It's no secret that my reviving this blog in the wake of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and quarantine situation that I have sat down and rediscovered new music. Not just the national acts, but I have been delving more into the local, obscure, aspiring artists and bands. In fact a look at my current SNS 100 playlist shows that two artists hailing from the Garden State hold the top two positions on the list: The Outcrops are on top for a second week, followed by Paul Czekaj at #2. With Christina Alessi (#6 this week), C. Lynne Smith (#17) and Donna Missal (#20) in the top twenty, the Top Debut from Elise Farnsworth, and an add for the national pop star Halsey; and expected adds next week for the latest from ScreenAge and Kjband, I have been delving into many talents from in and around New Jersey.
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| Tom Corea in April 2020 |
But perhaps the one artist that deserves and warrants mention is one that I have followed since I started my blog almost ten years ago. Heck, make that since High School. He has definitely had a long journey which has taken him from playing in fledging bands, and brushes with music legends, to taking a bar band and taking them to the next level, to creating his own studio in his home, complete with a makeshift studio ensemble which has charted in various state surveys, all this while managing a family and household which included bringing up and caring for an autistic son.
That artist....and friend....is Tom Corea.
Tom has been mentioned so often here, and his various bands and support for other local artists has been well documented (and well as a fixture on my playlists over the years). I have tried to lend support for a few "home grown" acts by doing features on them in past blogs; two of them were Hazelton PA's Shannon Marsyada, and Paul Czekaj from Flanders here in New Jersey. When Shannon released her recent album, Oceans, I did a tribute and entire blog on her, and was able to use information from her website and various posts. I did the same for Paul when he released his video for "The Painter of the Sky", as his website had much of his background and his own brushes with Jersey legends.
After receptions for those two artists went thru the roof with their friends (both of whom are Facebook friends), I thought about Tom. Last year, another friend and drummer, Mitch Lilien, who himself has been playing with various bands asked Tom for a favor, which Tom consented with. Mitch posted on social media a big "thank you" and pretty much described Tom's situation with all he was going through. Sort of a life story thing, which gave me an idea. As I tried to do some research, I came across an article about Tom and his wife Carol in a Morris County newspaper, about their efforts in raising their autistic son.
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| Tom Corea (center) performing with the Roselle Park High School Marching Band in 1973 |
Having played with Tom in band class in high school, upon graduation, I had lost touch with him, only to reconnect during the social media area. I knew he was part of Bad Attitude, a band which played clubs in the North and Central Jersey area, and his studio outfit, The Hounds of Winter, but I didn't know what he had been up to during that thirty-five year gap. I was curious, so I made the decision to ask him some questions as I told him I wanted to do a feature blog on his career. Little did I realize that he had a lot going on and many adventures in his musical life. So here is his story; excerpts from his responses that he e-mailed to me a few months ago.
BEGINNINGS: Tom will be the first to admit that this is a "cliché" of sorts, but he, like other young, inspiring artists, saw The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964, and definitely wanted to go into music. He took up the drums and got his first kit at the age of 13. While he was drumming alongside other friends like Mitch, and the late Jimmy McGuirl in Band class, he was also looking to join or start a band. Unfortunately, the Roselle Park music scene at the time was limited to two bands (English Creek Road, Wheatstone Bridge); neither was looking for any new members. Undaunted, Tom decided to form one with kids from neighboring towns and schools, and by 16, he was able to do so. One of his guitarists for a short time was Joe Germanotta, who is probably more well known these days as the father of Lady Gaga.
Tom Corea graduated from Roselle Park High School in 1975 and entered Kean University, in nearby Union, with a major of music with the intention of being a music teacher. He studied under renowned percussionist Paul Price. At the same time, he became a part-time staff member at the school, while also taking up theater (he was also a technician, his second love). While he wasn't able to complete his music degree (he eventually did as a theater major, graduating in 1980). his music experiences starting kicking into gear. His job at the school enabled him to work with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Meat Loaf, Foreigner, Peter Gabriel, and the legendary Jersey artist Les Paul.
