Tom Throws's original songs are a journey through a struggle for personal acceptance. In his continuing battle against the self-esteem crushing 'Stage Fright Giant,' Wadsworth, who recently adopted the stage name Tom Throws, scored a decisive victory: he gave a concert with 5-string double bassist Stephen Orsini (the long, lost Orsini brother) at the venerable Saratoga Springs, New York coffeehouse, Caffe Lena and slew the 'Giant' with a dazzling array of songs from Skeleton Man as well as songs from his upcoming album, 'Tom Throws.'
His much loved first CD, Skeleton Man, combining subtle insanity, emotional catharsis and social terror was largely ignored by the pay to play alternative music scene. Despite Mr. Throws insufficient promotion of Skeleton Man it continues to sell well in his home region of Upstate New York and in Northern New Mexico. Skeleton Man will soon go into its second printing.
Tom's playing is inspired by the sounds of American roots music: Country, Western Swing, Blues, Old Time and Bluegrass as well as Celtic music. His songwriting finds inspiration in traditional song, local history and recent and contemporary writers like Bruce Cockburn, Hank Williams, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Michelle Shocked, Nanci Griffith and Bob Dylan. Instrumentally, he was first inspired by his discovery of the Doc Watson album 'Memories' in 1975.
Skeleton Man's fourteen tracks showcase seven of Tom's songs and three of his instrumentals including the memorable "Cherry Valley Waltz" and the plaintive, often requested "Longing". The songs range from hopeful to reflective with stories of love, loss, absence and healing.
The opener, "Howes Cave Blues", is a catchy country blues about being dumped by a carless fellow bandmate. A rollicking rural-rock-holler, "Sister Go", contrasts sharpley with "She's Gone', a meditation on the vanishing of mind and transformation of relationship, the inevitable effect of Alzheimer's disease.
"For the Knife", a hauntingly surreal blues ballad seems tenuously connected to the title cut "Skeleton Man", a funny, Iberian sounding anthem to archeologists. "Old Soda", tells of a train-station alcoholic whose bottled courage is never quite sufficient for him to get out of town and "Is Returning" offers an island-flavored, current-age cry to re-engage in the process of creating our world anew.
The four covers on the album include the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger," the obscure, "Elise's Tarantella", Townes Van Zandt's "White Freightliner" and the Delmore Brothers' classic "Jailhouse Blues".
On this first release, Wadsworth is joined by his long-time musical collaborator Frank Orsini on fiddle, viola and mandolin, Ed Lowman on fiddle, guitar and mandolin, Stephen Orsini on upright bass, Kevin Maul on dobro and Hawaiian guitar, Tom Wetmore on upright bass and Sam Zucchini on snare and brush bodhran. The renowned jam-band bassist Tony Markellis plays acoustic bass guitar on the title track and on "Is Returning".
Skeleton Man marks the recorded debut of musician / songwriter / singer Tom Throws aka Tom Wadsworth.
www.tommywadsworth.com
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