AC/DC, Aerosmith, Mohammad Ali, Alice In Chains, All In The Family, Tori Amos, Anthrax, A Perfect Circle, Louis Armstrong, Arrested Development, Atari 2600, The A Team, The Atomic Punks, Audioslave, Back To The Future, Bad Brains, Bad Santa, Lucille Ball, Count Basie, Batman, The Beach Boys, Beastie Boys, The Beatles, Beavis & Butt-head, Beck, Jeff Beck, Bee Gees, Beer For Dolphins, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Behind The Music, Pat Benatar, Chuck Berry, Beverly Hills 90210, Big Head Todd And The Monsters, The Big Lebowski, Andrew Bird, Bjork, The Black Crowes, Black Sabbath, Art Blakey, Blue Man Group, The Blues Brothers, James Bond, Borat, Boston, David Bowie, Bowling Alone, Johannes Brahms, James Brown, Dave Brubeck, Buckethead, Jeff Buckley, Buddhism, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Charles Bukowski, Carol Burnett, Ken Burns, The Byrds, David Byrne, Joseph Campbell, George Carlin, The Carpenters, The Cars, Johnny Carson, Car Talk, Johnny Cash, The Catcher In The Rye, The Celestine Prophecy, Tracy Chapman, Dave Chappelle, Ray Charles, Cheap Trick, Cheers, Chicago, Winston Churchill, Eric Clapton, Arthur C. Clarke, The Clash, George Clinton, Joe Cocker, The Coen Brothers, The Colbert Report, John Coltrane, Shawn Colvin, The Commodores, The Constitution Of The United States Of America, Chick Corea, A Christmas Story, Bill Cosby, Elvis Costello, Cream, Jim Croce, Bing Crosby, Sheryl Crow, DaDa, The Daily Show, Rodney Dangerfield, Charles Darwin, The Da Vinci Code, Miles Davis, Sammy Davis Jr., The Dead Milkmen, James Dean, Deep Purple, John Denver, Detroit, Devo, Charles Dickens, Ani DiFranco, Dire Straits, Dixie Chicks, Fats Domino, The Donnas, The Doors, Tom Dowd, Dr. Mambo's Combo, Dr. Suess, Duran Duran, Jimmy Durante, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Earth, Wind & Fire, Clint Eastwood, Easy Rider, The Electric Company, Danny Elfman, Duke Ellington, Brian Eno, Bill Evans, Family Guy, Family Ties, Leo Fender, Filter, Firefly, The First Amendment, First Avenue, Ella Fitzgerald, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Fixx, Fleetwood Mac, Flipp, John Fogerty, Ben Folds, Foo Fighters, Fraggle Rock, Al Franken, Aretha Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, Frasier, Friends, Peter Gabriel, Gandhi, Garfield, Marvin Gaye, Get Shorty, Stan Getz, Ghostbusters, Dizzy Gillespie, G. Love And Special Sauce, Good Times, The Goonies, Larry Graham, The Grateful Dead, Grease, Greazy Meal, Al Green, Guthrie Theater, Buddy Guy, Sammy Hagar, Alex Haley, Herbie Hancock, Happy Days, Ben Harper, Cornbread Harris, Heart, Mitch Hedberg, Hugh Hefner, Jimi Hendrix, Don Henley, Jim Henson, Peter Himmelman, Alfred Hitchcock, Billie Holiday, Buddy Holly, Gustav Holst, John Hughes, Billy Idol, Indiana Jones, The Industrial Revolution, Inspirado, The Internet, INXS, Eddie Izzard, Michael Jackson, Jane's Addiction, Wyclef Jean, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Billy Joel, Elton John, John 5, Jack Johnson, Lonnie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Norah Jones, Janis Joplin, Scott Joplin, Michael Kamen, Kansas City, KDXL FM, Garrison Keillor, John F. Kennedy, Kill Bill, B.B. King, Martin Luther King Jr., King's X, The Kinks, Kiss, The Knack, Don Knotts, Kraftwerk, Alison Krauss, Stanley Kubrick, Donn Landee, Las Vegas, Cyndi Lauper, Led Zeppelin, Spike Lee, David Letterman, Huey Lewis And The News, Lipps Inc., Living Colour, Looney Tunes, Los Lobos, Low, George Lucas, Mad About You, Madonna, Gustav Mahler, Henry Mancini, Aimee Mann, Marilyn Manson, Bob Marley, Thurgood Marshall, George Martin, Steve Martin, M*A*S*H, John Mayer, Bobby McFerrin, Sarah McLachlan, Meerkat Manor, Meet The Press, John Cougar Mellancamp, Memphis, Men At Work, Felix Mendelssohn, Merlin, Merrie Melodies, Metallica, Midnight Oil, Arthur Miller, Glenn Miller, Steve Miller Band, The Minnesota Twins, The