I am Tom Lucas, the singer/songwriter who composed, recorded and released the original vinyl album titled "Tom Lucas Red Letter Day", early in my career following my rejection of a "suggested offer" following my and my band's audition for a contract with Columbia. The producer of the then "Blue Oyster Cult", Sandy Pearlman, and a then Executive at Columbia, Murray Krugman, were the industry figures who listened to our audition which took place in the then practice loft in Manhattan of the "Cult". Fate, which I not simply believe in, but trust, had me reject the terms, which were that I stay in NYC, drop my band of "too many" (8) musicians, so they could form a small, "efficient" band of "studio musicians" around me and then presumably "help shape me" into what they thought was "best for me". The result, the 500 copy private release of RLD, followed 5 years later by my 2nd LP, "Tom Lucas Lifeboats". I went on to continue songwriting (for it was never a choice, but simply what I discovered I was born or shaped or designed - to do). I wanted to be a novelist, and did write 2 short novels which are due to be published and available in late 2008 (WAR DREAMS and DETOUR) but eventually I could not ignore, despite my stubborn pride, the fact that I was a born poet, a lyric poet, and also a born musician (self taught pianist with many musicians in genetic ancestry). I did my best to keep true to who I discovered I was, never stop working on putting my ego back in its place - serving that which cannot be named but which is the Source of all creativity. Working in "obscurity" according to the recent crowd of critics who have 'discovered' me, I grew from the "soil" of what the Iroquois Nation called "God's Handprint" - the Finger Lakes region of central and western New York State. But I've lived and traveled throughout the country - and somewhat outside the country - but not in Europe - which is very significant if you're still with me and would like the real story from this "horse's" mouth:
While trying to make peace with what I presumed was my destiny to be given some wonderful "original" songs 'from the Source', but to not live to see them discovered someday, which I knew would happen, because I know the Source does not do things for no reason - On Feb. 28, 2007, the evening before I was to undergo extensive major surgery through the front of my throat to repair severe damage to my cervical spine after a 25,000 pound truck and trailer rear-ended me, I suddenly received numerouos phone calls from old friends scattered about the country, asking if I had "looked myself up lately on the net?" I did.
Imagine the complex feelings that overwhelmed me when I discovered 15 pages of sites that referred to a CD put out by "Radioactiverecords" in the UK called "Tom Lucas Red Letter Day" - and that since this piracy of my originakl songs and recording of them had begun in July 2004, we calculated after extensive research that, over a year and a half ago, the people who ignored and violated me and my ownership rights, had sold at least 300,000 CDs of RLD, MOSTLY IN EUROPE through the major non U.S. distributor, PHANTOM DISTRIBUTION. I discovered that a reviewer at the world's 2nd largest circulation rock/pop mag, "SPIN", had written a rave review published on "SPIN online" which triggered my music's discovery with comments such as "One can only gasp in disbelief that a record of such magnitude, superb in virtually every way, could have gone unnoticed for so long."
MAKING LEMONADE FROM LEMONS: fOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL SURGERY AND A LONG RECOVERY, I HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED BY A NEW US COMPANY, NEW FATE PRODUCTIONS IN HAVING RED LETTRER DAY AND MY 2ND ALBUM LIFEBOATS BOTH DIGITALLY RE-MASTERED, THE SONGS RE-SEQUENCED IN A BETTER ORDER BY ME, AND WITH COMPLETE LYRICS INCLUDED, WE RELEASED THEM IN AUGUST 2007 THROUGH CDBABY AND HAVE BEEN ALIVE AND KICKING EVER SINCE. CURRENTLY YOU MAY LOOK FORWARD TO A SCHEDULED NOVEMBER RELEASE OF THE NEW ALBUM OF NEVER BEFORE HEARD OR RECORDED SONGS BY ME WHICH I AND MY "COLLABORATORS" ARE FINISHING AT GRAND STAFF STUDIO IN MY BELOVED FINGER LAKES. I GUARANTEE WE WILL BE CELEBRATING MIGHTILY WHEN THIS POWERHOUSE OF PASSION, SOUL, AND VISION FILLS THE AIR. ENOUGH FOR NOW. YOU CAN READ ABOUT ME AT NEW FATE'S WEBSITE WHICH IS LOCATED BY SEARCHING WWW.TOMLUCAS.COM. WITH LOVE AND VISION MY NEW FRIENDS, THIS IS Tom Lucas
While trying to make peace with what I presumed was my destiny to be given some wonderful "original" songs 'from the Source', but to not live to see them discovered someday, which I knew would happen, because I know the Source does not do things for no reason - On Feb. 28, 2007, the evening before I was to undergo extensive major surgery through the front of my throat to repair severe damage to my cervical spine after a 25,000 pound truck and trailer rear-ended me, I suddenly received numerouos phone calls from old friends scattered about the country, asking if I had "looked myself up lately on the net?" I did.
Imagine the complex feelings that overwhelmed me when I discovered 15 pages of sites that referred to a CD put out by "Radioactiverecords" in the UK called "Tom Lucas Red Letter Day" - and that since this piracy of my originakl songs and recording of them had begun in July 2004, we calculated after extensive research that, over a year and a half ago, the people who ignored and violated me and my ownership rights, had sold at least 300,000 CDs of RLD, MOSTLY IN EUROPE through the major non U.S. distributor, PHANTOM DISTRIBUTION. I discovered that a reviewer at the world's 2nd largest circulation rock/pop mag, "SPIN", had written a rave review published on "SPIN online" which triggered my music's discovery with comments such as "One can only gasp in disbelief that a record of such magnitude, superb in virtually every way, could have gone unnoticed for so long."
MAKING LEMONADE FROM LEMONS: fOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL SURGERY AND A LONG RECOVERY, I HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED BY A NEW US COMPANY, NEW FATE PRODUCTIONS IN HAVING RED LETTRER DAY AND MY 2ND ALBUM LIFEBOATS BOTH DIGITALLY RE-MASTERED, THE SONGS RE-SEQUENCED IN A BETTER ORDER BY ME, AND WITH COMPLETE LYRICS INCLUDED, WE RELEASED THEM IN AUGUST 2007 THROUGH CDBABY AND HAVE BEEN ALIVE AND KICKING EVER SINCE. CURRENTLY YOU MAY LOOK FORWARD TO A SCHEDULED NOVEMBER RELEASE OF THE NEW ALBUM OF NEVER BEFORE HEARD OR RECORDED SONGS BY ME WHICH I AND MY "COLLABORATORS" ARE FINISHING AT GRAND STAFF STUDIO IN MY BELOVED FINGER LAKES. I GUARANTEE WE WILL BE CELEBRATING MIGHTILY WHEN THIS POWERHOUSE OF PASSION, SOUL, AND VISION FILLS THE AIR. ENOUGH FOR NOW. YOU CAN READ ABOUT ME AT NEW FATE'S WEBSITE WHICH IS LOCATED BY SEARCHING WWW.TOMLUCAS.COM. WITH LOVE AND VISION MY NEW FRIENDS, THIS IS Tom Lucas