St. Thomas Benjamin Whyle III - vocals, guitar, bass, piano, percussion, and your butt!!
Birthday: 3/7/80 Height: 5'10" Weight: 150 lbs Sex: Yup Interests: horror flicks, hot chicks, politics, muzak, and anything that's green.
Influences
First, understand that by stating musical influences, I am in no way suggesting that I sound like any of them or that I love every song in each of their repertoires. They are just artists whose music has truly inspired me and challenged me to become a better artist.
The Beatles, Radiohead, Finch, Incubus, Finger Eleven, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Jimi Hendrix, Fiona Apple, Dave Matthews Band, Stone Temple Pilots, Beck, Letters to Cleo, Eisley, Paramore, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Garbage, Poe, (Hed)P.E., Outkast, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, Naughty by Nature, the White Stripes, Lisa Loeb, Natalie Imbruglia, the Cure, Mudvayne, the Doors, Steve Miller Band, Bob Marley, Fleetwood Mac, Heart, and of course lots of others.
In terms of non-musical influences: life, love, hate, friends, enemies, hot chicks, the butt, boobies, reefer, psychedelics, war, religion, bigotry, optimism, pessimism, pride, shame, happiness, depression, and so on....
Self-produced.....sole -writer, instrumentalist, & vocalist....one-man show......that's my deal & I shall rock you.
I've always had the rockstar dream, since as long as I can remember. I started taking piano lessons very young and switched to guitar at age 9. About 5 years later I was writing my own songs and frequently collaborating with rappers in the Pittsburgh area. The support I received from my peers for sloppy recordings made in my bedroom at my parents' house and lame performances at high school dances gave me a lot of hope and influenced me to focus on really getting good.
Through my college years, I got comfortable playing guitar and singing in front of crowds, which is when my music career really began to blossom (as in awesome). I did alot of self-produced recording and was in several bands, the most memorable being The Stank and Tripitaka. I continued doing solo work on the side and getting good at producing my own stuff....Sure enough, some big-un's emerged (such as "Smoking Crack in the Cadillac" & "R.U. Still Breathing?"), but I have no impressive stats or quotes from magazines to WOW you with. Sorry. You can check the songs out and decide if you like 'em or not, 'cause that's what really matters.
Graduating from college and coming back to Pittsburgh kind of made it impossible for me to stay with Tripitaka, so I decided to focus on building a good studio and just doing my own thing.
So here I am today, still in Pittsburgh and still doin' it. Of the demo portion of my career, I have under my belt 3 LPs + 1 with Tripitaka, 2 EPs, & 3 compilations under my production......all made with ridiculous recording methods and printed and manufactured on a computer. But I've moved on from that, and there is minimal stock available for any of that material. So the history does not disappear, I compiled and remastered the absolute best of it and gave it a professional release. That CD is "Is He On Drugs? the best of tommyROCK 1999-2004."
The diversity in styles I cover is my greatest strength and what is noted most frequently about my shtuff. Everybody wants a label to slap on me from the get-go, so I'd have to say it's kind of a fusion of alterna-rock, pop, and hip-hop...I take on each of them separately, I fuse them together in as many ways possible, and I frequently borrow from other stuff such as jazz, blues, psychedelic, and opera (kidding). I like to think my personality and style ties it all together somehow. Lyrically it's mostly just stories of my life, with an occasional political rant. Sometimes I'm serious and sometimes I just wanna make you laugh.....and if that prevents you from taking me seriously as an artist, you have a stick up your ass and do not belong in my audience. My only objective is to make music that entertains and shows character....and offends uptight, right-wing douche-bags. Beyotch.
I have no backing band at the moment, but I have no problem translating the full-band recordings to my solo acoustic thang. Come check me out and show me your badunkaDunk.
"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." The Declaration of Independence, JULY 4, 1776
Thanks so much for listening bro it means a lot coming from you....we're working on it...and we're trying to land shows at Diesel and Mr. Smalls...I'll give you the heads up...laters.
I'm gonna be outta town that weekend :( but I'll make it to another show!!! I'll get a crew together!!! Thats awesome your still rocking out! Keep it up you rock!
dearest brother, this note is not to say that i never receive any myspace love from you (although it's true) nor is it to say that every time my phone rings it is never you on the other end (also true). it's merely to say that i have excellent taste in music and my page has proof.
i miss our random weeknight adventures. i miss you.
Self-produced.....sole -writer, instrumentalist, & vocalist....one-man show......that's my deal & I shall rock you. 
The diversity in styles I cover is my greatest strength and what is noted most frequently about my shtuff. Everybody wants a label to slap on me from the get-go, so I'd have to say it's kind of a fusion of alterna-rock, pop, and hip-hop...I take on each of them separately, I fuse them together in as many ways possible, and I frequently borrow from other stuff such as jazz, blues, psychedelic, and opera (kidding). I like to think my personality and style ties it all together somehow. Lyrically it's mostly just stories of my life, with an occasional political rant. Sometimes I'm serious and sometimes I just wanna make you laugh.....and if that prevents you from taking me seriously as an artist, you have a stick up your ass and do not belong in my audience. My only objective is to make music that entertains and shows character....and offends uptight, right-wing douche-bags. Beyotch.
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