Tommy John Ehman

Artist Information

Biography

"Turn On The Radio" update:

To date the new album has charted 3 singles, the latest being the title track "Turn On The Radio."
Along with "Moments In Time" and "A Regular Girl" all three have received substantial airplay across Canada at country radio. We are looking to release a new single late 2012 or early 2013 leading up to the recording of a new album in the near future.
High-energy, excitement, passion and professonalism is what you'll get with TJE, solo or with his band. You won't be dissapointed!

TJE – Bio 2013

Tommy John Ehman – sunsets, new horizons and the lines in between

"Tommy John Ehman is a passionate - pedal to the metal - type of performer who gives his all from note one to the end of the night. His love of country and his tales of the good people who live in it shine in exceptionally well-crafted songs”
Mark Schmidt - Assistant Entertainment Buyer, Casino Regina, Regina, SK Canada

“I see the world as a canvas of stories and events that shape our lives and make us who we are, and that’s the inspiration that makes me want to, or have to, write songs.”

Songwriting has always come easy to Tommy John Ehman and that songwriting has formed the basis for what has become a long and fulfilling career of writing, performing and traveling for this Saskatchewan based and “wear-it-on-his-sleeve”, recording artist.

It’s been a slow and steady rise from humble beginnings to where we find TJE now, here in 2010. With a new album, his fifth, titled “Turn On The Radio” about to be released, filled with creative, catchy and radio friendly material he’s crafted from his own life’s experiences, 2010 is sure to be the start of a new and exciting chapter in his lifelong, steady musical journey.

One Step Back – sunsets…

Tommy’s passion for his country and the soldiers who keep us safe and protected was the inspiration for his 4th studio album, “Wheels of Life.” Released in 2008, this highly successful effort saw 4 songs released to Canadian country radio each of which charted and received airplay across the country, The catchy and patriotic track about the love for his country, Canada called “Stand Up For Your Country” reached as high as number 60 on the CanCon country music charts and was well-received by music directors from coast to coast. The record was produced by Brad Prosko at B-Rad studio in Regina, SK and boasted Bruce Springsteen’s bass player Garry Tallent on bass guitar!

The musical journey that we referred to really began in 1996 with the release of Tommy’s first recording titled “Wasted Nights,” a 10 song collection of country rock tracks from his early, but growing song book. Then again in 2002 a new CD “To The Wall” was released and as with the first record Tommy and his band Idle Rains toured in support of the release. 2005 brought his third disc, a heart-felt, passionate acoustic tribute to Saskatchewan and Canadian farm families he called “Like Father; Like Son.” “Having grown up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, it was my dream for a number of years to write a record about the men and women who work the land and produce the food that we eat. I’m extremely proud of this album and really just wanted to say thanks to the farmers, and I think we did that!”

Tommy has been “behind the mic” for many years and has really come into his own as a performer and entertainer. His high energy, passionate and “no one goes home unhappy” mantra, has earned the respect of audiences wherever the road may take him and his guitar.
From the International Farm Equipment Show in Toronto, ON, to the Swift Current Fringe Festival, to opening slots with Doc Walker and Aaron Pritchett, to the Taste of Saskatchewan Festival in Saskatoon, SK, to clubs and cabarets across western Canada, TJE and his band have taken their music to the people and the people have always answered with rousing applause of approval!

“Turn On The Radio” - new horizons…

The new recording project titled “Turn On The Radio” is being produced by Brian Joseph Dobbs of Los Angeles, California. The former “prairie boy” who grew up in Regina, SK has honed his recording skills working with famed Canadian producer Bob Rock. He brings a wealth of experience having worked with high profile artists like Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Tal Bachman, FuManChu and AC/DC to name just a few.
This new collection of 8 solid, neatly crafted, radio ready tracks and again all written by Tommy is poised to make a splash on the Canadian country music scene in 2010 and beyond.
“As with all my records, it’s an exciting process to watch my songs grow and come alive before our eyes. Brian (Dobbs) has really done an amazing job with these songs and I’m excited to get them out there. I know I always say it but I really do think this is my best record yet!!”

