Friends of Tom

Nine To See:

Friends of Tom:
This local acoustic roots rock band is making a name for themselves and is making their debut performance at First Night. Formed by guitarist Chris Younger and his wife, Liz, the group stated out as a duo that got its unusual moniker when they played after a friend, Tom, at a festival and lacking a name, told the emcee they were "friends of Tom". - The Morning Call

"Friends of Tom" opens up for Randy Weeks. Randy Weeks has played with Dwight Yokum, Pete Anderson, Rosie Flores and many others, and wrote the Billboard hit "Can't Let Go" as charted by "Lucinda Williams". - Real Rock/Cool Country Promotion

Roots 90.3 FM WXLV, the public radio station of LCCC, celebrated the first anniversary of its new Americana format with a listener-appreciation party from 2 to 6pm on Saturday September 29, in the station's studio.

A live music broadcast from Studio C featured Friends of Tom, playing roots to rock: Wooden Nickel, The Drukenmillers with spirited old-time music, and Jim Stanson, playing country blues-rock. - Lehigh Carbon Community College Bulliten

Congratulations to our Week 4 winner Friends of Tom.They join BottleShot, Tim Harakal, and Sunsets North in the Finals of the 2008 Lehigh Valley Acoustic Performance Contest this coming Tuesday, December 9th at The Blue Monkey in Catasauqua!

Interestingly, we pulled the order of performance out of a hat and it ended up being in the same order that the acts won the weekly rounds. BottleShot started the Finals off with their inspired funk-blues-soul vibe. Next up was two-time Finalist Tim Harakal with his poetic, fluid playing and lyrics. Sunsets North played third and turned the vibe 180 degrees with their jagged, angular alt rock songwriting and cello-guitar combo. Our final Finalist was the full-band "fo-blu-co" sounds of folk-blues-country from Friends of Tom with their tight playing and songs full of heart. Get to know all of these great local acts on our music player and our Top Friends list. - Lehigh Valley Acoustic Contest

Posted by Jodi Duckett at 2:17:07 PM on March 1, 2009
....
FRIENDS OF TOM
“Fobluco”
self-released

Fobluco is, according to Friends of Tom, a combination of folk, blues and country, or put another way, it combines backwoods, back porch, Delta and twang. It's a high-energy mix with quirky lyrics.

There is plenty of twang with Chris Younger on guitar and mandolin and Rob Fedorczyk on Dobro slide, guitar and banjo. Many of the songs are bluegrass, but they have an extra bit of rhythm from Jim Thompson’s standup bass and guest drumming by Cliff Cole and Jeff White.

Among the 12 tracks are the electric blues of “The Men in My Life” featuring Liz Younger’s sultry vocals, the honky tonk of “ ‘Bear’ Bones,” and a bluegrassy version of the CD’s only cover, “House of the Rising Sun.”

The little touches here make this CD appealing. On “East Coast Woman,” Chris Younger sings about his wife always being late, while during the song Liz is “calling” him on her cell phone. John Carelli does a short operatic vocal to begin the melancholy “Never Said Goodbye.” Cole leads off “Tell Me Now” with hammered dulcimer that enhances the song so much, you can forgive the rhyming of “love me” and “eternity” and “true” and “I love you.”

Fobluco grows on you as you listen, although, like a lot of good music, it is hard to explain why. It might be the sincerity. Or maybe it is nice to hear love songs about marriage or lost friends instead of the standard breakup/falling-in-love themes. Or maybe because it is a bit different. But you should listen, and decide for yourself.

Performing: Friends of Tom CD release party, 8:30 p.m. March 13, Grumpy’s BBQ, 3000 Mauch Chunk Road, Mechanicsville, 610-769-4600; 1-2 p.m. March 13, live performance, WXLV 90.3 FM.

On the Net: www.friendsoftomband.com.

Dave Howell is a freelance writer. - The Morning Call - Allentown

Posted by Jodi Duckett at 12:01:23 AM on March 9, 2009


Bands that play original music rarely want to be pigeonholed into one style. Friends of Tom have gone a step further — they have made up their own word for what they play.

