleve - Clavinet
Susan Tedeschi - Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Bill Carr - Vocals (Background)

SHORT BIO

Drummer Tom Hambridge grew up around New England, eventually attending Boston's prestigious Berklee School of Music. Upon graduation, Hambridge's reputation for active (almost maniacal) gigging landed him on stage with Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, the Coasters -- whoever happened to be touring through the area. Aside from playing drums with traveling legends, he also led the regionally successful T.H. & the Wreckage and later produced and wrote several songs on Susan Tedeschi's 1999 album Just Won't Burn. Moving to Nashville, Hambridge recorded and released his debut solo album Balderdash in 2000. © Zac Johnson © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-hambridge-p153396/

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"Tom is a wonderfully talented musician, who has an amazing gift for writing hit songs." (Susan Tedeschi). MUSIC ROW MAGAZINEE - Hambridge is a super roots rocker on his new Bang n' Roll CD. He is making noise in Music City as a producer, drummer and passion-packed vocalist. As a songwriter, he has cuts by Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Thorogood, Delbert McClinton, Buddy Guy and Susan Tedeschi, as well as country acts such as Jeffrey Steele and Keith Anderson. If you love Seger, Springsteen, Mellendamp and Petty you're gonna dig Bang n' Roll. A lot. What do Susan Tedeschi, Johnny Winter, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Delbert McClinton, Buddy Guy, Van Zant, George Thorogood and Shemekia Copeland have in common? Nashville-based triple threat, two time Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer/singer-drummer TOM HAMBRIDGE. As a songwriter, Tom Hambridge is on fire. Tom wrote five songs on Lynyrd Skynyrd's CD Vicious Cycle and has a song on Skynyrd's platinum-selling THYRTY greatest hits collection on MCA. Tom co-wrote two songs on Keith Anderson's Arista CD including his Top 5 hit "Every Time I Hear Your Name" which was the 15th most-played song on on country radio for 2006. Tom has 3 songs on Van Zant's gold selling debut release and has 3 songs, including the title track on their new release, My Kind Of Country and he wrote Van Zant's latest single "Goes Down Easy". Tom has a song on Rodney Atkins platinum-selling debut release, If You're Going Through Hell. He wrote 4 songs on Delbert McClinton's Grammy-winning CD Cost Of Living, has two songs on Jeffrey Steele's Outlaw, two songs on Susan Tedeschi's recent live CD and a song on Shemekia Copeland's The Soul Truth. Tom's song "I Fell In Love", sung by Susan Tedeschi, is featured in the film and on the soundtrack for the new movie "Bug". As an artist, Tom Hambridge has released four solo releases: 2007's TOM HAMBRIDGE AND THE RATTLESNAKES LIVE (Black Rose Records), Bang 'n Roll (2004/UTR Music Group), 2000's Balderdash (Artemis Records), which had two Triple A hit singles and 1996's Still Running. Tom has toured with Willie Nelson, Kiss, Black Crowes and Lynyrd Skynyrd and has recently been touring as Buddy Guy's special guest. As a drummer, Tom has recorded and/or toured with the HANK WILLIAMS JR., James Taylor, Ben Orr (The Cars) and Bo Diddley and has appeared as drummer/bandleader for Chuck Berry, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Roy Buchanan. As a producer, Tom has worked with some of the best in the business. In 2005, he received a Grammy-nomination for his role as producer of Johnny Winter's I'm A Bluesman. He's worked in the studio with Delbert McClinton, Jonny Lang and Lynyrd Skynyrd. In addition to producing Susan Tedeschi's platinum-selling Grammy-nominated disc Just Won't Burn , Tom wrote Tedeschi's Top 10 Triple A hits "Rock Me Right" and "It Hurt So Bad". Tom Hambridge did production work, sang, played and wrote 4 songs on the new George Thorogood and the Destroyer's The Hard Stuff, co-writing the title track with Thorogood. © 2000 - 2010 The Avedis Zildjian Company Inc. All Rights Reserved http://zildjian.com/Artists/H/Tom-Hambridge