About Atomik Tommy

In the Beginning...

Music has been in Tommy's blood since he picked up a violin at 5 years of age.  In his teen years, he began to study the piano and finally the guitar.  He wrote and recorded his first song at 14.  His brother Dan played the bass, and Tommy sang and played lead guitar.

Deep Water

Tommy and Dan started their first "real" band called Deep Water.  Back in the day, there were lots of local places for bands to play.  School dances, the occasional house party, etc.  They began to gain a reputation for their loud concerts and their flashy pyrotechnics.  At Dan's urging, Tommy destroyed his brother's  bass "Who style" while opening for Tower of Power.

Thunderwing

Thunderwing was formed in 1972 as a power trio mixing the guitar rock styles of Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower infused with the British Glitter rock sounds of Mott the Hoople, Slade and Bowie.

The band went from a 3 piece to a 5 piece and then to a 4 piece while it gained in popularity.  A number of original demo songs were recorded at Tommy and Dan's home studio.

After Thunderwing disbanded, Tommy began to focus on writing songs with a solo project in mind.  During this time, Tommy was also able to work on a few unique projects like translating lyrics for the Japanese metal band Loudness. 

It was while he was helping to promote the band Loudness that Tommy hooked up with Mike Varney which lead to an appearance in Guitar Player magazine and an audition with Phil Mogg of UFO.

UFO

In late 1983, Tommy moved to England and began writing songs with Phil and bassist Paul Gray.  This  lead to the reformation of UFO.  They began touring in late 1984 and released the album "Misdemeanor"  in 1985. 

Soul Motor

After returning from England, Tommy played with a number of local bands before joining Soul Motor with longtime friend Brian Wheat.  They recorded two albums together and toured the US in 1999.

Tommy has performed and recorded with many artists over the years including Bobby Womack, Frank Hannon, and Tommy Tutone.  He has also done studio work in both the US and UK.

Various other projects have come and gone and Tommy decided it was time to return to his roots - Thunderwing.