Jimmy Jam and Tom

Michael Bolton and Tom

Jon Bon Jovi and Tom

To all the drummers out there, this man needs no introduction. Having played with Chick Corea, (and all of the Electric Band members solo albums) Mike Stern, the Buddy Rich Band, Simon and Garfunkel reunion, Madonna, and many more, Dave Weckl is in my opinion the absolute best drummer on the planet today! This picture was taken at The Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, Georgia, where my electric jazz ensemble Liquid Blue opened up for the Mike Stern Trio featuring Dave Weckl. Since this meeting, Dave and I have kept in close contact, and he has been a great friend and a wonderful source of undying inspiration for me. Dave, thank you.

 

Vocal genius Debra Lou Killings

Pictured with me here is the lovely Debra Lou Killings. Her vocal genius can be heard on countless albums and record projects including TLC, MONICA, TONI BRAXTON, OUTKAST, ABC, PEBBLES, JOHNNY GILL, PAULA ABDUL, MADONNA, ETERNAL, various motion picture soundtracks and more! In this session, we were in a Nashville studio working on songs for her debut solo project with Dallas Austin at the production helm.

Meet Joi! She is one beautiful and talented singer who I had the pleasure of playing drums with on her newest CD. The first single entitled "GHETTO SUPERSTAR" is used in the motion picture WOO which features actress Jada Pinkett Smith and Actor Tommy Davidson. Check out her live show when she comes through your town--she's really got a look and sound of her own!

Here we are outside of the NBC Studios just after taping the Leno Show. Behind us is one of many sports cars that Jay owns. I saw the speedometer on this ride--it goes up to 200 mph! I don't doubt it one bit that this car could go at least that fast!

Me and Terrence Trent Darby

Here, I stand with the one and only Terence Trent D'Arby! Terence was here in Atlanta at Dallas Austin's studio where we were working on some tunes for his new album. I must say that his songwriting skills and vocal abilities reflect the true genius within him, and on top of that, he is a genuinely kind individual.

Meet the beautiful and talented Lysette! Lysette is a wonderful singer and songwriter for many different artists around the country. The music video for her single entitled "Young Sad and Blue" is getting air-play on BET, and the song landed on the Billboard charts! Currently, I have the pleasure of being Lysette's musical director whenever she performs live.

You will remember N'Dea Davenport as the singer for The Brand New Heavies. Well, now she's stepped out on her own with full support from her label V2 Records to pursue a solo career. This shot was taken just outside a studio on Music Row in Nashville where we were laying down tracks for her new album.

Standing beside me is bassist-extraordinaire Adam Nitti. Adam and I have been friends for about 10 years and have played together in many different situations. Since our meeting, Adam and I have collaborated and recorded three CDs of our own special blend of contemporary jazz, and we both teach at the Atlanta Institute of Music. A sound byte from the title track to our most recent CD entitled Skitzo is available on my SOUND BYTES page. Check it out!
 

View of 20,000 fans from my perspective onstage with TLC.

Salt'n'Pepa stopped by to visit during a session, and we ended up playing an impromptu version of one of their newest rap tunes. For that type of playing, I usually use the Peter Erskine 4X10 mini snare. That drum has the most incredible high end "pop" when you tune it up--perfect for hip hop.

Me and the Yamaha Drum Elite
Allow me to introduce my Yamaha Representatives! Starting from the left: Joe Testa--Arist Relations Manager based in California; Sumiya Katsumi--Drum Export Section Manager based in Japan; (Me in the middle!); Hagiwara "Hagi" Takashi--Founded YAMAHA DRUMS; and finally John Messerschmidt--Southeastern Regional Road Rep based in Georgia.

 

Behind me stands Dallas Austin. Not only is Dallas one of the most highly acclaimed producers in the music industry, he is also a really good drummer, and we trade ideas in the studio quite often. This picture was taken during a session where we were simply checking out all of the sounds in the DTX trigger module, deciding which of the sounds were our favorites and would later be combined to make complete kits.

Diana Degarmo And Tom

Hangin' out with John DeChristopher and John King at Zildjian!
Here I am with John DeChristopher (left) and John King (right) representing the world's greatest cymbals of all time! John DeChristopher is the artist relations manager at the Zildjian Company and is the man who brought me into their family. Thank you Johnny D! John King is the legendary Product Specialist at Zildjian who helps all of us artists really define and fine tune our sound. With his help, I was able to choose the perfect cymbal setup for the TLC gig from the 110,000 cymbals contained in the famous Zildjain Vault! Everyone at Zildjian really made me feel like I was part of their family.