Obviously fate has served you
well. How did you transition
from “making pop music is my
dream” to “I’m looking on to
a different direction from here
on out”? Do you still speak to
members of the band or has everyone moved on to their new
lives?
I came to college planning to
marry my talents as a musician
and writer by becoming a music
critic. So I always felt my work
in the Voyage Band was a great
way to support myself in school,
learn how the business works for
my later career and have amazing
experiences. Eventually, I knew
that, unless the band had a significant amount of national success,
I would leave the group to finish
my studies and start my journalism career. If pop music had been
my dream from the start, I would
have chosen to be a musician for
my career, as all my other friends
from the band did. Most of us
keep in touch; my friends from
Voyage who are still musicians
have worked with Burt Bacharach,
LeAnn Rimes, Babyface, LL Cool J,
Little Richard, Kenny Rogers and
many other great artists. And we
were part of a generation of musicians who came through IU in the
1980s that includes names like
Chris Botti, Kenny Aronoff, Bob
Hurst, Shawn Pelton, Crystal Taliefero, Everett Bradley and many
more. So I feel like I’m part of a
great musical legacy, even though
my own time as a professional musician was relatively short. I also
still play drums, and have added
bass guitar and singing to my
skills, performing around the Tampa Bay, Florida area with a variety
of musicians in my spare time.
TOM RICHARDS, BASSIST/SINGER/SONGWRITER
Bassist/singer/songwriter with over 30 years
in the music business on multiple fronts. Artist,
engineer, sales, product management, product
development, production, journalism and media.
Pop/Alt Country/Country... available for hire
click here for contact info