Keith T and the Truth

Musician using his talents to help others
Songwriter Keith Tolmich is a diabetic who donates his time to the

American Diabetes Association
by Michelle J. Mills



Keith Tolmich is a songwriter, a musician, a record producer and a diabetic. He's also a man with a big heart who is using his talents to help others. The San Fernando Valley resident was diagnosed with diabetes as a teen. "When I was 17 years old, I was at an Alice cooper concert at Anaheim Stadium and it was hot out," recalls Tolmich. "I was so thirsty that I just could not stop drinking water every five minutes and going to the bathroom every five minutes after that.


"Luckily, I was with a good friend of mine who said to me, 'You know, Keith, my grandmother has diabetes and I've heard her talk about being real thirsty and peeing a lot. You keep running back and forth.' I said, 'No, I'm fine.' but that night I got real sick and luckily rememberd what he said. "My parents thought I didn't look too good and took me to the hospital," Tolmich continues. "Sure enough I was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, which is basically insulin dependent diabetes. I had to start taking insulin. I had to take four shots a day for many, many years. The first three years were very difficult.

"Little by little I got through it and accepted it and have done extremely well with it. I've had it for 20 years now. I'm in good health and I have the latest technology which is a mini-med instant pump that automatically disperses the insulin all day long. You can dial it in for dinners which is more convenient in a lot of ways. It's a miracle. And that's why I picked the American Diabetes Association.


"Actually, I didn't pick them," Tolmich recants. "They picked me because I've had success with this disease and I decided I had to have a better cause than just wanting to get rich and wanted to tie that to the ADA."
Music has always been a part of Tolmich's life. His uncle, Sid Talmadge, helped Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert start A&M Records and later, helped Tolmich and his father Jerry, start JT Records™.

Tolmich also rubbed elbows with celebrities, spending his childhood at parties at the home of the Jackson 5 and hanging out with the Osmonds. Then he met guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osborne) who changed his life.


"I was 15 years old and walking down the street and heard that guitar just wailing out of this little room," says Tolmich. "I just followed it to Randy Rhoads and I said, 'Gosh, you're wonderful.' He said, 'Really?' He told me his band was playing that night and I went and watched his band and then begged him to teach me guitar. He started to teach me guitar and about a month later, he switched me over to bass. I've been playing ever since."


From there, Tolmich went on to found the band Speed Limit with his songwriting partner, Danny Schneider. JT Records™ was formed during the early 80's to put out Speed Limit's first release, "Physically Hooked and Addicted to Love."

The band did quite well on local radio and garnered the support of KROQ. the group had a good run on the LA club circuit for about five years. After Speed Limit disbanded, Tolmich formed the Nine O'clock News. They also enjoyed some success with an LP and live shows.
"We opened up Videopolis at Disneyland, " Tolmich says. "We opened up with the Pointer Sisters which is kinda neat. That was a big deal, that was KROQ's big event. Also Lone Justice played too, so that was a real good gig."


Nine O'clock News lasted three years and then Tolmich revived Speed Limit with members from both bands. By now, it was the early 90's and the group was back in the swing, touring and recording. KROQ DJ Klondike Karl took the spotlight, singing lead and bringing his song "Ticky Talk" to the airwaves. Bob Haag (Sparks, Gleaming Spires) stepped in to take over lead guitar, and Little George joined on drums.

"That kind of transformed into the Keith T Band," says Tolmich. "Keith T band came out to do the solo album and the song 'Sugar Sugar.' It started with me doing public service announcements for the ADA stating that I was a diabetic and I wanted to keep people aware of the problem of diabetes.


"I went ahead and cut the song first, did the public announcements, did the voiceover and sent it to them, which they absolutely loved. They called me up and said they wanted to change the words to tie it into a campaign they had for diabetes awareness.
"And they decided they wanted to get some association going with JT Records and 'Sugar Sugar,' but we needed a product to put out and they encouraged me to put out a CD tied around the 'Sugar Sugar' song, so it's kind of a joint idea.

And I pursued that and their logo is on the CD. They get a percentage of the profits for every JT Records™ CD, not just they key release. "They get twice that for the Keith T release, 'Me, Myself and I.' The idea of the CD and why I've tied it into the ADA is that I've had the idea of 'Sugar Sugar' being the theme song for 15 years and finally I have my own studio where I can go in and take my time and do it right."


Tolmich explains that when artists sign with JT Records™, they must agree to donate part of the profits from their release to go to the ADA. This should not be a hard decision for the artist, as they money does not come out of their cut, but out of JT Records™' cut.
Tolmich keeps busy performing with both bands. Speed Limit is an alternative rock band,

while Keith T keeps the audience on their feet with a wide range of copy tunes and original works. Tolmich credits the success of projects to his fellow musicians, Bob Haag, Curtis Jacobs and Little George. He also has kind words for the ADA.

"I've always said if you have to have a disease, it's a good one to have," says Tolmich. "It's manageable, you can live a normal life, but at the same token, it's one of the most devastating diseases to have because it affects a lot of people. There's 15 million of us. Another 5 million don't even know they have it.
"It's the number one cause of blindness and amputation. I've met people who have all those problems and that's one of the most frightening things. Every day you face the reality that scares the hell out of me being a diabetic . And that's why I support the ADA."
Tolmich smiles and slaps the table for emphasis, "God bless the ADA because I was definitely one person, who without their education and their persistence of making sure that we understood this was a livable disease, it would have been really tough.
Now I feel really good."





- The Pasadena Star

LA Based Rock Band Speed Limit comes up with a pop rock song that could easily bring the band some National attention! Akthough the production (obviously low budget) is somewhat thin, the band with it's Micky Dolens like vocals has a definite unique sound. - CASHBOX

Speed Limit is not only a talented fun group, they are also a great band to work with and I have no doubts that SPEED LIMIT will be huge!

April - The "World Famous KROQ" - April Whitney - KROQ