Tom Stevens (musician) facts for kids

Thomas Howard Stevens (born September 17, 1956 – died January 23, 2021) was an American musician. He was a talented bassist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Tom Stevens was well-known for his work with the roots rock band The Long Ryders, where he played bass. He was also part of other groups like Magi and Danny & Dusty. Besides playing in bands, Stevens also released his own music as a solo artist. His solo songs often mixed different styles like folk rock, country, psychedelia, and garage rock. Music experts described his solo albums as "fascinatingly different." Tom Stevens lived in Los Angeles during the 1980s, but later moved back to his home state of Indiana.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Tom Stevens grew up in Elkhart, Indiana. He started playing music when he was just nine years old. In the 1960s and 1970s, he played in various garage and hard rock bands. He was trained in classical music and even got scholarships to study the double bass at universities. However, he chose to play rock music instead. He once said that playing in a symphony orchestra or teaching music in a high school didn't interest him.

Tom Stevens' Music Career

Magi Band

In 1975, after finishing high school, Stevens joined an Indiana hard rock band called Magi. They released their only album, Win or Lose, in 1976. The band was very popular in Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois, drawing large crowds. To try and get more attention from the music industry, Magi moved to Los Angeles in 1979. However, their hard rock style wasn't popular there at the time, as punk and new wave music were more common. Because they didn't find success, the band slowly broke up in 1980. Magi did reunite for special concerts in 1994 and 2011.

Early Solo Music

As Magi was ending, Stevens looked for other bands and studio work in Los Angeles. He started writing his own songs seriously. In December 1980, he played his first solo acoustic show at the Troubadour in Hollywood. In 1981, he recorded a demo, which led to a deal with Pulse Records.

With other musicians, Stevens recorded six songs in 1982. These songs became the Points of View EP. An EP is like a mini-album with fewer songs. The music was simple, with just one guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. While Stevens felt the production could have been better, the EP sold well and received good reviews.

The Long Ryders Band

In 1983, Stevens heard music from a band called The Long Ryders. He was very impressed. A few months later, he found out their bass player had left. Stevens quickly offered to join. He officially became a member of The Long Ryders in January 1984.

The Long Ryders recorded three studio albums with Stevens between 1984 and 1987. Stevens also wrote songs for these albums. The band was known for mixing punk rock energy with country rock sounds, like bands such as The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. They toured a lot in North America and Europe. They became popular in the UK and had many fans in the US, especially on college radio.

Their first album, Native Sons (1984), was highly praised. It was called "a modern American classic" by a British music magazine. In 1985, Island Records signed the band for their next album, State of Our Union. By 1987, after their third album Two-Fisted Tales, the band faced challenges. Stevens left The Long Ryders in June 1987 to focus on his family and find other work. He moved back to Indiana in 1988.

The Long Ryders, including Stevens, have reunited sometimes since 2004. They even released a new album, Psychedelic Country Soul, in 2019. After Stevens passed away, The Long Ryders released a tribute song called "Tom Tom" in his honor.

Danny & Dusty Project

In 1985, Stevens joined other musicians from The Long Ryders, The Dream Syndicate, and Green on Red to record an album called The Lost Weekend. This album was created by Dan Stuart and Steve Wynn. They recorded the entire album in just 32 hours! Stevens played bass on the album. The Lost Weekend was very popular and appeared on many "best of" lists that year. The group played only a few live shows after the album came out.

Other Music Work

Tom Stevens also played with other artists. He supported Gene Clark from The Byrds in some of his last live shows. Stevens played standup bass for Clark and Carla Olson in 1987 and 1988. He said playing with Clark was "an honor I cherish to this day."

In the late 1980s, Stevens played bass and sang backing vocals for Chris Cacavas's band, Junk Yard Love. He also helped produce and played on Jack Waterson's solo album Whose Dog?. From 2014 onwards, Stevens recorded with the psychedelic garage band Donovan's Brain.