“FoBluCo,” also the name of the group’s first CD, defined as a combination of folk, blues, country and roots. Another description might be just Americana, or roots music. It leanstoward the backwoods, with a laid-back, stringed instrument sound.

Along with originals, the quartet plays songs by artists ranging from Lucinda Williams to Brian Setzer, as well as putting their own spin on classic rock standards. “We take a song and play it using different instrumentation,” says Chris Younger. People will ask them, “What’s that metal thing?” upon seeing Rob Fedorczyk’s Dobro, or “Is that a cello?” when looking at Jim Thompson’s standup bass.

Friends of Tom, which has been together about four years, is composed of three men who are engineers in their day jobs and a lead singer, Chris’ wife Liz, who is a social worker. For many years, Chris played the bar circuit with a cover band, RoundTrip.

The current band was yet unnamed when they did a show with the former lead singer of RoundTrip, Tom Epler. When introduced, they referred to themselves as “friends of Tom.” They decided to keep the name.

Their 12-track CD has all originals, except a bluegrass-like version of “House of the Rising Sun.” It varies from love songs to humorous laments about the tardiness of spouses and the middle age loss of memory. There are also heartfelt stories about lost friends. “These people struck a chord,” says Liz Younger, “and inspired us to write wonderful lyrics.”

Music: Americana
Members:
Liz Younger – lead vocals
Chris Younger – guitar, harmonica, vocals, mandolin, rhythm machine Rob Fedorczyk – slide acoustic and electric guitar, Dobro, mandolin
Jim Thompson - upright bass

Performing: CD release party, 9 p.m., March 13, Grumpy’s Bar-B-Que Roadhouse, 3000 Mauch Chunk Road, Mechanicsville, 610-769-4600, www.grumpysbbq.net,
live on-air performance, 1 to 2 p.m., March 13, WXLV 90.3 FM.

On the Web: www.friendsoftomband.com

Dave Howell is a freelance writer.
- The Morning Call - Allentown

Meet the Band: Friends of Tom
by Express-Times staff
Friday March 13, 2009, 12:20 AM

Friends of Tom will celebrate the release of their new album, "FoBluCo," today at Grumpys Bar-B-Que Roadhouse in South Whitehall Township.Residence: Lehigh Valley

Members: Liz Younger (vocals), Chris Younger (guitar, mandolin, harmonica), Rob Fedorczyk (dobro slide, guitar, mandolin), Jim Thompson (upright bass)

Web site(s): myspace.com/friendsoftomband, friendsoftomband.com, sonicbids.com/friendsoftom

Influences: The band's unique sound comes from influences that include old country, rockabilly, piedmont, delta blues and classic rock.

The group also counts Lucinda Williams and Brian Setzer among its favorites.

Sounds like: The group describes its sound as an edgy Alison Krauss and a happier Williams, with the energy of Setzer.

Traces of Americana, country, bluegrass and blues can be heard prominently in its songs.

"We're not as mellow as (Krauss)," Chris Younger points out.

Younger says the band's sound "comes off more of a bluegrass-country vibe."

Set list: "We're basically a blend," Younger says.

The band mixes original cuts like "East Coast Woman," "Tell Me Now," "Broken Memory Blues" and "Never Said Goodbye," with a variety of genre-spanning covers that touch upon its array of influences.

"We really play it by the venue," Younger says.

Know their roots: Seasoned veterans of the stage, Chris and Liz Younger started out as a duo performing throughout the Lehigh Valley as well as North Jersey and Pittsburgh before bringing Fedorczyk and Thompson into the fold in 2006.

The group released its debut album, "FoBluCo," earlier this year. The album features 11 original tunes and a cover of "House of the Rising Sun," a song made popular by The Animals.

It was also a finalist of the 2008 Lehigh Valley Acoustic Performance Competition.

Catch them if you can: The band will perform from 1 to 2 p.m. today live on Roots 90.3 WXLV-FM, followed by a CD release party at Grumpy's Bar-B-Que Roadhouse in South Whitehall Township.

- Express Times - Easton