Growing up in Northern California, Tom was strongly affected by his father’s love of bluegrass and old time country music and the family home often resounded with the sounds of Doc Watson, Reno and Smiley and Jimmy Rogers. By age eight, Tom was playing ukulele and singing American folk songs, but an early fascination with Earl Scruggs led him to switch to five string banjo. At the age of twelve, he was also probably the youngest person to be allowed into the famous Paul’s Saloon In San Francisco, one of the centerpieces of the Bay Area Bluegrass scene in the 1970s and 80s. After playing in a number of roots music bands, Tom spent six months traveling around Europe with his banjo, busking in the train stations and town squares of the old country in order to hone his chops as a performer. Having also spent a lot of time in Mexico and South America growing up, Tom also has a strong affection for Mexican folk and Latin music, and brings a number of songs from these sources into the ‘Grade’s eclectic repertoire. Tom’s pervious bands include Hillary and Craddock Brothers, The Mobile Homeboys, and Big Twang Theory.