JAMMING: Tom's first taste of touring was as part of a Who tribute band called Dr. Jimmy and the Who Show, contracting with an agency which also booked fellow aspiring locals at the time, such as Twisted Sister and The Good Rats, often playing the same bills. He also spent time as a session drummer for another local band, which made two videos that got some airtime on the local channel U68, in the early 1980's.
Things began to change for Tom during the latter half of the 1980's, as he started playing with bands with original music. One night he was jamming with a vocalist named Jamie Heath and developed a friendship with him. Heath's band was doing okay on the bar circuit, but he often complained that they lacked a decent drummer who was a good fit. In 1993, in spite of advice from Corea to find a young drummer, Heath recruited him instead. The name of the band: Bad Attitude. Despite the fact that Corea would be the oldest member of the band, it was a great move on Heath's part; as it elevated the band from just an ordinary bar band playing covers and the occasional original to one that would take a brush with potential stardom.
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| Publicity Photo for Bad Attitude circa 1993. Tom Corea is back left |
The band, as many of them do, wrote and started recording songs for a potential album release. After Tom joined, he used his prior music and technical experience to record the remainder of it. Their album was released, and it attracted some buzz. The band followed that up with three additional tracks recorded in a Hoboken studio owned by rocker Lenny Kravitz.
With Corea to guide them, Bad Attitude signed a contract with label Attack Records, an outfit based in Toronto. And things were in full swing. The band opened for national acts when they came to northern New Jersey, such as Molly Hatchet, Mountain, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Outlaws, and The Smithereens, among others. The album got some radio airplay and the band was all set to open on a tour for the then-hot Dave Matthews Band for a couple of weeks as a warm-up act.
But, as luck would have it, it didn't quite work out for a couple of reasons, both professional and personal. As the DMB tour was very big, Bad Attitude just didn't have the funds to sustain the opening slot for an extended period of time. To compound that, Tom, whose wife Carol had given birth recently, discovered that his son was severely autistic, and to be away for that long a period weighted heavily on his mind. As a result, it all came to an end when the label withdraw support of the band. Thus, Bad Attitude went back to the bars but was able to survive for another twenty years.
At the turn of the millennium, with Tom's son battling autism, and with he himself battling carpal tunnel syndrome in 2002, Tom quit Bad Attitude, and had surgery done; thus, he was pretty much relegated to being a stay at home dad while he himself recuperated.
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| A sample of some of the Holiday albums put out by The Hounds of Winter |
No doubt frustrated by being on the sidelines, Corea grabbed the bull by the horns and built a recording studio, dubbed "Babyfishmouth" in his own home in East Hanover, NJ. He recruited a bunch of fellow musicians, and formed a makeshift studio ensemble. He would eventually name this contingent after a Sting song, "The Hounds of Winter", a name very familiar to blog readers (although this didn't become the official name until 2011). The name fit, as many of the recordings were Christmas and winter songs; several CD's were recorded and released in the 2000's, the first of which was called A Musical Christmas Card, Songs of the Season; subsequent volumes were released under the A Musical Christmas Card moniker. In the ensuing years, just about any holiday song, be it well known, or obscure, with a few originals thrown in, were recorded and released. These songs attracted a big reputation; and they constantly hit the top five on the indie Reverbnation streaming site. During my blog era, the Hounds have been a fixture on my playlist. Despite the loosely configured membership, the constants are Tom on drums, Steve Roman on lead vocals, Tom PiPaolo on guitar, Mario Licata on bass, and Sarah Jean (Teti) on background vocals (and occasional lead). But more on that later.
As Tom's home studio grew, so did his desire to get out and play music again; as a result he rejoined Bad Attitude and just played for the love of it. Perhaps making it to the big time was in the rear view mirror, but he was content to play the Central Jersey bar circuit. But by no means were Tom's finest moments behind him.
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| The Hounds of Winter |
Tom straddled between Bad Attitude for his live gigs, and The Hounds for his studio endeavors as the 2010's began. This is about the time that I reconnected with Tom on Facebook and discovered many of the songs and bands that he had been involved with. I became familiar with the Hounds and started following them. Social media also enabled Tom to meet more people and expand his experience with the music industry.
