TOM WOOD / KEYBOARDS,VOCALS
Tom started playing keyboards in 1976 at the age of 12. That summer he visited his grandparents and spent much of the trip playing an old Hammond organ they had sitting in the living room. His parents picked up on his interest right away, and they purchased a Rhodes Keyboard that he played through his High School years performing in local fund raisers and small gigs with his music teacher.
Fortunately for his sake, his Band Teacher was crazy enough to tow his Piano back and forth to these local gigs because Tom was too young to drive.! He began piano lessons at the age of 14. The course of study was a mix of pop and classical. In 1983 he discovered keyboards. That same year he was offered a spot in a local Folk band. His first gig was at a place called Madcaps that his Highschool sponsored. Many thanks to the support he had from the teachers’ family for making a 16-year-old feel like a rock star! In the early 1990’s he joined a local rock group called Lighten up. It was 80’s rock band that started landing some long-term friends and relationships he still value’s today. He had the good fortune of playing with fellow keyboardist Mike Ulloa. While he never formally studied with him, his tips and tricks are still with Tom to this day.
Tom’s good friend Jim Kelch (Bass Guitar and Vocalist) is in the band (High Anxiety) with him now. They played a mix of Rock, easy listening, and dance music. This whole experience forced Tom to take a stab at singing, playing keyboard a learning couple of hundred tunes. Somewhere around 1995 Tom started playing with 4crying Out Loud Band. This band did a mix of Rock, Classic Rock, and Dance music. Tom had the good fortune of playing some bigger gigs opening for some Main acts. Tom played with his friends Gordon Drauden (Drums/Vocals) Kim Dawson (Guitar/Vocals) and Pat Hobart (Bass/Lead Vocals) for somewhere over 25 years. In the mid 2010’s Tom began discovering his calling with his current 80’s Rock band called High Anxiety. Tom started performing tunes from artists such as Elton John, Journy Styx, Deep Purple. His love for this music continues to this day.
Tom feels blessed to not only perform professionally, but also make people happy through music. Tom would like to thank all of those who have made and continue to make this possible. May the song never end!
