Tommy Hambridge- Unstoppable Journey (INTERVIEW)

I’m sure that some day, I will sit down – have a cigar and ask myself, “Wow, did that all really happen?” so says Grammy award winning producer, songwriter and artist Tommy Hambridge – who has literally been there and done that and it seems that he’s not slowing down anytime soon. By collaborating with the biggest names in the business, Hambridge is today’s go-to guy. His career has rocketed out of the stratosphere by writing, producing and performing with legends like B.B. King, Buddy Guy, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the late Johnny Winter. He has also proudly played in front of multiple U.S. Presidents, most recently on the skins behind Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck at a recent White House gig for current President Barack Obama. His achievements, accolades and career are surely impressive and he may just be one of the busiest men writing, recording, producing and actively performing today. Glide was able to speak with Tom and talk about his unstoppable journey in the music business and what he’s been working on recently.

Tom, please tell me about growing up in Buffalo and your transition to Boston? Those are two very different cities.

I went directly to Boston after high school in Buffalo. I started playing music when I was really young. When I was five, I had my first professional gig when I actually got paid in the third grade – playing drums. When I got to Boston, I realized that I could play music with a different band every night of the week. It was like being a kid in the candy store. So, I was able to go to college as well as play out around the city.

tommybuddy55Do you come from a musical family? Surely music was an influence at an early age.

My older brother was a guitar player. He was five years older than me. It was because of him that I was playing in bands so early. He’d be playing a high school dance while I was still in elementary school. But, I’d be playing high school dances because I was in his band. I ended up playing in a band that was composed of prodigies that all went onto play with different people.

We played all the jazz clubs with bands like Spyra Gyra. It was a pretty cool and there was a lot of music around that I got exposed to. My older sister always had her albums lying around, like Beatles and the Rascals. But, it was my uncle that turned me onto a lot of soul music like Wilson Pickett, the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and Sam and Dave. I thought they were all were pretty cool. He had a huge record collection and I just kind of soaked it all up.

I was also very much into sports as well. I played football, basketball, baseball and was actually recruited by the Cincinnati Reds to play baseball, offered scholarships to play football and I got offered a little scholarship from Berklee. I figured that I was probably going to play music for the rest of my life – so I chose Berklee, which took me to Boston. From there, I got gigs with Roy Buchanan, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. That’s when I started playing more nationally than just clubs in Buffalo.

How long were you living in Boston?

Ha! A long time. I started Berklee in 1980 and graduated in 1984.  I started a band called TH and the Wreckage and we became a really big fixture in New England – from Maine to Vermont, New Hampshire to Cape Cod. Back then, you could play original rock music. I was the lead singer as well as the drummer. We played all over, got a lot of radio play and won a lot of Boston Music Awards. We were pretty established. Other local acts would ask me who produced our record or who wrote the song that they just heard on the radio. I was the writer and the producer and that’s how I got started working with other people. I didn’t set out to be the big producer, Grammy guy. I was asked to play with a lot of my heroes after they’d heard my records. Sometimes, if they liked the song, they might ask me to write a song for them or even produce their band. And, I would do it all the same way that I did it for my band. I learned by necessity. It’s one reason why I got to play with New England artists like Boston and Susan Tedeschi.

It was probably almost twenty years in Boston. I had written, played and produced Susan Tedeschi’s album (Just Won’t Burn 1998), which was huge, so I gained a record deal. We were being played on the radio as the band was playing about 200 nights a year on top of playing with everybody else for another 150 nights. So, I was playing every night of the year. But, I felt like I was playing around the same musical circles. Any time there was a big gig in town, or a new club opening up – I was always asked to play it. But, I felt like there was more out there. I then thought I should move out to New York City or Los Angeles. I considered leaving it all behind in Boston, taking my wife and one year old daughter to somewhere new. Believe me, everyone thought I was crazy. They kept saying that I was on top if the world. I agreed that I was, but just on top of this world and there’s a huge world out there where no one knows me.

So, we went to both NYC and LA but decided that we didn’t want to raise our daughter up there and assumed there must be a better place. So I brought up Nashville. I had been there a few times and played there on tour. There were record companies and studios there and music being made. So I thought that might be a good place. We moved down and fell in love with it. We rented a house but I still had to go back to Boston to honor another hundred or so shows. Of course, I had to find my way back down again. Which I did and now I’m here in Nashville. So yeah, I was in Boston for a good, long time.

What did you learn during your tenure in Boston?

