Tom Adams (musician)
Encyclopedia
Tom Adams is a bluegrass
musician born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
. Featured as a banjo
player on recordings made between 1974 and 2006 with The Adams Brothers, The Johnson Mountain Boys, The Lynn Morris Band, Blue Highway
, Rhonda Vincent
, Dale Ann Bradley, Michael Cleveland and many others, the neurological disorder known as focal dystonia
has led Tom to continue his career in bluegrass music as a guitar
player and vocalist. Adams was also a member of Jimmy Martin
& the Sunny Mountain Boys (1983–1985) but Martin was not actively recording during that period.
In the spring of 2008 Adams (on guitar) formed Diamond Joe, a bluegrass band based in south-central Pennsylvania
, with Chris Warner (banjo), Mark Seitz (mandolin) and Steve Streett (bass). The group disbanded in July, 2008, when Adams began rehearsals with Bill Emerson and the Sweet Dixie Band to replace vocalist and guitarist Wayne Taylor in Emerson's group.
Band founder and leader Bill Emerson changed the official name of the group to Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie in the fall of 2008 after the departure of vocalist Con Burch. From October 2008 to August 1, 2009 the group performed in the greater Washington, D.C. area and consisted of Bill Emerson - banjo, Tom Adams - guitar, Teri Chism - bass, Wayne Lanham - mandolin and Lynn Morris
- FOH sound engineer.
On July 6, 2009, Adams was hired as the lead vocalist and guitar player for Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. He played his first shows with the band on August 7 and 8 in Henderson, Kentucky. On April 2, 2010, Adams and the band began recording the group's new project for Rounder Records. Flamekeeper members at that time were: Michael Cleveland - fiddle, vocals; Jesse Brock - mandolin, vocals; Marshall Wilborn - bass, vocals; Tom Adams - guitar, vocals and Jessie Baker - banjo, vocals.
On February 3, 2011, Rounder Records announced that the new CD by Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, titled "Fired Up", will be released on Tuesday, March 29, 2011. Eight of the album's 14 tracks were written by members of the group, including five original songs by Tom Adams, and one original each from Jessie Baker (banjo), Jesse Brock and Marshall Wilborn.
On May 9, 2011, Tom Adams along with fellow band mates Marshall Wilborn and Jesse Brock, confirmed their departure from Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper with Bluegrass Blog author John Lawless. Flamekeeper banjoist Jessie Baker left the group on January 16, 2011.
Adams is a monthly columnist (Adams County Banjo) for the music publication, Banjo NewsLetter.
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
musician born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. Featured as a banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player on recordings made between 1974 and 2006 with The Adams Brothers, The Johnson Mountain Boys, The Lynn Morris Band, Blue Highway
Blue Highway
Blue Highway is an American contemporary bluegrass band. They have released eight CDs, their sixth and seventh – Wondrous Love , and Marbletown – received Grammy Award nominations.-Personnel:...
, Rhonda Vincent
Rhonda Vincent
Rhonda Lea Vincent is a bluegrass singer, songwriter, mandolin player, guitarist, and fiddle player.Her musical career started as a child in her family's band, The Sally Mountain Show, and has spanned almost four decades...
, Dale Ann Bradley, Michael Cleveland and many others, the neurological disorder known as focal dystonia
Focal dystonia
Focal dystonia is a neurological condition that affects a muscle or group of muscles in a part of the body and causes an involuntary muscular contraction or twisting...
has led Tom to continue his career in bluegrass music as a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
player and vocalist. Adams was also a member of Jimmy Martin
Jimmy Martin
Jimmy Martin was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".-Early years:Born James H. Martin in Sneedville, Tennessee. Jimmy Martin was born into the hard farming life of rural East Tennessee. He grew up near Sneedville, singing in church and with friends from surrounding...
& the Sunny Mountain Boys (1983–1985) but Martin was not actively recording during that period.
In the spring of 2008 Adams (on guitar) formed Diamond Joe, a bluegrass band based in south-central Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, with Chris Warner (banjo), Mark Seitz (mandolin) and Steve Streett (bass). The group disbanded in July, 2008, when Adams began rehearsals with Bill Emerson and the Sweet Dixie Band to replace vocalist and guitarist Wayne Taylor in Emerson's group.
Band founder and leader Bill Emerson changed the official name of the group to Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie in the fall of 2008 after the departure of vocalist Con Burch. From October 2008 to August 1, 2009 the group performed in the greater Washington, D.C. area and consisted of Bill Emerson - banjo, Tom Adams - guitar, Teri Chism - bass, Wayne Lanham - mandolin and Lynn Morris
Lynn Morris (musician)
Lynn Morris is an American bluegrass musician.Morris was raised in Lamesa, Texas, where she played guitar early in life. While in college she began playing bluegrass music, and began playing banjo while completing a degree in art...
- FOH sound engineer.
On July 6, 2009, Adams was hired as the lead vocalist and guitar player for Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. He played his first shows with the band on August 7 and 8 in Henderson, Kentucky. On April 2, 2010, Adams and the band began recording the group's new project for Rounder Records. Flamekeeper members at that time were: Michael Cleveland - fiddle, vocals; Jesse Brock - mandolin, vocals; Marshall Wilborn - bass, vocals; Tom Adams - guitar, vocals and Jessie Baker - banjo, vocals.
On February 3, 2011, Rounder Records announced that the new CD by Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, titled "Fired Up", will be released on Tuesday, March 29, 2011. Eight of the album's 14 tracks were written by members of the group, including five original songs by Tom Adams, and one original each from Jessie Baker (banjo), Jesse Brock and Marshall Wilborn.
On May 9, 2011, Tom Adams along with fellow band mates Marshall Wilborn and Jesse Brock, confirmed their departure from Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper with Bluegrass Blog author John Lawless. Flamekeeper banjoist Jessie Baker left the group on January 16, 2011.
Adams is a monthly columnist (Adams County Banjo) for the music publication, Banjo NewsLetter.
Discography
- Right Hand Man (Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
, 1990) - Rounder Banjo Extravaganza "Live", with Tony TrischkaTony TrischkaTony Trischka is an American five-string banjo player.-Biography:Tony Trischka was born in Syracuse, New York, and graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A in Fine Arts, and was inspired to play the banjo in 1963, listening to the Kingston Trio's "Charlie and The MTA". Trischka was a...
and Tony FurtadoTony FurtadoTony Furtado is an American banjo player and slide guitar, and singer/songwriter.player of Portuguese and Italian heritage who was born in Oakland, California...
(Rounder Records, 1992) - Adams County Banjo (Rounder Records, 2001)
- Live at the Ragged Edge, with Michael Cleveland (Rounder Records, 2004)
Awards
- IBMA Album of the Year - 1990 (At the Old Schoolhouse, The Johnson Mountain Boys)
- IBMA Banjo Player of the Year - 1992
- IBMA Banjo Player of the Year - 1993
- IBMA Entertainer of the Year - 2001 (with Rhonda Vincent & the Rage)
- IBMA Banjo Player of the Year - 2002
- IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year - 2004 (Live at the Ragged Edge, with Michael Cleveland)
- IBMA Best Liner Notes - 2006 (Let 'Er Go Boys, Michael Cleveland)
- IBMA Recorded Event of the Year - 2007 (Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular)
- IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year - 2009 (as a member of Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper)
- IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year - 2010 (as a member of Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper)
- IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year - 2011 ("Goin' Up Dry Branch," on Fired Up by Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper)