Each time we prepare for one of our Stories & Songs of Stompin' Tom shows, I can't help but reminisce about our many nights on stage as we watched Tom, the old pro, embrace his audience with his antics and his songs.  He was a master at making his fans feel like they were his special guest and the performance was just like a good old fashion kitchen party in his home.   Those times on stage with him provide the fuel and energy that keeps it at a high level.  All who played with him felt this bond.    It remains the great motivator, the guiding light, the driving force behind each song.

He worked hard at removing this barrier.  His intentional decimation of the English language I found puzzling at first.  Why would he pawn himself off as an illiterate?  Why use the word "doos" when he meant to say "do"?  Perhaps he became self conscious of his success and felt he had to make a point of letting his people know it hadn't gone to his head.  Whatever it was, they ate it up!

Stompin' Tom was a complex man, but as honest a man as I've ever met.