The first Hounds song to hit my SNS 100 blog playlist was "Not Broken", by Thom Sebastian. Corea during his career has brushed with many musicians, and Sebastian was a seasoned player, having wrote with Phil Seymour, who was both the drummer of the Dwight Twilley Band ("I'm On Fire", "Girls") as well as working with Tom Petty, and solo (a #22 hit in 1981, with "Precious to Me"). With the backing of the Hounds, Corea produced several songs by Sebastian, including "Not Broken" which peaked on my SNS 100 list at #14 as well at the number 60 position on my year end list for 2011.
Sadly, shortly afterwards, Sebastian developed the "flu" and was afterwards diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away before many of the songs were completed. The Hounds would release an EP of his works, entitled Sebastian, including "Amy's World", which peaked here at #2 on my blog #7 in my year-end list for 2014.
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| Sarah Jean's 2010 album "Girl Will Run", produced by Tom Corea and backed by the Hounds of Winter spawned two blog hits, 'Hometown" and "At Last". |
Another artist that benefited from Tom was Sarah Jean Teti, one of the Hounds' vocalists; Tom produced her solo effort (backed by the Hounds), 2010's Girl Will Run. Teti, who lives in Metuchen, scored twice on my blog with song from the album: "Hometown" (#3), and "At Last" (#12), as well as entries from being a featured vocalist on Hounds Christmas recordings, most notably a cover of Joni Mitchell's "River".
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| Bad Attitude in May 2015, with Tom Corea on drums (center) and lead singer Jamie Heath (left) |
Meanwhile, Tom kept up his gigs in Bad Attitude; I was able to catch them live in 2015 at a street festival in Rahway NJ. With his success with the Hounds, it was only a matter of time before he recorded a song with Bad Attitude. The song, "Merry Christmas Anyway" reached #2 on my blog, and was the highest holiday blog entry in 2013.
More success would greet Tom. In 2016, the Hounds recorded "Oh Paige", complete with music video. The song would hit #2 on New Jersey's "iCharts", as well as their lone #1 on my SNS 100 blog playlist. They would quickly follow with two other Top 10 blog songs: "Lesson Learned" (#10), and "I Get You" (#4); these three, along with "Amy's World" (a cover of a Thom Sebastian song), all made my Top 200 of the 2010's list that I published at the beginning on this year.
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| The Wizards of Winter, whose debut, self-titled album was produced by Tom Corea, who also played drums on the release. |
But, while the Hounds and BA were close to Tom Corea, he got another offer by an outfit not in his stable. The Wizards of Winter (no relation to the Hounds) was a holiday contingent similar to Mannheim Steamroller or the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO), and was initially based in Frenchtown NJ and included some former members of TSO. Tom was approached in 2014 to produce their self-titled debut album, and also played drums on it. One of the songs, "The Gales of December" was played by the Baltimore Ravens NFL team as part of a holiday greeting on the stadium screen. That song also reached #12 on my blog early the following year. Tom was all set to produce a follow-up, The Magic of Christmas, but the band's success resulted in being signed to Yahoo Music, which essentially took the outfit out of Tom's hands.
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| Bad Attitude lead singer Jamie Heath passed away in 2018. |
Sadly, tragedy struck at the end of 2018, with Bad Attitude lead singer Jamie Heath, passed away after a long illness, essentially ending the band. The following year, Tom put together a 25-year 2-CD retrospective of the band's career, including some unreleased songs and unfinished demos.
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| Tom Corea (top center) with Roselle Park friends, in 2015. |
Tom Corea remains very active. Tom and the Hounds recently contributed songs to tribute albums for The Knack and Cheap Trick (both on the Zero Hour label, which has also included him to work on potential remastering projects) , and has hinted at more recordings from his studio ensemble. At the start of 2020, he was very ambitious. With Bad Attitude behind him, Tom still had the bug to perform live once again, and was set to join a new bar cover band, Terry and the Rockits. He was also asked to audition for a rockabilly band, Billy Penn and the Inside Drivers, and quickly became their drummer, which of this writing was set to go into the studio earlier this year with original material.