“Life”- the lines in between…

Each day of our lives brings new challenges that we have to face, head on, and with conviction to overcome the adversity and get set for another day. Everyone faces those challenges in their own way and for Tommy that’s his music.
Songwriting and performing are his therapy. “Sometimes it, (life), can be overwhelming and sometimes it can be exhilarating but in each there is a song and for me that’s the key. If my song can make someone laugh, cry, reflect or to just help get through their day, then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do!”

In late 2005 Tommy was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition called retinitis pigmentosis, (RP) which with time will lead to partial or near blindness. As of now there is no known cure for RP and although debilitating it hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his musical dreams. With a team of dedicated musicians and friends Tommy is able to continue to write, record and perform his music.

Somewhere a stage is calling, somewhere a song is just begging to be written and somewhere a road is stretching out endlessly over the horizon, and that’s where you’ll find…Tommy John Ehman!


Past Live Events Highlights:

Mar '05 - Good Morning Canada, CTV Television
Jun '05 - APAS General Meeting, Prince Albert, SK
Jun '05 - CIPA TV News at Noon, Prince Albert, SK
Jul ‘05 - Taste of Saskatchewan Festival, Saskatoon, SK
Jul ‘05 - Swift Current Fringe Festival
Aug ‘05 - Weyburn Wheat Festival
Nov ‘05 - FAME Art Show, Craik, SK
Nov ’05 - Canadian Western Agribition, Regina, SK
Feb ‘06 - Canadian International, Farm Equipment Show, Toronto, ON
Mar '06 - Canadian Wheat Growers annual meeting, Saskatoon, SK
Jul ‘06 - A Taste of SK Festival., Saskatoon, SK
Nov '06 - Open for Doc Walker, Cadillac, SK
Dec. '06 - Val Marie Winter Concert, Val Marie, SK
Mar '07 - St. Mary's Church Fundraiser, Colonsay, SK
Jun '07 - Open for Doc Walker, Gull Lake, SK
Nov ’07 – The Drink, Regina, SK
- Craik Legion Hall, Craik, SK
- Stan’s Place, Saskatoon, SK
- Wheels of Life CD release shows
Apr '08 - SCMA awards showcase, Prince Albert, SK
May '08 - Open for Aaron Pritchett, Swift Current, SK
Sep '08- SK storytellers showcase, Watrous, SK
Feb. '09- Casino Regina lounge with Steve Fox
Mar. '09- Casino Moose Jaw lounge
July '09- Taste of Sk Festival Saskatoon, SK
Aug '09- start recording new album project, Turn On The Radio
Jun '10- Ranchman's Calgary, AB
July '10 Taste of Saskatchewan Festival Saskatoon, SK
Oct '10- Living Sky Casino, Swift
Feb '11- Ranchman' Calgary
Jun '11- Northern Lights Casino - Prince Albert, SK
Aug. '11- ifactor show (CNIB) Lake Joe, ON
Mar. '12- CTV Morning LIve Saskatoon
May '12- Great Northern Casino, Grande Prairie, AB
June '12- CTV Morning Live Saskatoon, SK
June '12- Country at the Creek Festival - Big River, SK
July '12- Taste of SK Festival - Saskatoon, SK
Aug '12- ifactor show (CNIB) Lake Joe, ON
Sep '12- CCMA "Diamond in the Rough" stage showcase by Sirroma Entertainment

Instrumentation

Tommy John Ehman - Lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica
Rod Mochoruk - Drums
Rob Ehman - bass guitar and harmony vocal
David Evans - Lead guitar and harmony vocals

Discography

"Wasted Nights" - Tommy John Ehman and Idle Rains - released 1996
"To The Wall" - Idle Rains - released 2002
"Like Father; Like Son" - Tommy John Ehman - released 2005
"Wheels of Life" - Tommy John Ehman - released 2008
"Turn On The Radio" - Tommy John Ehman - released 2010

The Singles: (released to Canadian country radio)
1. Stand Up For Your Country (from Wheels of Life) - reached # 60 on the Cancon country charts
2. Walk A Little Lighter With Me (from Wheels of Life) - reached #65 on the charts and stayed on the chart for more than 3 months.
3. Jack And The Letters Home (from Wheels of Life)
debut at #87 after only 3 days of release, reaches #73.
4. When The Walls Come Down (from Wheels of Life)
reached #71 cancon charts, Country Music News
5. A Regular Girl - Nov. 2010 song is at #65 CMnews top 100 cancon songs.
6. Moments in Time - March 2011, song reaches #85 on Median Base chart.
7. Turn On The Radio - 3rd signle from new CD

