PipemanRadio Interviews Crazy Tomes

PipemanRadio Interviews Crazy Tomes
Crazy Tomes: A Truly Crazy Story in Music
Crazy Tomes: “Crazy on the Island” Album Release
Genre-shattering and boundary-breaking artist Crazy Tomes has revolutionized the Rock and Blues scene in a very unexpected way since his start in music. Crazy Tomes just released his first album since 2015 on January 6th, 2023 and it promises to blow audiences away as Tomes has been known to do since the beginning. The album, “Crazy on the Island” will include the track “King of Pot” featuring 1960's music icons The Chambers Brothers and legendary Soul singer and producer Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams, who also co-produced the track. "King of Pot" also has some of the last recorded guitar work by Blues legend and Jimi Hendrix's mentor, the late Guitar Shorty.

This track has been a work in progress for Tomes for many years, as he wrote it about a friend who was a Vietnam veteran who was discharged for smoking pot. It speaks to the world’s need to focus on enjoying life rather than arresting people for victimless "crimes.” Both "King of Pot" and the upcoming album “Crazy on the Island” have musical contributions from Remi Kabaka (Rolling Stones, Paul Simon), as well as members of Ambrosia, Three Dogs Night and Cameo.

Listen to the album “Crazy on the Island” https://open.spotify.com/album/6jlnh5RvyrtzOVzcH2eNFO

Listen to the featured track “King of Pot” https://youtu.be/zTyZ4E0nEz8

Growing up in Israel, Tomes began his musical journey in classical piano, but became inspired by American Rock N’ Roll legends like Elvis Presley, David Bowie and The Beatles. From there, he decided to switch his focus to the guitar and soon picked up jazz when he moved to Virginia in 1998. His unexpected journey continued when legendary American musician - and Tomes’s idol - Little Richard invited Tomes on stage to perform a song with him, where he was given his iconic name.

This event validated Tomes’s path in jazz guitar, and thus he went on to study it at The College of William and Mary. Tomes’s career exploded from there, headlining the “Kenya Feel the Rock '' festival with Blues-Rock band Burning Wagon, as well as performing at the Bruce Hornsby festival before moving to Los Angeles. There, he joined the Pop-Rock band “Arrest My Sister” and performed at Carnegie Hall, and shortly after joined the band Gundriver - and soon after was hired as a bass player (and later guitar) for another Blues icon, Guitar Shorty.

His story doesn’t stop there - Tomes soon began playing guitar for Willie Chambers, and eventually for The Chambers Brothers, and now is lead guitar for R&B and Soul artist Swampp Dog, performing with him every New Year’s Eve at the Roxy Theater since 2017, as well as at the Ryman Auditorium with Bon Iver.
According to Tomes, his style is best described as a unique combination of “Blues, Funk, Rock, Pop, Jazz, RnB, Reggae and Country,” and to some, it is described as “a bluesy Rock’n’Roll with a touch of insanity.” Fans praise him for his “energetic live shows, virtuoso guitar playing, distinctive soulful vocals, and musical versatility.” Drawing inspiration from a large list of names such as The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Eric Clapton, The Doors, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, The Animals, Rod Stewart, P-Funk, The Who, Bob Marley, Sublime, Led Zeppelin, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Lou Reed, Nirvana, The Zombies, Howlin' Wolf, Louis Armstrong, just to name a few - it only makes sense that Tomes’s music is a thing entirely his own. A sound that truly cannot be placed into one genre, Tomes’s discography explores nearly every musical style known to man, without exaggeration.

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Listen to the album “Crazy on the...