Tom Melancon

For singer, songwriter and guitar player Tom Melancon, a career in music is not just an ambition and even more than a passion. Ultimately, it’s his mission in life, and one for which he has the talent, gumption, determination and savvy to follow to fulfillment.

He has already begun making a name and an impact in Austin, Texas as a busy acoustic performer at a number of venues with a variety of accompanists and for two recent years as the dynamic singer, front man and primary songwriter of the band Kittinger. With a potent, full and flexible tenor voice and original songs that rock with pop hooks on the uptempo side and woo and charm in his subtler moments, all the while brimming with emotive and literate lyricism, he has an innate knack for capturing and charming the ears of listeners from a wide swath of stylistic tastes.

Touchstones for Melancon’s music are such diverse stars as Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Sublime and Counting Crows among many inspirations, transcending the lessons learned from their influence to create his own approach and material that is contemporary in its appeal while also classic in its solid musical grounding. His gifts as a singer were apparent early on at the age of seven when his school music teacher heard his abilities and enlisted him in years of serious vocal training. He stepped onto the stage soon after as a country music prodigy performing at rodeos and Oprys around his hometown of Rosenberg, Texas near Houston, taking to both singing and entertaining like it was a birthright.

By age 12 Tom had picked up the guitar and started trying his hand at writing songs. Rock music began to fire his imagination while at the same time the rise of Garth Brooks to the peak of the musical world gave Melancon a vision of stylistic openness and delivering full feelings and fervor to audiences from the stage. “He showed me how you don’t have to live within a genre and any limits, and you can just do what you do,” he explains.

After fronting a rock band during his senior year of high school he hit the Texas musical capital of Austin for college with the intent of making the city a launching pad for his artistic endeavors. His study of philosophy gave Melancon both the personal and universal viewpoints that informed the songs he wrote while taking a hiatus from live performing during his undergraduate years. On graduation, he ditched the notion of attending law school to hit the Austin clubs and follow his fate.

“I’ve heard enough people to know that I can do music and make something of it,” Melancon explains. “But I also know that it’s not going to fall in my lap. I have to put myself out there and pursue it to my fullest abilities.” His inclinations were proven correct when at his weekly Tuesday gig at The Ritz on Austin’s Sixth Street just before the South By Southwest music conference and festival he caught the ear of record label executives and a USO tour booker with what was, he admits, an impromptu presentation of his songs with some instrumental collaborators.

At the suggestions of mutual friends he joined forces with lead guitarist Daniel Garza, an ideal musical foil, and the two started the band Kittinger, which in its two-year run frequently packed the house and wowed the crowds at downtown Austin’s Amsterdam Cafe, releasing an EP that sold well to fans at their shows. As the two now plot their next group effort, Melancon and Garza keep their chops honed and continue to win new followers with regular gigs at such local venues as Molotov, Hyatt Regency, Apthecary, Momo’s, Jovita’s, Flamingo Cantina, and Red Eyed Fly.

“This is what I want to do,” Melancon concludes with his trademark resolve that informs his music, shows and career goals. “So if I can do this, I’m going to do it.” And those who have heard and been touched by what he creates and how he delivers it will hardly be surprised when he makes that mark all his own in the not too distant future.