Official Website

http://www.tommyjohnehman.com

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Purchase TJE music
• TJE official website
• MySpace
• Reverbnation

Audio

• A Regular Girl
  Listen  
• Turn On The Radio
  Listen  
• Moments In Time
  Listen  
• Not Giving Up
  Listen  
• Life is a Party
  Listen  
• Wheels of Life
  Listen  
• Stand Up For Your Country
  Listen  
• Feet on the ground
  Listen  
• Walk A Little Lighter With Me
  Listen  
• Flo's Bar and Grill
  Listen  

Lyrics

• When The Walls Come Down
• Jack And The Letters Home
• Stand Up For Your Country
• Wheels of Life
• Walk A Little Lighter With Me
• Red, White and Red

Video

I Saw Her Standing There - Beatles cover

Regular Girl iFactory.mp4

Photo Gallery

Press

• Future is now for Tommy John Ehman [+ Show ]
  

  Monday » April 28 » 2008 Future is now for Ehman Andrew Matte The Leader-Post Th... Monday » April 28 » 2008
  
  Future is now for Ehman
  
  Andrew Matte
  The Leader-Post
  
  
  Thursday, January 10, 2008
  
  
  Tommy John Ehman
  
  Tonight -- Saturday
  
  The Pump Roadhouse
  
  Tommy John Ehman's newest CD Wheels of Life is more than another country-rock record released by an independent Saskatchewan musician.
  
  This 43-year-old full-time farmer took out a loan, spent a year crafting his songs and enlisted as much help as he could during the recording process, including big name assistance from Garry Tallent, bassist for Bruce Springteen's E-Street Band.
  
  Ehman, who earned a living in his 20s as a musician and member of country-rock outfit Idle Rains, returned to his farm about seven years ago to support his young family.
  
  But Ehman is now driven by more than his passion for music -- after being diagnosed retinitis pigmatosis, he was faced with deteriorating vision and the difficult reality that he soon won't be able to see well enough to contribute to his busy grain farm in Craik.
  
  Exactly how fast he'll lose his sight or whether, at the end, he'll still be able to see at all isn't known -- so he's hoping by putting his best musical foot forward, he'll be able to return to his life as a full-time musician, as well as earn enough to support his family when his disease makes it impossible for him to tend to the fields.
  
  "Maybe this project will put me where I need to go," Ehman says.
  
  "Part of why we've put such a big effort into this is because if I can get back into playing music for a living, it's something that someone who can't see very well can do.
  
  "It's not that I want to get off the farm, but I am in a bit of a dilemma here."
  
  It was about five years ago when Ehman began to experience occasional partial blindness, as well as an increased difficulty seeing at night. Several meetings with specialists confirmed the diagnosis, something that came as a shock to him and his family, but an issue he's been able to put into perspective since.
  
  "I knew something was going on when I started to get these blind spots and my night vision was really bad. But hopefully it won't progress too quickly and won't leave me too disabled.
  
  "But I try not and think about it."
  
  Ehman had always had his head around being a musician. In his early 20s, he left Craik to join a band that travelled Western Canada playing songs from the likes of Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam. Later, he joined Idle Rains, which earned a following across Saskatchewan. They released Wasted Nights in 1996 and To The Wall in 2002.
  
  But Ehman, the chief songwriter and singer for the band, decided to branch off right about the time of his diagnosis. In 2005, Ehman released a low budget but widely praised collection of acoustic numbers called Like Father; Like Son.
  
  Now, having dropped the Idle Rains name even though his old bandmates still play in the Tommy Ehman Band, he's hoping that he's learned enough about how to write songs and how to manipulate the music industry well enough to succeed commercially like he never has before.
  
  "I wouldn't say that I was frustrated with how we were doing. But I would say that maybe those early albums weren't as good as they could have been. But we worked our way up. When you're doing independent albums, whether you hit it big is pretty hit and miss," Ehman says.
  
  "When I was 21, I thought that we'd put this album out and we'd be huge. But I know now that it doesn't work that way. And it's a lot more hard work than I thought. So there are so many things that I have learned along the way that we are doing now that we didn't do before. So, with the right people helping me along the way, we can make something out of this."
  