Obviously with the COVID-19 pandemic essentially grinding everything to a halt (this blog was based on his responses to me from December 2019), it has left Tom, as well as pretty much every other musician at home. Tom has offered to provide drum backing to any musician who needs one added to a song, and hopefully he has some offered to tie himself until all this is over.
I could pretty much go on with Tom's accomplishments, as he has also had some other credentials on his longtime music career (drumming on a song featured on the ABC series Ugly Betty; producing a children's album), but you get the drift. Probably most of all, he is a great guy and am proud to be a friend of his.
A big thanks to Tom for allowing me to write a blog on his life and career. Best of luck on your future endeavors! And I hope to cover you with more of your success stories!
Below is a list of those songs which were added to my SNS 100 currents playlist since I debuted it back in 2010, along with its peak position, number of weeks on the playlist, and its rank in its respective year-end list.
Entry Date
|
Artist
|
Song
|
Peak
|
Wks.
|
Year End
|
Notes:
|
8/29/2011
|
Thom Sebastian & the Hounds of Winter
|
14
|
17
|
60
|
||
9/19/2011
|
Sarah Jean
|
Hometown
|
3
|
21
|
38
|
From her album Girl Will Run
|
1/30/2012
|
At Last
|
12
|
19
|
81
|
||
12/3/2012
|
The Hounds of Winter
|
Come On Christmas
|
21
|
8
|
||
12/10/2012
|
Christmas All Over Again
|
35
|
6
|
|||
12/8/2013
|
Bad Attitude
|
2
|
12
|
|||
4/3/2014
|
The Hounds of Winter
|
2
|
29
|
7
|
From EP Sebastian
|
|
12/14/2014
|
12
|
14
|
From self-titled album; Song featured on Baltimore Ravens
holiday messsage
|
|||
11/22/2015
|
The Hounds of Winter ft. Sarah Jean
|
River
|
17
|
10
|
Cover of Joni Mitchell song
|
|
11/29/2015
|
The Hounds of Winter
|
Angel Voice
|
42
|
7
|
||
8/21/2016
|
1
|
25
|
23
|
#2 on New Jersey's "iChart"; #1 on blog for 3 weeks
|
||
2/5/2017
|
Lesson Learned
|
10
|
28
|
13
|
||
4/23/2017
|
I Get You
|
4
|
25
|
11
|
||
11/26/2017
|
Christmas Must Be Tonight
|
10
|
11
|
|||
12/17/2017
|
Remember Christmas
|
37
|
7
|
|||
Song peaked in blog top 20 or made the year-end list
|
||||||
Holiday entry
|
||||||
Reached #1 on blog
|
||||||
BRIEFLY, CURRENTS: As I had mentioned above, Jersey artists control much of my Top 20, including a second week for The Outcrops at #1. As I had indicated last week, a new discovery, Elise Farnsworth, has the Top Debut with "Safety Net" from her just-released album Turn Her Up. A rocking, soul romp graces the track, and it sure to hit the top of my playlist soon. I'll be doing a blog on her in the coming weeks. As I mentioned earlier, Halsey's "You Should be Sad" was also added this week. The song, which got some alternative airplay adds a little more rock to her pop stylings and should be her biggest to date here. The 1975 tone it down a little for their latest, "You and Me Together Song". Might be their biggest here as well. An intriguing add is "Global Warming" by Lady Moon & the Eclipse. As the title alludes to, this is a soulful social comment song, not unlike Trapdoor Social's "Winning as Truth". Unlike that song, Lady Moon's very soulful voice amidst a rock and funk beat carries the message. Haim, Coldplay and Avi Buffalo round out the debuts.
