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BIO & STUFF.
Irwin Thomas was born in Roosevelt Hospital, Manhattan, NYC. His father was Jack Goode, a celebrated star of Movies and Broadway who appeared in films with such Hollywood royalty as Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Cary Grant. His mother was a free spirited, folk singing, songwriting Broadway dancer and between the two of them created in Irwin his musical foundation. A prodigious child, Irwin was recorded at two years old singing his own compositions into the family tape recorder. At five he was playing music on drums and ukulele.
After the sudden death of his father Irwins mother decided to start a new life for her and the 10 year old in Australia and they moved to the countryside in Rural Victoria. Irwin took up guitar and practiced with obsessive fervor and dedication. By 14 hed become so accomplished that he was playing in 5 different bands with musicians twice his age. He quickly absorbed a wide variety of styles during this apprenticeship ranging from R&B to Rock, Latin to Punk.
At 14, Irwin met legendary guitar player/producer Carlos Rios (Gino Vanelli Brother to Brother) whilst on tour in Australia. Carlos gave the 14 year old his phone number, address and told him if he was ever in the Los Angeles area to give him a call. 6 months later a rather surprised Carlos received a phone call from that very same kid. Hed arrived. Irwin sat in on a session for an album that Carlos was producing for Latino Actor/Singer Ruben Blades. That night he met the likes of Larry Klein and Al Schmitt. During his time there he witnessed the seedy L.A. rock scene first hand. From downtown to the strip he would crash on friends couches and sneak in to the famous Rainbow theatre at every opportunity. His education continued. On his return to Australia Irwin announced that music was his life so he left school and moved to Melbourne, determined to make it as a professional musician.
Working as a session guitarist he assumed the manarch; Jack Jones. Jack; after his father and Jones; because of his Mothers remarriage. His talents as a guitar for hire were much in demand but his singing debut came quite by accident.
The now world renowned freak drummer Virgil Donati, whos band The State were gaining a reputation on the live circuit, was involved in a side project which was a Van Halen cover band called Hans Valen. Virgil asked Irwin to sing and play guitar. Irwin, being unsure of his voice didnt feel like he could do the songs justice so just played guitar instead. One day, just before a gig the vocalist got sick so Irwin stepped in and sang. The room went quiet as people stared in disbelief that this incredible voice had come from Irwin. He had impressed, so much so that he was asked to join The State as singer/guitar player. The State became Southern Sons and over the next 6 years would go on to sell close to 1,000,000 units throughout Australia, Asia, Germany and Canada.
Irwins time with Southern Sons served as a good foundation for a life in the music business. He toured the country over & over, honing his chops and getting used to playing in front of large audiences was a crucial part of his development. He was somewhat awkward with the fame and knew artistically it was not really what he wanted to do. He needed to explore his own musical identity. His skills were still in demand as a session player and during this time he toured with many of Australias best selling artists. You gotta eat, right?
Then in the mid 90s Irwin found himself back in the U.S. with Dweezil & Ahmet Zappa in their band Z. This came after a previous meeting in 1990 with Dweezil in Sydney where the two became fast friends. Irwin is invited to come and live with the Zappas in L.A and he is welcomed into the family. There he stayed for 18 months and it is in this environment of creativity that Irwin knew that he had to make the leap to being a solo artist.
In 2000 Mudhead was released independently. It was collaboration between Irwin & Gary Garry Beers of INXS and was Irwins first taste of musical freedom.
Working with his long time writing collaborator Rusty Brown, they began work on a solo album. This culminated in 2002 with the release of the first fully-fledged Irwin Thomas album.. The Evolution of Irwin Thomas. A rich and beautiful collection of musical soundscapes. The live shows were spectacular and Irwin was invited to join Matchbox 20 as support during their tour of Australia. The album received much critical acclaim and is a buried treasure waiting to be discovered by a wider audience.
The new album is tentatively called "Made In China" and has been written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered totally independently. It was conceived during 2005 while Irwin was on a UK/ European tour. During a break in the tour there was an opportunity for Rusty to spend some time in London with Irwin to write new material and within three weeks of hard work they had written the bulk of the album. Made In China showcases Irwins outstanding songwriting, dazzling guitar work and his amazing voice.
We believe that, once heard, these songs will be instantly in the listeners memory. If you like music you will love Irwin Thomas. If you have ever listened to a song on the radio that lifted your spirits and made you glad to be alive, you will love Irwin Thomas.
PUT YOUR HANDS UP, FUCK EM ALL, ROCK & ROLL, BABY!!. LETS GO
The evolution of Irwin Thomas continues .
Aw, it's been a month since you played Brussels with the Snake! It feels like ages and I'm itching to get away again. You guys were so much fun too :)
You must spray glorious love showers all over Alice when you see him...wait, that sounds wrong...shower him with mah love rays...hmmm...y'know what I mean :D
Attack Of The Mannequins...@ The Espy (Gershwin room) Friday July 10...rockin' it at 10:00pm sharp supporting Cola Wars (ex-members of Bodyjar). Hope to see you there. www.myspace.com/attackofthemannequins
Thank you so much for the add. I hope that you have good fly, and that you have a good souvenir from Europe.It was so nice to meet you . I hope that ELECTRIC MARY will come back soon in Europe.
yo mate how are ya? great show in bendigo last week! cheers for adding us. check out the vid on our profile some time when ya get achance and let us know what ya think. we'd love to hook up a show with yas some time in the future! Tyler ACES
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