Our
tips come from a variety of sources, including tip readers, freelance writers,
manufacturers or vendors of musical products. Many
of our tips are written by Chicago guitarist Tommy Marshall.  Tommy
Marshall loves to perform - and it shows. As an accomplished and eclectic musician,
this veteran performer has an engaging sense of humor that sets him apart from
his Singer/Guitarist/Songwriter peers. Tommy has the ability to cover great songs
and make them his own; at the same time his songwriting skills have produced many
classics his audience requests
Tommy
began performing professionally when he was fourteen years old. He has performed
nationally and internationally, toured the forty eight contigual states, been
signed to two recording contracts (one major label, one Indie label) and performed
on five CD releases. Raised
in the country and educated on Sixties and Seventies Rock n' Roll, Tommy began
his musical life picking out melodies on his grandmother's piano. As Piano lessons
weren't for him, he moved to guitar, playing early Beatles and Bob Dylan songs
on a Stella guitar that he found in the attic. Tommy
has completed several tours of Northern and Eastern Europe, and has toured Indonesia,
Singapore, Japan, Bali, and East Timor with his band 215 West. Tommy
has opened for several major acts. He has been the opening act for Johnny Winters,
The Marvelous Marbles, Elmore James, Jr. and Vicki True, among others. He has
also been a backing guitarist for such Chicago Blues scene notables as Shirley
King and Elmore James, Jr. In 1978 his band, The Handsomes, was selected as the
opener for The Rolling Stones for their traditional small venue show before the
Some Girls tour kickoff. In
Chicago, Tommy has been performing as a solo artist at the flagship Starbucks
Coffee (North and Wells) on a bi-weekly basis for the past two years. Many guest
musicians were in the habit of stopping by Tommy's gig to sit in, much to the
delight of his audience. |
