Tom Guerra

Tom Guerra [1] is an American guitarist and songwriter.

In 2014, he released his debut solo album, the critically acclaimed All of the Above, a collection of 11 rock and roll original tunes. Tom's second solo disc "Trampling Out the Vintage" was released in late Summer 2016.

Since the late 1970s, Guerra has been on the New England club circuit, playing blues, rock and roll and R&B acts. Influenced by Rory Gallagher, Paul Kossoff, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and Joe Walsh, Guerra first gained notoriety after being featured in Guitar Player (March 1991). Over the years, Guerra has recorded or played with Rick Derringer, The Dirty Bones Blues Band', Max Weinberg, Mark Nomad, Sticky Fingers (for which he wrote and arranged original music for the group's debut CD), The Easton Brothers with Muddy Waters bassist Charles Calmese, Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson from The Allman Brothers Band, Second Son, Guitar Shorty, Adolph Jacobs of The Coasters, Kenny Aaronson, and The Delrays.

Since 1998, he has written for Vintage Guitar, and has endorsed Brian Moore Custom guitars, Colby and DST-Engineering amplifiers and a variety of guitar related effects.

In 1999, he formed Mambo Sons with singer Scott Lawson, based upon a songwriting partnership that dated back to the early 1980s. Their debut album, released in 1999, featured Rick Derringer. This twelve-song effort contained both new music as well as songs the two had originally written a decade before.

Mambo Sons second disc Play Some Rock & Roll! (2002) was named top indie release of the year by NYRock magazine, and their third Racket of Three was called album of the year in Pattaya, Thailand by author Mott the Dog.

Guerra appeared as the featured interview in the April 2007 ToneQuest Report magazine.

In 2009 and 2013, at the request of Johnny Winter, Guerra created the liner notes for Winters' series of live albums entitled The Bootleg Series.

On August 1, 2009, Mambo Sons released a 20 song double album entitled Heavy Days. Songs on the two disc set included "The Early Train," "She Just Wants to Ride," "Overend Watts" (about the Peter Watts), and a live cover of "Stone Free". Heavy Days was named "CD Release of the Week" by the Hartford Courant. In this review, rock writer Eric Danton said "Accordingly, Guerra is the focal point here, and deservedly so: he peels off blistering slide guitar licks on opening track "She Just Wants to Ride," dials in an acoustic-Zeppelin feel with the faintly Eastern-sounding riff on "Love is Strange" and unleashes enough funk on "I Love My Family" to make Sly Stone proud." In early 2010, Cleveland's "Rock and Roll Report" named Heavy Days the best straight ahead rock and roll recording of the year.

In 2012, following the announcement of Mambo Sons hiatus, Guerra switched focus to his studio guitar service, helping other artists with their songs, arrangements and recordings, as well as developing songs for his solo career.

Two of Guerrra's songs have garnered praise for their positive and healing nature despite the gravity of subject. Immediately following the Sandy Hook school shooting in December, 2012, Guerra wrote and recorded "Love Comes to Us All" to honor the impacted families. Following the release of the song and associated video, Newtown First Selectman, Pat Llodro, and several directly impacted wrote letters praising the song. In early 2013, he recorded "Put Up Their Names - The Ballad of the U.S.S. Frank E. Evans" to honor the 74 sailors lost aboard the USS Frank E. Evans naval disaster off the coast of Vietnam in June 1969. According to Guerra, the purpose of the song is to bring attention to the U.S. Government's refusal to list the names of the 74 who died on the Vietnam Wall.

In 2014, Guerra released his first solo album, All of the Above, a collection of 11 guitar based rock and roll tunes, including "Love Comes To Us All." "All of the Above" was met with widespread critical acclaim on an international basis. Other players on the album include session drummer Mike Kosacek, and keyboardists Morgan Fisher of Mott the Hoople and Matt Zeiner. To promote the release,Tom reoonvened Mambo Sons with former Diire Straits guitarist Jack Sonni.

In late 2016, "Trampling Out the Vintage," Guerra's second solo album, was released featuring the same musicians who appeared on "All of the Above" plus bass guitar virtuoso Kenny Aaronson. Like "All of the Above," "Trampling..." contains a variety of guitar based rock and roll tunes performed on classic vintage instruments. In addition, "Trampling..." contains two cover tunes, "Make Your Own Kind of Music", a hit for Mama Cass, and "Pay in Blood," a recent Bob Dylan composition.

Discography

References

  1. ↑ "Photograph of Guerra". Tomguerra.com. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
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