Tom Hamilton is the guitarist and vocalist of the bands American Babies and Brothers Past. Flawed Logic‚ his fantastic new record with American Babies‚ was released April 19th on Engine Room Recordings.
Check out Tom Hamilton's Truth: Soul







Preface:
To me‚ a life in music is a never-ending quest for knowledge. The goal is to learn the tools that can express the hurt or happiness in this life that words alone could never do justice. A mix of talent‚ expression‚ vulnerability‚ and will that cannot be calculated but is immediately felt and understood.
Some people flip through scripture to help find meaning and guidance. For others‚ it could be family or financial success. For me‚ it's time spent flipping through records and scrolling through playlists. Once in a while I'll be fortunate enough to find hope‚ love‚ and/or understanding in a three-to-four minute segment. These are my moments of very real‚ undeniable truth.
They come in many different styles‚ and I am here to share them one genre at a time.


The Truth: Blues
Here is a mighty mountain to climb. The blues are the foundation for Rock n' Roll as we know it. From Elvis to Zeppelin‚ Dylan to Guns n' Roses‚ the ripples can be felt everywhere. Some of the most iconic and influential bands to come out of the 20th century cut their teeth as a young blues band. The Beatles‚ the Stones‚ and the Grateful Dead found their footing perfecting the "one‚ four‚ five" progressions and 12 bar blues.
The history here is way too deep for me to sum up in a few paragraphs‚ dating back to the late 1800's to present day‚ so I'm going to talk about the guys who absolutely kill me and were my foundation as a guitarist and songwriter.
In the mid-80's‚ there was a Blues festival every summer in Philadelphia that my parents always went to. Only being 7 to 10 years old‚ this meant I would spend those days being babysat by my grandmother or something else not nearly as cool. One year they took my older brother and when he came back it was all he could talk about. This led me to ask my old man what the fuss was and‚ needless to say‚ he was happy to oblige with an explanation.
We started with "The Kings." B.B.‚ Albert‚ and Freddie King were all monumental in the development and popularization of post-war‚ electrified blues. I found B.B. to be a bit too tame for my tastes‚ but Freddie and Albert blew me away. They managed to make their guitars cry and wail. Even as a very young boy I was able to feel that power slice right through me. I had heard Clapton‚ Garcia‚ and the Allmans by this point and LOVED their stuff but hearing The Kings made those guys sound so insincere.
Over the years since that initial talk‚ my Dad would continue to sit me down to make sure I'm "still listening to the right guys." Bringing Buddy Guy‚ Albert Collins‚ Otis Rush‚ and just recently‚ Luther Allison into my world.
This is just the tip of the iceberg‚ but if you are fans of Derek Trucks/The Allman Brothers‚ Stevie Ray Vaughn and whatnot you should start digging into it.
Get started with these:
Freddie King -- "Ain't No Body's Business"
Albert King -- "I'll Play the Blues For You"

Buddy Guy - "Damn Right I've Got the Blues"
B.B. King -- "You Left Me for Someone Else"