Of interest is Avi Buffalo's "Skeleton Painting". Back in 2010, Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg formed the band with three others, and released their self-titled debut, which was critically-acclaimed, on the Sub Pop label. The band, which also included Rebecca Coleman, now fronting The Pageants, scored here with "What's In It For?" which rode my #1 for several weeks, and landed in the #2 spot for 2010. The band released a few subsequent singles, and with personnel changes, released their second set, 2014's At Best Cuckold, before breaking up the band in 2015. Zahner-Isenberg, announced at the time he would be producing and writing for other artists. However, he decided to go solo using the Avi Buffalo name, and in late 2019 released this single. Unlike much of the band's efforts, "Skeleton Painting" is almost surreal in nature. It's a bit of dream-pop with a full sound permeates the song. It is definitely a departure from his earlier efforts and warrants several plays.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
May 3, 2020
May 3, 2020
This
Week
|
Last Week
|
ARTIST-Title
|
Weeks on List
|
1
|
1
|
NUMBER ONE:
Album: Peace of Mind
(2 weeks at #1)
|
7
|
2
|
5
|
7
|
|
3
|
2
|
9
|
|
4
|
3
|
10
|
|
5
|
11
|
5
|
|
6
|
6
|
25
|
|
7
|
9
|
5
|
|
8
|
10
|
6
|
|
9
|
8
|
9
|
|
10
|
14
|
4
|
|
11
|
12
|
6
|
|
12
|
13
|
5
|
|
13
|
7
|
14
|
|
14
|
15
|
4
|
|
15
|
41
|
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
(Single Only)
|
2
|
16
|
4
|
11
|
|
17
|
23
|
4
|
|
18
|
20
|
5
|
|
19
|
22
|
6
|
|
20
|
35
|
3
|
|
21
|
26
|
5
|
|
22
|
16
|
15
|
|
23
|
18
|
13
|
|
24
|
17
|
15
|
|
25
|
19
|
12
|
|
26
|
29
|
6
|
|
27
|
21
|
13
|
|
28
|
33
|
5
|
|
29
|
28
|
11
|
|
30
|
32
|
15
|
|
31
|
34
|
9
|
|
32
|
38
|
5
|
|
33
|
52
|
3
|
|
34
|
30
|
18
|
|
35
|
24
|
14
|
|
36
|
36
|
10
|
|
37
|
25
|
11
|
|
38
|
27
|
14
|
|
39
|
46
|
4
|
|
40
|
51
|
4
|
|
41
|
31
|
21
|
|
42
|
44
|
7
|
|
43
|
49
|
6
|
|
44
|
68
|
2
|
|
45
|
72
|
MOVER OF THE WEEK:
"Change"
Album: Local Motion
|
2
|
46
|
40
|
33
|
|
47
|
37
|
15
|
|
48
|
60
|
3
|
|
49
|
57
|
3
|
|
50
|
58
|
6
|
|
51
|
54
|
4
|
|
52
|
45
|
7
|
|
53
|
53
|
9
|
|
54
|
56
|
7
|
|
55
|
63
|
3
|
|
56
|
74
|
2
|
|
57
|
67
|
3
|
|
58
|
78
|
2
|
|
59
|
39
|
18
|
|
60
|
47
|
16
|
|
61
|
48
|
20
|
|
62
|
43
|
13
|
|
63
|
42
|
10
|
|
64
|
70
|
3
|
|
65
|
50
|
7
|
|
66
|
64
|
6
|
|
67
|
81
|
3
|
|
68
|
62
|
14
|
|
69
|
---
|
TOP DEBUT:
Album: Turn Her Up
|
1
|
70
|
61
|
26
|
|
71
|
82
|
2
|
|
72
|
77
|
4
|
|
73
|
91
|
2
|
|
74
|
59
|
17
|
|
75
|
85
|
2
|
|
76
|
---
|
1
|
|
77
|
87
|
2
|
|
78
|
---
|
1
|
|
79
|
80
|
4
|
|
80
|
86
|
3
|
|
81
|
---
|
1
|
|
82
|
55
|
15
|
|
83
|
65
|
16
|
|
84
|
69
|
17
|
|
85
|
73
|
5
|
|
86
|
---
|
1
|
|
87
|
66
|
16
|
|
88
|
79
|
28
|
|
89
|
---
|
1
|
|
90
|
---
|
1
|
|
91
|
84
|
18
|
|
92
|
92
|
12
|
|
93
|
---
|
1
|
|
94
|
76
|
7
|
|
95
|
83
|
22
|
|
96
|
71
|
14
|
|
97
|
75
|
13
|
|
98
|
89
|
6
|
|
99
|
88
|
13
|
|
100
|
90
|
11
|
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