Tom Romero
Tom Romero is a seasoned solo performer whose repertoire of original material blurs musical boundaries, embracing elements of folk, rock, blues, progressive and adult contemporary.
Born and raised in Southern California, Tom found music at an early age. Influenced by his father who would carry him on his shoulders while singing songs from popular musicals, the two would spend evenings at home with the lights out listening to Dave Brubeck and classical music on the radio. This immersion inspired a 10-year-old Tom to pick up his first guitar, and at age 12 he began writing his own material. The same year he performed in his first stage play Our Town. At 13 he was performing regularly in theatre while immersing himself in the art rock of Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Genesis.
At 16 Tom's parents cruelly moved him to Plano, Texas where he continued to excel in theatre and music even writing and directing his own musical. Inevitably he was exposed to southern music and discovered his love for the slide guitar and icons like Ry Cooder and David Lyndley. He went on to attend SMU's professional acting program, where he wrote and performed the music for Tennessee William's Summer and Smoke. After three years he left to find his own way in New York City. He spent the next several years acting in the many small theatres around town and performed his original music in the Times Square clubs, sometimes in a strange trio that included guitar, clarinet, and harmonica. He wrote music for stage productions and received rave reviews for his 1930's influenced soundtrack for Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Tom moved to Los Angeles just in time for El Nino, the LA Riots, the Malibu fires, the Northridge earthquake, and September 11th. He pursued his love for theatre and the guitar. He was profoundly influenced by his next door neighbor, an incredible guitarist, who taught him that it "wasn't all about skill, it was about the energy."
A self-taught musician, he has played in several bands through the years including MadWorld, Carpet Mommy, Noble Grover, Blues Garage, and Jessie & The Raindogs. He is frequently hired for studio work having appeared on albums for Steve's Main Squeeze, Stinky Pinky, and on the soundtrack for the Newline short film Pass Rat, as well as several other short films. In late 1997, Tom released his first CD "TAR" on his own TARecords label. Written and produced by Romero, the CD included The Denny Song, which appears in the Miramax film Telling You. His voice can be heard in the cartoon Super Pig.
Tom currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 2003 he was heard covering Cisco's The Thong Song in the film Undercover Brother. His new Cd "Bump" was a finalist for the Independent Music Awards Best CD of 2003 & 2004.