My Buddy - Clark Terry

The great Clark Terry signs a Duke Ellington coloring book for my son, backstage at the Southern Theatre before a performance with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra.

Welcome to Behind The Cymbals with Tom!

Well here I go, a new addition to our new website, a ramble of people and places we encounter as we travel around rocking out in big tents. As many of you know, I am the quiet one of the band, so I though it might be good to climb out of my shell a bit, and not be so shy. Overtime I will try to recall some of the crazy encounters and plain old good times we have had over the last 25 years we have had being dangerous together.

It is the night before our first Put in Bay show of 2006. I doubt any my of my band mates sleep well before our first Beer Barrel Saloon show, I don’t. It is just too exciting, to know we are going up to that wonderful island again, rock the house, and begin our summer tour of some 40 shows in a row.

This year has already had some great, fun shows such as New Years Eve, at the Carousel Ballroom in Celina, with special guest comedian Michael Winslow. He was quite funny with his impersonations of many great guitar players, using nothing but voice and some effect pedals. He joined us for the last set adding his own fake guitar and real vocals. You might remember him from the Police Academy movies. Funny guy!

Another fun new venue for us was Camden Falls in Tiffin, which is a party/banquet facility. They put on a great Mardi Gras party, and we had a ball playing for the packed house. Big hello to Akron native Megan, who bought her father tickets to the Mardis Gras show for Christmas. Dad and wife Pam were all over the dance floor! Funny, I can’t remember his name!!

Congratulations to long time Hiney Gater, and Jazz Drummer Joe Farnsworth for receiving a Grammy nomination for the CD: Wynton Marsalis, Live At the House of Tribes. Joe is the drummer on this superb jazz album.