One thing that I’ve learned is that everything you do, adds up to who you are and builds your reputation. People remember when you do great work. When I hit Nashville, I didn’t know anybody. But somehow – it’s a smaller world than you think. I’d be sitting in at a jam session somewhere and inevitably I’d be approached and asked something like, “Hey man. Are you the guy that played with Jonatha Brooke? I saw you in Amsterdam. We did a show with you guys. I remember being so impressed by this drummer, who was singing and playing all these crazy parts. What are you doing here?” So, everything you do comes back around. If you do good work, it won’t be forgotten. Of course, it can haunt you if you do bad work too. But it was a good lesson for me, because they remember that I give it my all.

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So there are always lessons to be learned, no matter where you are.

Yes. If you’re playing a gig and only a dozen people show up, you still have to give it your all. You have to play to them as if you’re playing to hundreds, thousands. They deserve that and you have to remember that it might be the first time that that audience is seeing you. It’s the same for some of the legends that I’ve had a chance to work with.

I’ll watch artists like B.B. King and every night I’ll see that he’s killin’ it and there’s a reason for it. Buddy Guy says to me, every night before he goes on stage, “You know something Tom, there are a lot of people out there that have never seen me. This is the first time. Maybe, it’s the first time that they’ve even heard about me. Even though I played last night, drove 600 miles to this gig and I’m feeling under the weather – that doesn’t matter to the audience. They’re going to form their impression of me, even after everything that I’ve down in my entire life – they’re going to get it tonight. Don’t forget that.”

On top of your own catalog, you have such an extensive list of songwriting writing credits. What is the process of writing a song for another artist like?

As a songwriter, it’s like an instrument. You have to practice every day. Even as a songwriter. You have to write everyday, all the time – even if you don’t feel like writing. It’s an exercise. Just like exercising a muscle. Like, if you’re a guitar player and you don’t play for long stretches – you get callouses on your fingers. With the practice, you get stronger at it. I don’t always sit down set out to write a song for say, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sometimes, I just sit down to write a song. Once I write the song, usually I know that, maybe – that’s a song for me or for someone else. Sometimes, I’ll feel that it won’t be a song to put on my record but I can hear someone else sing it. So I’ll try to pitch it.

If I find out that some in particular is writing a record, and if they are – I can try to get it to them. That’s one way to do it. Artists or record companies also call me, and ask if I have some new material to play for them. In that case, I might write a song thinking about them. I might ask myself if this one is a Maroon 5 or George Thorogood kind of thing?

For example, I had a song on a certain artist’s last record. What ended up happening was that he came to Nashville and went to all of the publishing companies and found a song of mine that he was going to base his record around. EMI owned the publishing on it. He loved the song, but at the last minute EMI said that he wasn’t going to record the song and that he was looking for something different. I thought it was perfect for him and I don’t know what he wants. I did in fact send them a different song, right to the studio. They listened to it and said it was perfect.

I don’t really understand how that all worked out, but I do know that sometimes artists do not want to repeat work they’ve done before. If you’re trying to get a song to say, Robert Plant – think Raising Sand with Alison Krauss. I might have something along the lines of the T-Bone thing, but Robert’s done that. It’s like sending him “Stairway To Heaven”. He’s not going to record that. You have to get in his head and send him something that he’s thinking about now. I’ve produced a couple of records for George Thorogood and every day, he gets songs about drinking and how “Bad” he is. They get sent to me, for him, as well. If you’re a writer, you’ve got to be different and think about what’s coming up next.

tommyzz2When you deliver one of your songs, are you sending lyrics, music or both?

This is the other thing too. When I deliver a song to somebody, it’s recorded. The lyrics are done. The melodies are done. I go into the studio and record the track with an unbelievable band and it sounds like an album. That’s how I usually do it.

Once it’s delivered are you still involved with the song’s development?

No, unless I’m producing it of course. They’ll then contact me to say if it’s on hold or not. If it’s on hold, that means the artist may want it and to not send it to anyone else. Or, they may in fact pass on it. I may not hear back from them for a long time, but then I’ll get a call asking for my publishing company and credits because I’ll now have a song on someone’s album. They might say something like, “It’s going to be the third song on the album. They’re completing the artwork and it’s out in four months. So, it’s then time to celebrate.

Can you tell me how you managed to get two of the biggest blues legends, B.B. King and Buddy Guy – in the same studio for the first time?

Oh, yeah. That was wonderful. I was producing a Buddy Guy record and Buddy is one of the most unbelievable artists to work with. I love being around him. I had written and produced a couple of tracks for B.B. King on another album and he loved them. I went to see Buddy Guy perform with B.B. King at the Ryman in Nashville. I was sitting with a great songwriter, Gary Nicholson and we were just watching B.B. King. I actually sat in with Buddy Guy that night, but as we were watching B.B., he said, “I hope that I get a chance to stay around a little longer and play some more for you.”

