~No Doubt's guitarist, who's originality and by no means typical style of music, has never followed the path of normalcy in musical discovery, style, or even in day-to-day life.
~One of the earliest influences Tom had was The Beatles, whom he discovered in his elementary-school years. A small while later in his life, he discovered the edgy yet soothing sound of heavy metal bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Kiss.
~Tom was born on January 11, 1968, and since then has lived in California (all his life). He now lives in Long Beach, California, just down the streey from other No Doubt band member, Tony Kanal. Since moving there, he has developed what has been comically called, his 3 new addictions. These are surfing, home-decorating, and the collection of old radios.
~Being so original, or rather, different, it was never out of the realm of possibilties for a man with his background of heavy metal and hard rock and early infulences of Rush Lifeson and Deep Purple's Richie Black, a band based on the ska and pop genres.
~Wondering about the chain of events that took place in order for Tom to be placed among the other talented artists of No Doubt? Well, at 21, (in 1989) Tom played for a heavy metal band at bars with personal friends of his and the other band members being his only audience. He finally got up the courage to leave that band, getting tired of playing his childhood idols music. A week after he quit, he answered a flyer that was put up by No Doubt asking for a new guitarist, after the original one had just left, coincidentally because No Doubt worked out of the same studio that his previous band practiced in. He won the position after his first try-out, and here he is today, playing lead guitar in the best band of all time!
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