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The sound is from the heart, the chords insistent, the words pouring from somewhere deep inside. The words: they’re lyrical, poetic, flowing…the expression of a life’s worth of living and loving and working and traveling. This is the music of HawkEye’s own Tomy Wright, who is about to release his first CD of sixteen titles. One of those sixteen, ‘I Am a Road (in Frederick County)’, penned in support of a local grassroots effort to preserve a neighborhood’s gravel road, offers a fitting metaphor for Tomy’s own musical journey.
Tomy Wright began that musical journey with childhood violin and (very briefly) piano lessons in the Boston suburb of Melrose, Massachusetts, where he played in his school orchestra and string ensemble. By high school, though, his parents’ classical inspiration gave way to a Jimi Hendrix song book, guitar chords and some impromptu drum licks on the bottom of an overturned desk drawer. When he discovered American blues by way of British rock groups such as the Rolling Stones, Cream and the Yard Birds, Tomy found himself drawn to a sound that eventually would help him find his own.
Then came life and a 28 year career in military intelligence that culminated in his retirement earlier this year as a Lieutenant Colonel (US Army). Over the years, Tomy served in tactical, operational and strategic intelligence assignments in Europe, Panama, the Pacific and domestic postings. As he looks back on his military career now, Tomy reflects on what a ‘great vehicle’ the military was for him: he revisits those experiences in so many settings around the world for the raw material that today finds its way into his poetry, his songs and his music.
Traveling that long gravel road of life along with Tomy for 21 years in January 2004 has been his wife, Diane Messer. A former Army aviator who flew Huey and Chinook helicopters, Diane currently is working as a free lance environmental consultant with a deep commitment to animal rescue issues. Tomy says she is a ‘great singer’ herself and speculates about future musical collaborations to come.
Most of his songs begin as poems, Tomy explains, and some may be modified later so that the phrasing and rhymes might better fit a particular song. Always, though, he incorporates that underlying poetic lyricism into his songs. And always Tomy’s music is a vehicle for expressing his thoughts and reactions and feelings about life’s experiences – the places he’s been, the people he’s met, the romances he’s lived, the scenes and the events that stay with him.
Tomy offers a revealing glimpse into his relationship with his music when he recounts how he has adopted a nugget of wisdom passed to him from fellow performing songwriter, Tom Prasada Rao: he does not try to play what he thinks people might want to hear – he plays what’s inside – and people respond because that is what they want to hear.
Many influences encountered along life’s way contribute to Tomy’s unique sound today, which might best be described as contemporary folk. Tomy recalls in particular his early love of the Beatles and the way Indian sounds found expression in their music through the sitar and other traditional instruments. He remembers Panama, too, the Central American country where he was assigned for several years in the mid-‘90s. He used to join in with the Panamanian musicians among his military counterparts, playing and singing with them at their parties and get-togethers; at Christmas, Tomy would stroll through the streets with them in the traditional pasada of holiday music. Music bridges cultures for Tomy, which may be why his music blends so seamlessly in a fascinating flow of rhythms, undercurrents, harmonies and melodies.
Tomy keeps a busy schedule with local performances around the capital region and has just been elected Chair of the Frederick, MD chapter of the Association of Independent Writers. He makes regular Friday night appearances at the Market Street café in Frederick for poetry readings and music; on Sundays, he can be found at the Frederick Coffee Company for the "SNAFU – Sunday night All Folked Up" open mike that showcases traveling musicians and songwriters. Spring and fall, he makes appearances at the ‘Fine Arts in the Valley’ program and is planning a number of holiday performances over the next month as well. Sunday, 7 Dec 03 will find him from 1700-2100 at the Leukemia Society Benefit to be held at the ‘Pour House’ in Westminster, MD; HawkEye fans can catch him at the...Gray Hawk Christmas Party Talent Show to be held at Jury’s Hotel in downtown Washington, DC. Fellow musical talents, Pierre Thuot and John Duncan, are scheduled to join Tomy at that gala in a round of playing and singing [13 Dec 03].
Looking ahead to 7-9 May 2004, Tomy will be performing at the Third Annual Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival (SMAF III) in Darlington, MD, an event for which he serves as the Publicity Chair. The afternoon of Sunday, 9 May, Tomy will appear on the ‘Maryland Stage’ that will showcase local regional artists.
HawkEye fans lucky enough to be able to attend VP Pierre Thuot’s backyard barbeque on 6 Oct 03 were treated to a fabulous slice of Tomy’s talent as he teamed up with more HawkEye talent, including Pierre on base and John Duncan on acoustic guitar and harmonica. In addition to a sampling of numbers from his upcoming CD, Tomy, Pierre and John also brought the room to toe-tapping, sing-along laughter with a selection of ‘golden oldies’.
For those awaiting the release of Tomy’s CD, it has indeed been a long time in the making. According to Tomy, some of the songs on this disc were written as long ago as 20-25 years! These and others that are much more recent actually span a creative journey through life’s relationships and experiences. Of late, Tomy notes that his creative focus has shifted to include more societal commentary and an inclusion of current events; he credits the shift to a ‘deeper perspective’ that comes with life and years.
This, his first CD, should be out by the beginning of January 2004. He is putting the finishing touches on the collection now, and has just finalized the artist’s sketch that will decorate the cover and the layout of the complete lyrics that he wanted to include inside each CD. In fact, Tomy will tell you that this CD is really a massive collaborative effort that included musicians, artists, a sculptor, technical production, voice coach and a variety of singers. And, not one to rest on his laurels, he already is well along in plans for a second and even a third CD. He has sketched out the basic outline for the second CD, which he plans to be a simpler production featuring just himself and his guitar. Tomy would like the third CD in the ‘series’ to be a collaborative effort with fellow poets that will give some lesser-known artists a chance to showcase their lyrics accompanied by Tomy’s musical arrangements.