So later, I sat down with Gary and wrote a song called, “Stay Around A Little Longer”. I went to Buddy and told him that I was thinking that he might want to record it. He loved it. I offered the idea of him doing it as a duet with B.B. King. He thought it was a wonderful idea. So I sent the song to B.B. and it was one of those deals where I didn’t hear back for a really long time but his people did call and told me that he’d do it. It was a magical moment in the studio, one that I’ll never forget. We did a video for it in Las Vegas. It was really cool to be hanging out with those two guys in a bar. We had a little sip, they started playing and it was really amazing. It was a magical moment in history, one that might not come around again. I’m proud and blessed to have been part of it.

tommybb

Speaking of magical moments – did you ever think that you’d perform inside the White House?

No, not at all. But, now I can say that I’ve been fortunate enough to play for a number of Presidents. I played at a birthday party for President Clinton and a couple events like that, that weren’t at the White House. But it was a magical moment – especially to play drums for Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck and B.B. King in the White house of all places.

Was it a little surreal?

Oh, yeah. To say the least!

We recently lost the legendary Johnny Winter. You worked with him. Can you offer some thoughts from your experience?

I’m a huge Johnny Winter fan. His music influenced mine – everything from my drumming, my singing, my playing and my writing. To get to work with him was such an honor. I worked on his album, I’m A Bluesman. I produced a few of the tracks and it was nominated for a Grammy. He didn’t win, but I thought it was a really nice thing for him because I don’t think that he’s gotten the acknowledgment of his place in history, as he should. He influenced so many artists, especially guitar players. He was great. I loved working with him.

You still find time for your solo career. What do you do when you’re not working with other artists?

It’s funny how you asked that, because it’s how I think of it. I usually have to have my fans ask when the next Hambridge album is coming out? I stop and think, I’ve just produced ten albums and produced 100 songs – and it helps to be kicked in the butt about it. I’ve got the Lynyrd Skynyrd Simple Man Cruise coming up in November, which is the last one. I just did some dates with Eddie Money up in New England, but I’ve cut down on my live shows. When I do play live, I try to make them very special. I’ll go out and do some dates with ZZ Top, Skynyrd, or Buddy who has asked me to open for him. But, I’m so busy doing other things. That there are not enough hours in the day. I will get another record out soon.

buddyquinn2

What are some new projects that you’re working on or some artists that you’re excited to introduce to the public in the next few months?

Obviously, I really want the world to hear Quinn Sullivan. I think we’re on to something and I’m really proud of his album Getting There, which is already out. I’m also proud of the new single “She Gets Me”. We’ve already started working on a new album and he just keeps getting better and better and I want people to catch him. I’m very excited about the new Devon Allman record Ragged & Dirty. It was just released and it’s getting unbelievable reviews. I wrote a lot of songs on it and it really sounds wonderful. I think the world is really going to get ahold of him and will be really excited. I did the new Marcia Ball record. She’s an amazing, legendary boogie piano player from New Orleans and Texas. Her record is doing great. I’m really excited to say that I’m getting ready to do another Buddy Guy record. His last one did so well. There’s also a Canadian artist named J.W. Jones who has a new album Belmont Boulevard, that was just released. He’s got a really cool vibe. I think I captured something special with him. Unfortunately, there are probably some artists that I’m forgetting about.

When these artists come to me, I really want to expand their palette. I think that I’m pretty honest, maybe brutally honest. When they play a song for me that they want to record because they think it’s the best thing that they’ve got, I’ll play them something that beats it – so they get it. They’ll play it for their friends and they’re always impressed. They come back with wanting to record one like it. It kind of opens them up. They’ll ask how that band did it, and my response is usually, “I don’t know. You got to sit down and write ’em!” I don’t want to put out a record of 50% effort, let’s put one out at 100%. There are too many writers that aren’t writing every day and artists that come to the studio with a song at 50%. I’ll want to make it better, the best that it can be. I want the record to stand up forever. If we can make it better tonight, let’s do it!

Your discography, producer and song writing credits are incredibly impressive. Is there one more goal that you’d like to achieve before you’d consider wrapping it up?

Wow, that’s an interesting question. A real good one. There are still a lot of artists out there that I’d love to work with. I almost said playing drums for Mick Jagger or working with B.B. King, but I did that. You know, I got to produce a record with Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere. It was a great record and I thought I could die. They’re two of the biggest producers in the world and I just produced their record. They’re in the songwriter’s Hall Of Fame. There’s always someone, Like ZZ Top. I’ve got three or four songs on and their new album La Futura and to hear them rocking out my songs, just killed me. I’ll look at Santana and think about how he played guitar on one of the songs I wrote for B.B. King. And there’s the obvious one, I’d love to work with Paul McCartney. I just love music. Oh, wait. I’ve got one that I’ve never told anybody. I’d love to produce a Fabulous Thunderbirds album – even though they’re not together anymore. I’d love to record Kim Wilson and Jimmie Vaughn.

 

 

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