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Tom Allen is a veteran musician with over 60 years of experience in the industry. Throughout his illustrious career, he has established himself as a true pioneer, pushing the boundaries of rock music with his innovative sound and electrifying performances. As the owner of a full-service studio, Allen continues to inspire and mentor aspiring musicians, leaving an indelible mark on the world of music. Additionally, Tom had an extremely successful 40-year career as a software engineer, owning one of the largest and most cutting-edge software/multimedia companies in the Bay Area. His role was not only to author software for Fortune 100 companies, but to also provide dynamic music and media for client marketing. This experience allows him to embrace current technology and offer his expertise to the music industry from a unique angle.
The impetus for the title track was actually based on my love for sci-fi movies. I wanted to do a concept song with the idea that space explorers crash landed on a planet that was ruled by eyes embedded in stone that were connected to a giant neural network. Crazy, but fun! I also posted a YouTube video for this song with some interesting computer artwork.
The rest of the album has songs that have been bouncing around in my head and that I've been wanting to record with my colleagues for a while.
I began playing when I was five and formed my first band at the age of seven – so I've played in a lot of groups. I started in cover bands, which is a great education for learning different genres. My parents bought me a reel-to-reel tape recorder when I was eight, and this began my love with the recording aspect of music. When I formed a power trio and toured with them when I was in my teens, my albums were original compositions in classic rock. My approach to music back then, being on the West Coast, was to be a shred lead guitarist. “He who plays fastest wins." Simultaneously, I was studying computer science in college and fell deeply in love with writing software and combining music and computer engineering into a career. I ended up being more of a session guitarist and doing industrials as opposed to constant touring. Fast forward 60 years, and the greatest thing I have learned is that less is more. Now, I am more into melodic playing versus shred. I am also a multi-instrumentalist with keyboards and drums.
David K. Mathews from Santana, one of the greatest keyboardists of all times and a dear friend
Bryan Bassett from Foghat/Molly Hatchet who not only is a fantastic musician but also a wonderful recording engineer and friend
Jeff Adams from Survivor and Starship who plays bass and has one of the best rock vocals out there
My good friend, Jon Cobert, who played with Bruce Springsteen and in John Lennon's band –an amazing multi-instrumentalist
Todd Sucherman from Styx and Thomas Lang --- both phenomenal drummers, and recently I collaborated with Pat Travers ---which was a bucket list dream come true for me
I wanted to hit a lot of different genres in this release. It's pure joy to explore different musicalities and it keeps me refreshed and from becoming stagnant. I also wanted to do a couple of heavy metal songs, which is my true love.
When I compose songs in my head, I hear every single part. It's enough to keep me awake at night and drive me crazy until I get it recorded. I will usually lay down a basic guitar-bass-drum track and then build from there, rerecording individual instruments and collaborating with the best musicians for those parts until it matches what's in my head.
It's the BEST! I've known most of these guys for a long, long time --- and to be able to record with them is truly an honor. Growing up in the S.F. Bay Area, I met a lot of people who were just starting out. It's great to see how far they've come in their careers, and it's been wonderful to maintain those friendships over the years.
I've always had a studio. I also founded one of the largest multimedia companies in the S.F. Bay Area. When I sold my company and moved to Connecticut, I built a studio on-site. Sharing my knowledge with younger generations and creating an environment of “vintage meets technology" for all the musicians who pass through my studio doors is probably one of my greatest joys. The music industry can be quite unfriendly to the individual artists these days, so my studio supports the indie artists who need and want an avenue and resource to learn and explore.
Watching the Swallows Fly is very meaningful for me because it's about my father's death. I didn't get a chance to say the things I needed to say before his health took a turn for the worse. I arrived at the hospital just as he was dying. It's still a very difficult song for me to play. David K. Mathew's on keyboards really helped to capture what I was feeling.
Low Blow is also quite personal because it's my response to a business partner who stabbed me in the back.
I wrote Bucket List about my wife, Laura, who is my rock, my everything. Having her in my life makes everything possible.