Minnesota Vikings, Joni Mitchell, Mom, Thelonious Monk, Mo Better Blues, Marilyn Monroe, Montrose, Mary Tyler Moore, Mork & Mindy, Motown, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mr. Mom, Mr. T, MTV, The Muppets, Eddie Murphy, My Bloody Valentine, My Name Is Earl, MySpace, Mystery Science Theater 3000, NASA, Willie Nelson, New Orleans, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, No Doubt, NPR, N.W.A., NYPD Blue, Barack Obama, Brendan O'Brien, Conan O'Brien, The Office, Office Space, Roy Orbison, Mo Ostin, Pachyderm Studio, Charlie Parker, Rosa Parks, Jaco Pastorius, Les Paul, Luciano Pavarotti, PBS, Pearl Jam, Hartley Peavey, Carl Perkins, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, Pixies, Robert Plant, Poe, The Police, Iggy Pop, The Pretenders, Prince, Public Enemy, Kirby Puckett, Queen, Sun Ra, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, The Ramones, Otis Redding, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Christopher Reeve, Rob Reiner, R.E.M., The Replacements, Rhythm Jones, Buddy Rich, Little Richard, The Right Stuff, Max Roach, Jackie Robinson, Chris Rock, Kenny Rogers, The Rolling Stones, Henry Rollins, Sonny Rollins, Linda Ronstadt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, David Lee Roth, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rick Rubin, Run DMC, Rush, Tim Russert, Sade, Sanford And Son, Joe Satriani, Saturday Night Fever, Saturday Night Live, Saved By The Bell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Scrubs, Seal, Seattle, Seinfeld, Serenity, Sesame Street, Brian Setzer, William Shakespeare, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, Simon & Garfunkel, Simple Minds, The Simpsons, Frank Sinatra, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Slave Raider, Sly And The Family Stone, Bessie Smith, Patti Smith, The Smiths, Snoop Dogg, Socrates, The Sopranos, Soul Asylum, Soul Coughing, Sounder, Soundgarden, John Philip Sousa, South Park, Spaghetti Westerns, Spinal Tap, SpongeBob SquarePants, Bruce Springsteen, Star Wars, Steely Dan, Steppenwolf, Steve Stevens, Jon Stewart, Sting, Stone Temple Pilots, Richard Strauss, The Suburbs, The Sugarhill Gang, Sun Studio, Superman, Matthew Sweet, Talking Heads, Quentin Tarantino, James Taylor, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Teachers & Mentors, Tears For Fears, Ted Templeman, Tenacious D, 10,000 Maniacs, That 70s Show, Three's Company, The Time, TLC, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Alexis de Tocqueville, Tone-Loc, Tool, Train, Trip Shakespeare, The Turtles, The Twilight Zone, Twin/Tone Records, 2001: A Space Odyssey, United Nations, U2, Sarah Vaughan, Steve Vai, Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Velvet Revolver, Verve Records, VH1, Antonio Vivaldi, Rufus Wainwright, Tom Waits, Joe Walsh, Andy Warhol, Washington, D.C., Muddy Waters, Weather Report, Weeds, Weezer, Paul Wellstone, Paul Westerberg, The White Stripes, The Who, Wilco, Will & Grace, John Williams, Paul Williams, Robin Williams, August Wilson, Dan Wilson, The Wizard Of Oz, WKRP In Cincinnati, Stevie Wonder, Tammy Wynette, Yes, Andrew Young, Neil Young, YouTube, The X Files, The Yardbirds, Frank Zappa, Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance, Warren Zevon, ZZ Top, etc.
My name is Andrew Thomas, though most folks call me by my initials, "AT." I have been playing music since age three and pursuing it professionally for my entire adult life. Throughout the years I have played and studied piano, voice, trumpet, guitar, drum set, electric bass, and various percussion instruments.
Presented below in list form is my personal account of the happenings and whatnots that make up the events, involvements, and peoples with whom I associate in music and beyond.
*My primary instrument is the guitar; I am mainly a rock and blues player, though I have experience in and thoroughly enjoy many genres and styles.
