Nine years with a military band and a veteran of Emperor Norton, South Bay Seven and Black Diamond Jazz Bands gave Tom a very solid grounding in tuba playing in all styles.

He has actually been a tuba player since the early Fifties, when he took up the instrument in San Leandro (CA) where he played in school, church and various youth bands.

From 1959 to 1968 Tom played in a military concert band in Alameda (CA), during which time he managed to play with both the South Bay Seven Dixieland Jazz Band (1962 - 1980) and the Emperor Norton Jazz Band (1962 - 1965).

In 1982 Tom took on the tuba chair of the Black Diamond Jazz Band, staying with them until 1991 and joining the Cell Block Seven Jazz Band in 1992.

He retired from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory after spending 26 years there as an Electronics Coordinator in various accelerator and fusion programs.

Tom says that 'For the last two years I've been devoting a lot of my time, with my wife Virginia, developing our e-Commerce website Natural Pet Source which offers carefully selected natural, organic dog and cat products to help keep your pets as happy, healthy, and comfortable as they deserve to be'.

In his spare time he enjoys his hobbies of auto repair / restoration and home improvement work - with his other major interests being brew pubbing and travelling around the back roads of the U.S.