It's both exciting and frightening where music is headed. My biggest concern is AI. What happens to the creativity when musicians and engineers are replaced by a computer program? I embrace AI tools, but I do not agree with AI replacing the artists. As a software engineer, I totally respect what it takes to have AI accomplish those tasks, but as a musician, I have to disagree with the end results.
Moving to Connecticut and building my home on acreage by a lake keeps me inspired. StonyPond is filled with breathtaking beauty and nature at its finest, so I'm constantly at peace, which keeps me motivated. After I released Eyes of Stone, I put out five singles almost immediately because my mind wouldn't stop, couldn't stop, creating. I don't see this ever ending.
I love the distribution – the worldwide aspect where consumers can listen to my music from anywhere. The negative part, though, is that there is little to no compensation to the artist for these streaming services. That hurts.
My advice would be to play with as many different musicians as you can. Listen to all types of music genres and be open to all opportunities that come your way.
So many --- but John McLaughlin, Neil Schon, Carlos Santana, Tony Iommi, and Terry Kath all come to mind. These are people I've respected since my youth.
Also, the band Foghat that I've had the pleasure of knowing personally for the last decade. I've been a huge fan of theirs since I was a kid, and they've graciously let me perform with them on many occasions. I thank Roger and Linda Earl for that.
The best part of music is that the same piece of work can touch people in different ways. I would love for listeners to be able to relate to some of the songs personally. At the end of the day, I want them to leave humming some of the melody strands.
(chuckles) Well, halfway through working on the album, I had to have quadruple bypass surgery. It took months to get back enough strength to hold a guitar, much less play it. I'm glad that's behind me now, and I'm grateful that, because of the quality of care I received, I am healthy and able to keep making music.
I plan to keep releasing singles quite often, but another full album is probably not in the near future. I want to nurture my guitar students and continue recording while enjoying my grandchildren at StonyPond.
Great question! I'd have to say Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath. I consider him to be the father of heavy metal, writing some of the best riffs on the planet. He was a huge influence on my guitar playing, and collaborating with him would be the ultimate.
Depending on who I appear with or playing with my band:
Large Halls/Arenas: I use a Fractal AxeFX III through a controller pedal. All my amp models, effects, and scenes are preloaded and programmed for that show or band appearance. Output goes to the FOH console, and I get my return through either Wedges or IEMs. Pristine sound always.
Smaller clubs or appearances with Foghat: I used backlines of Marshall JCM 900s through dual 1960 Lead cabs. Full stack in larger rooms, ½ stack in smaller rooms. I use a Rattlesnake cable straight through to the amp, no pedals. I prefer Marshalls always when playing out.
At home and for recording. I have over 50 guitars in the mix, about 15 of them in constant rotation, so I will mention some of those I recently used.
Guitars I record with currently:
2002 Les Paul Standard
1997 PRS Artist III
2007 PRS Custom 24
1991 PRS Custom 24
Music Man John Petrucci Model
Nash Jazzmaster
1968 Fender Telecaster
1972 Gibson SG Custom
1968 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop
Music Man Sterling Bass
Gibson EB-0 Bass
Amps:
1972 Fender Super Six
1973 Fender Quad Reverb
Friedman Dirty Shirley
Dr. Z Junior Maz through a Bludotone 12"
1976 Mesa Boogie Mark 1
Marshall Vintage Modern (Was Peter Framptons)
Marshall TSL 100 X 2
All Marshalls are full stacks
GK Neo Bass System
Direct recording to console and effects:
Fractal Axe FX III
Kemper Profiler
Recording to:
32 Channel D/A convertors at 48k
32 channel D/A converters at 196k for film work
32 Channel Icon control Surface
Recording to Macintosh Pro into Logic X/
Full DW drum kit with vintage snare collection
Do you have to be a famous musician to be featured? No. Do you have to be a professional musician to be featured? No. Do you have passion about playing and gear -- oh and a verified Rattlesnake Cable Company cable user. Yes!
All you need to do is contact us and we'll direct you to our submission form. If your submission is approved, it will be in the queue to be showcased!
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