Later Solo Music

Stevens released his first full solo album, Last Night, in 1992. It included new songs and some older songs that hadn't been used by The Long Ryders. He recorded it over a long period, sometimes taking nearly two years to finish.

His second album, Another Room, came out in 1995. Stevens played vocals, guitar, and bass on this album, with only one other musician on drums. Critics and fans liked the album, calling it a "splendid piece of Americana" and a "rootsy pop-rock adventure" with many catchy songs.

In 1997, Stevens released Points Revisited. This album was a collection of his solo recordings from 1981 to 1989. It included songs from his first EP and other demo versions. This album also received high praise from music critics.

In 1999, Stevens contributed his version of "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" to a Neil Young tribute album. The money from this album went to help the Bridge School foundation.

Stevens' third proper solo album, Home, was released in 2007. He recorded most of it himself in his home studio in Indiana. The album was inspired by his family's move to a new house. Critics loved Home, calling it a "stone classic" and "absolutely breathtaking."

He also released two shorter albums called EPs: Workology (2001) and Sooner (2009). These EPs included new songs, old songs, and covers of other artists' music.

In 2010, Stevens wrote a song called "Bear in the Woods" for a German record label's anniversary album. The Long Ryders later recorded their own version of this song in 2017. In 2012, he recorded "Bitter Fruit" for a benefit album to help a fellow musician who had been in a car accident.

Other Work

In the 1990s, Tom Stevens earned a degree in computer science. For many years, he worked with computers and networking technology while also continuing his music career.

Death

Tom Stevens passed away suddenly at his home in Indiana on January 23, 2021. He was 64 years old. His bandmates from The Long Ryders remembered him as "a terrific person, a devoted husband and father, and the best bass player of his generation." They also said he was a great singer and songwriter, and that everyone liked him because he was kind and always good company.

Discography

Magi

• Win or Lose (1976, Not on label)

The Long Ryders

• Native Sons (1984, Frontier)
• State of Our Union (1985, Island)
• Two-Fisted Tales (1987, Island)
• Metallic B.O. (1989, R.O.W.Y.C.O.)
• BBC Radio One Live in Concert (1994, Windsong)
• Looking for Lewis and Clark: the Long Ryders Anthology (1998, Chronicles)
• Three Minute Warnings: the Long Ryders Live in New York City (2003, Prima)
• The Best of the Long Ryders (2004, Prima)
• State of Our Reunion (2007, Prima)
• Final Wild Songs (2016, Cherry Red)
• Psychedelic Country Soul (2019, Cherry Red / Omnivore)

Danny and Dusty

• The Lost Weekend (1985, A&M)

Solo

• Points of View EP (1982, Pulse)
• Last Night (1992, Devil in the Woods)
• Another Room (1995, Maia)
• Points Revisited (1997, Maia)
• Workology EP (2001, Not on label)
• Home (2007, Avebury)
• Sooner EP (2009, Not on label)

Other solo appearances

• This Note's for You Too! A Tribute to Neil Young (1999, Inbetweens) – "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"
• 35!!! Years - Bear Family Records (2010, Bear Family) – "Bear in the Woods"
• Skrang: Sounds Like Bobby Sutliff (2013, The Paisley Pop Label / Career / Cool Dog Sound) – "Bitter Fruit"

Guest appearances

• Jack Waterson: Whose Dog? (1988, Heyday) – producer, guitar, bass, vocals
• Chris Cacavas and Junk Yard Love: Chris Cacavas and Junk Yard Love (1989, Heyday / World Service) – bass, backing vocals on two tracks
• Donovan's Brain: Shambaholic and Other Love Songs (2014, Career) – bass, backing vocals on six tracks
• Donovan's Brain: Heirloom Varieties (2015, Career) – bass on all tracks; guitar, vocals on three tracks
• Donovan's Brain: Convolutions of the Brain (2018, Career) – engineer; bass on three tracks
• Donovan's Brain and Fraudband: Burnt Trees in the Snow (2019, Kasumuen / Career) – bass on two tracks

See also

In Spanish: Tom Stevens (músico) para niños