Marc Thomas grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Born and raised in the historic East Bay, Thomas was exposed at an early age to the music of iconic East Bay artists like Tower of Power and Sly & the Family Stone, groups he now counts as some of his biggest influences. But everything changed one day in 1991, when, at the age of seven, Thomas walked into a record store and, with his saved up lunch money, purchased a used cassette tape called The Jackson 5 Anthology. Since then, Thomas has been addicted to the sweet grooves of the late 60s and early 70s, especially those emanating from Motown. Raised on a steady diet of old-school funk, rock, and soul that included monumental artists like Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Billy Preston, and Earth, Wind & Fire, Thomas channels many of his influences by combining a soulful throwback sensibility with modern alt-rock overtones. Thomas, who got his start in theater, began studying guitar at the age of ten and subsequently taught himself to play piano (including keyboards and clavinet).
In early 2006, one of Thomas’ early acoustic demo tapes landed in the hands of multi-talented, veteran producer and guitarist, Chris Camozzi, who immediately signed Thomas to his production company with a view to taking the young artist’s career to the next level. Shortly after teaming up with Camozzi, Thomas recorded a series of demos at the legendary Plant Studios, where the fingerprints of Prince and Stevie Wonder still remain - an experience Thomas has described as extremely humbling. At this early stage in his career, Thomas has already had the opportunity to record with musicians like percussionist Karl Perazzo (Santana, Jason Mraz), keyboardist Sundra Manning (Prince), drummer Brian Collier (Lauryn Hill), and lead guitarist Jeff Tamelier (formerly of Tower of Power), among others. Today, Thomas continues to write new music, record, and hone his craft. These new tracks and more are now available on MySpace and iTunes.
Currently, Marc Thomas - who speaks both French and Russian - is planning a 2008 European summer tour that may include an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Be sure to check the site soon for upcoming tour dates!
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