"I'm blessed you came across my life. Wish you well for the rest of your life."
I can't thank enough three of my friends, Takuya Morita, Shinichi Yamauchi and Tomoko Sato, for supporting me in music throughout tough days in my early 20's. We played and sang songs together such as "Sunshine of Your Love" and "I shall be released" which helped me survive those days. I'll never forget Takuya often carried around my drum gears saying "I'll take care of it. You take a break there" while Shinichi was always gently smiling at us. Tomoko lifted my spirit to the level where I believed I could be someday somebody. I wish I could have made her happier. All that was in tough but glorious 1973 and 1974. Enlarge Photo.
In Berklee days, Dave Bryant (Ornette Coleman Band), Jay Nichols, Neil Leonard (currently Professor at Berklee), Chris Bowman and Ted Klum (ex. Art Blakey Band) have been always joking around me. They shared compassion and integrity that had never left me alone. Dana Dunn helped me out expand my view in religious ways. Naoto Maeda and Komay Shibata have been the source of inspiration, good news and new LP's, and always shared honest discussions with me. Another honest guy, Sanshiro Fujimoto, spread a good vibe around. Bob Kaufman, my first percussion teacher at Beklee, is responsible for encouraging me to work hard on drumming. Enlarge Slide Show.
The late Alan Dawson shared his secrets and philosophy behind drumming in elegant ways. "You are sharing not just technique but rather a piece of happiness with me". I never forget Alan responded to me, "You know what you should do? Spread it through your performance and make people happier". Enlarge Photo.
"To Tom, What a pleasure it has been to have you both as a student and as a person. My good fortune follows you always. Your friend - Alan Dawson"
My drumming buddies; Francesco Costantini from Italy, Wolfgan Bayha from Switzerland, Bruce Rasmussen from Norway, Michael Veerapen from Malaysia (to me, the best pianist in Berklee then, now the leading music figure in Malaysia), Rodney Smith (ex.Frank Zappa Band), Victor Bailey (bassist for Madonna, Weather Report and Steps), Jack Martin, Steve Wilson and Brock Avery among many others helped me focus on daily practice on drums. Jim Long is one of those who often invited me to sessions, which offered me opportunities to experiment my new skills on that day. Fred, Ken and Scully always welcomed and helped me find the right gears to improve my drum kit.