*I teach guitar to wanting souls several days a week at My Music Store in Golden Valley. I've known the owner Jim since I was about three feet tall, and the family-like atmosphere of the store is indeed very comfortable to work in. I've taught in one form or another since 1998, including summer school courses for the city of St. Louis Park and private guitar lessons. Somehow this rock n' roll kid turned into a mentor to others. Go figure.
*For many years I have owned a recording studio, first called Greenhouse Studios (1995-2000) and located in St. Louis Park, then called Soliton (2000-2008) and located in Bloomington, and most recently Discovery One (2008-Present) and located in St. Paul. My longtime associate and creative collaborator was veteran Twin Cities musician Jeremy Ylvisaker, who left the business in 2004. In my numerous years of studio experience I have worked and/or played on more than 300 unique projects. I also sometimes operate out of a small home studio and act as a freelance engineer and producer.
*I have played in several bands since I was a teenager. Throughout the 1990s I wrote, recorded, and performed primarily as a solo artist, but in more recent times that has taken a back seat to group projects, as I've found I very much favor interaction and collaboration. My current band-on-the-scene is AT/DT, which began as an exaggerated "mock rock" side project but later evolved into something more normal. My brother Dave ("DT") plays drums, one of my oldest and bestest friends Ben sings lead, and another old friend and musical comrade DJ plays bass. We enjoy tapping our rock n' roll roots for inspiration. I do continue to write and record solo music selectively, and I'll eventually see through to fruition an experimental/ambient studio project I've deemed Vampire Conspiracy. There is also this guy, Nelson May, with whom I am loosely related.
*As a side business, since 2008 I've been offering guitar setups and small repairs/modifications out of my home in Minneapolis. (A full guitar setup includes a complete string change, neck truss rod adjustment, bridge saddle intonation, cleaning/oiling of the neck, and general lubricating and cleaning of the instrument.) Repairs and modifications I can do include pickup, tuning machine, pickguard, and bridge and hardware installations or replacements, soldering, and small finish touch-ups. I can also advise on custom-build projects. (Email me for pricing and appointments.)
*I am a producer and music director with a film collaborative called Siege Perilous Films. We formed in 2002 around the production of a feature-length movie called revisions, which was the film school project written and directed by my good friend James Buffington. After lingering on in extended post-production, revisions was completed during the summer of 2008; it will be released in 2009, make appearances at various film festivals, and be available on DVD and for download online. Siege Perilous Films is currently considering new projects, including short films and music videos.
*I am a member of ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). In addition to studio, teaching, and band work, I write music regularly for other purposes, either with the intent of selling a song to another artist or producer or for things like film and television productions.
*In my "spare" time I like to assemble and build electric guitars. Each time I do it I dig a little deeper into the process. I appreciate the adventure of conceiving and creating something I will use specifically and functionally for my chosen occupation, and the end result is always very rewarding.
*I am a politically active individual and made a return to school a few years back to study political science. In an effort to not box myself up and maintain some level of objectivity, I avoid attaching specific titles to myself or my political views. If pressed, however, the term "progressive" fits fairly well. I take pride in being one who will always consider the opinion of others, though. It is a distant goal I have to one day, in some capacity, run for elected office.
*Baseball, Stanley Kubrick films, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Car Talk on NPR, coffee, cheese and crackers, Windex, and excessive news intake are other things I enjoy. I am a pop culture sponge and will kill you in that subject area of Trivial Pursuit should we ever play together.
For contact information, regular news updates, recording studio queries, mailing list signup, and more, please visit: www.andrewthomas.net.
Beautiful work you are doing here Mr. T. I am currently submitting material to get some air play on the Cities 97 there in Minny. Peace! Jason/Reconcile
Thanks for supporting our Troops! I appreciate it and I know our Troops appreciate it.
If you would like to help us thank those still serving overseas and help those coming home wounded, please stop by the profile, read the latest blog and do what you can.
Andrew! Great guitar work, both playing and building. I have heard people say you should really get to know your instrument, you do, apparently.... Lisa I. RoadBot
Hey Andrew - thanks for the add! I am groovin' to your tunes - let me know if you need a bagpipe. (wink) I will effort to come see you play - if you are at the Renaissance Festival my band is "Laughing Hearts Pub Band" Didgeridoo, bagpipe, with pirate songs and irish tunes - a deadly combo. Peace on ya! Kemo
Online!