  The 11-song CD includes crisp, energetic country rock that he believes is the best music he's ever recorded, thanks to his own efforts, but also the help of others. He was also able to scrape together enough cash to make this his biggest-budget release ever.
  
  "I worked really hard on the songwriting. I worked for about a year on these songs. And I really worked those songs, or at least I thought I did. And we put a really strong effort into the recording. And it was our biggest-budget record. So hopefully, you put all that together and you're going to have a better product."
  
  The biggest help came from Regina's Brad Prosko, who serves as the album's producer and arranger, and the one who introduced Ehman to Tallent, who normally earns a living in Nashville as a member of the E-Street Band.
  
  Prosko and Tallent had crossed paths when Prosko visited Nashville as part of a project the two men had contributed to. After Prosko heard the first versions of Ehman's song, he suggested Tallent could be recruited to help. And thanks to the timing, and the fact Tallent has a part-time studio in nearby Montana, he agreed to play bass on all 11 songs.
  
  "When (Prosko) first sent me the e-mail, I had to look at the computer screen twice," Ehman recalls. "He said that Gary Tallent is a guy who, if he would do it, would be great playing on this stuff."
  
  Not long after that, he spent a day to travel to Tallent's studio in rustic Whitefish and spent a few days recording Tallent's bass parts.
  
  "Not only to have his name attached to it but just the way the songs sound to me, the feel he puts into it, the way he interprets it, it really adds to the tracks, I think.
  
  "To have him part of this is amazing, really."
  
  In the meantime, Ehman is spending the winter trying to generate support among radio stations and perform to the usual bar crowds in hopes Wheels of Life will help him begin a new, more successful stage of his career.
  
  "Every little thing that has happened has told me that something really good is going to come of this. And to me, there's a lot of trust in the product. But still, I understand that it's a crap shoot.
  
  "But then again, I'm not going to give up something that I'm this passionate about."
  
  

• CD - Review [+ Show ]
  

  Tommy John Ehman, from Craik, Saskatchewan, writes and sings a lot like Charlie Major. Right away.....Tommy John Ehman, from Craik, Saskatchewan, writes and sings a lot like Charlie Major. Right away...ya gotta like that!! Ehman has that same gutsy, gritty and always topical approach with the message and delivery of his songs. "Wheels Of Life" is Tommy John Ehman's debut disc, featuring all original songs. A common thread throughout the album is 'the soldier's life', and 'patriotism'. And for a really neat change-of-pace, the patriotism this time is devoted to Ehman's 'Canadian' roots...unlike the endless stream of American 'war hero' songs that fills Nashville's releases.
  
  The 'soldier' songs here include such items as the anthemic "Jack And The Letters Home", "I'm A Soldier", "Song For The Soldier" and the flag waving "Red, White And Red", a really neat song by Ehman which stresses his love for the "the Canadian Way".
  
  The album does feature other themes. The lead single, "Stand Up For Your Country" is a powerful message song, while the title track "Wheels Of Life" is a driving item; both of these emphasizing the comparison to Charlie Major's music. Other winners here come in "Flo's Bar And Grill" which deals with survival in a small town lifestyle; while "When The Walls Come Down" is a bluesy number, showing Ehman's ability to handle different moods with his music. Listen also for the inspirational "Walk A Little Lighter With Me"; and the 'self-discovery' song, "A Hill Of Beans".
  
  The album closes out with the song "Faith And Freedom", a philosophical rant of sorts by Tommy John Ehman, which speaks of his patriotism, his pride in being a Canadian...and what it takes to be a Canadian. My kinda guy!!
  
  "Wheels Of Life" was produced by Brad Prosko and recorded at his studio in Regina, SK.

Setlist

Tommy is playing shows both in an acoustic type format and as well with his back up band Idle Rains.
The acoustic shows consist of playing original songs from the new CD "Turn On The Radio" and as well songs from his other recordings. Sets are arranged to suit induvidual situations ranging from a few songs to hour or more sets.

For larger events such as festival club dates and caberets Idle Rains will back up Tommy for an energetic set of originals songs again coming from his 5 studio albums.

The band also plays a great mix of country rock and classic rock for club dates and caberets where cover material is required. For a full list of these songs go to: http://tommyjohnehman.idlerains.com/tjeirsetlist.htm.

Basic Requirements

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