TOM CLARK & THE HIGH ACTION BOYS

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It's nearing closing time on New York's Lower East Side, but Tom Clark shows no signs of stopping. He's been letting the hits fly for over three hours now, mixing up rock and country classics from a vast songbook with his own heartfelt originals, and his energy level is reaching nova.

His band, the High Action Boys - Phil Cohen on bass guitar and Leo Overtoom on drums - has been augmented throughout the night by a star-studded procession of Tom's friends and fans. In New York, Tom Clark is a musician's musician, and many's the local rocker who drops by to sing their favorite song with their favorite singer.

Since he came to New York in 1986, Tom Clark has lived a life in music. Born in DeKalb, Illinois, he received his baptism by fire in a teenage band (age 13) called The New Values, then Club Aluminum, the Dischords, the Singles, etc.. His father, Gene Clark (not the Byrd), had been a drummer, and the midwest was a fertile ground for the crosscurrents of rock and country and r&b that would provide Tom's influences. As grounded in George Jones as he was the Raspberries, Merle Haggard as Badfinger and Roy Orbison with a little bit of Ramones thrown in, Tom was a rocker for all seasons.

During Tom’s short-lived college career, he joined (on bass, then guitar) Dekalb punk rockers, Blatant Dissent (soon after Tom’s departure they became Chicago’s now famous Tar) recording vinyl with Chicago’s own Steve Albini and Jeff Pezzatti(Naked Raygun) and with Ian Burgess. Sick of working in the corn fields and at Jewel Food store (produce department, mam) Tom got a letter from one of the greats, Marshall Crenshaw, that said “go for it”. With a little encouragement and a lot of pestering from his old high school bandmates Brian Halverson and Shane Spahr, who were living in NY at the time (Elmhurst, Queens!!), Tom loaded up his 1970 Chevy Wagon (bought off of Aunt Martha), and moved to New York.

Tom didn’t have a job when he arrived in NYC, so he stood in front of the legendary punk rock Astor Place Barber shop and busked for 10 hours STRAIGHT (setting a standard he still abides by). His journal from that time says he made $46, a Budweiser, some french fries, and a pretzel(food he still abides by). Stranger still, Enrico Vezza, Astor's owner was fascinated by Tom's stamina (read:desperation!) He would come out every hour and say "you still here?!" At the end of the day, Tom couldn’t even talk, but Mr. Vezza said “come see me Monday about a job”. Tom thought “oh well, I’ll sweep up hair. Why not?" When he arrived Monday, Mr. Vezza wanted Tom to serenade customers……..Eight hours a day, seven days a week, $20 a day, plus tips. Tom did it. Talk about getting your chops up, going chair to chair taking requests. Whew. He also played on the street for beer money with his pal and long-time pro-stick twirler, Joseph “Dog” Hughes, now of the Dark Horses.

He did anything that put a guitar in his hands, from trekking up to the Bronx and Yonkers to serenade working class Irish clubs, to taking requests on Bleecker Street with his new friend Hank Wedel and his band Open Kitchen. Eventually, his weekly gigs at Sine, a new café on St. Marks’ Place attracted a loyal following. It was there that he came into contact with friends like Lenny Kaye and Jeff Buckley, and found a community of like-minded music lovers.

In 1988, while being the Friday night “house band” at Chameleon Club, Tom met up with cousins Andrew Overtoom and Philip Cohen from the band Woodpecker. They struck up a friendship that was based on their fondness for the Band, pizza and beer. The Minstrel Boys were born. Then killed. Andrew moved away, and, eventually, his baby brother Leo moved in. Leo recently stepped in to fill an empty drum throne after touring for five years with Ben Folds Five as their sound engineer. He prefers yelling at sound men to getting yelled at.

Working with Kaye, Charlton Pettus and and engineers like John Sickett, Jim Ball, and Ed Bair, Tom began recording. Guitarists like Whit Smith (later of the Hot Club of Cowtown) and Robert Quine (Lou Reed, Richard Hell), keyboardists Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs,Blondie, Ramones…), Graham Maby (Joe Jackson, Natalie Merchant, They Might Be Giants), and many other musical lights dropped by. The songs flowed, tales of love gone wrong and lovers gone righteous, wild nights and rueful mornings, the contraries of the human soul laid bare in all their glory.

At the heart and soul of Tom's music is a romanticism that slow-grooves this play of emotions with an irrepressible energy level that gifts a nigh punk-rock acceleration when he steps on the overdrive pedal. He finds that opposites attract-“when I came to New York I found the scene here pretty bleak, so I really started getting into what, at the time, was probably the most un-hip thing to be into, hardcore country. The original punks. Hank Williams, George Jones, Lefty Frizzell. I still obsessively listen to the Beach Boys and the Beatles and maintain my passion for Herman’s Hermit’s (which I shared with Joey Ramone!!)”

Anybody who reads the liner notes of "Cross-Eyed and Bow-Legged" will notice a slew of "honorary High Action Boys". "Those were some of the best times....bringing in all of our pals to pitch in" recalls Clark. "Sitting on the couch at Excello watching (Robert) Quine whipping out these solos in one or two takes and asking "is that o.k.?" Or the night Jeff (Buckley) showed up late, as we were about to pack up and after a bottle of Tequilla that Gil Shuster bought us had been passed around, and said 'hey, am I too late?'so we geared up again...I remember watching Lenny watching Jeff through the studio glass doing a part....Lenny would say 'that's great, Jeff, can you do another part on top of that? and 'Bang', then 'how 'bout one on top of that one, too? Bang! Incredible....we all miss that Cat."

"Seriously, Phil Cohen is probably one of the best bass players around. I know I have to say that, but it's true. I don't know how he thinks of the parts he does...I think it's those sandwiches wrapped in brown paper he's always got sticking out of his pocket....maybe. He's a unique trombone player as well. I do think he's a little sad about the whole pot-bellied pig craze being over."

Leo and Phil grew up together (their Mom's were identical, not Siamese, twins) in New Jersey. Leo spent his days driving their Grandmother nuts banging on what she lovingly called "the noisemakers"(drums!) and taking everything electrical in the house apart. He then went to Nashville to "see what they know" at college. He studied engineering (studio) and majored in Quarters and beer bongs, and in his spare time, played with The Dusters. Then, after relocating to New York and joining his brother's, and Phil's, band Woodpecker...he took the post of "Mr. Sound Man" at NY's famous Brownies. His favorite color is Plaid.

Craig Chesler moved to New York because he heard you could get better Beach Boys bootlegs there, and, upon stumbling into Tom (after not seeing him for 13 years!!) at Manitoba's, they caught up on what they'd been a-missin'. What resulted was Craig finishing a stunning debut, produced by Tom and Leo and recorded at Blacksmith Studio, titled "From a Wishing Well" to be released in 2002. He also got tricked into joining the High Action Boys. Tom and Craig did gigs together at Dekalb High School, when Tom was a Senior and Craig was a Freshman. One day, while Tom was shaking Craig upside down to get money for a 7-11 burrito, he saw a guitar pick fall out. After talking about music for several minutes, Tom put Craig down.

Tom has recently been on tour with Drivin' n’ Cryin's Kevn Kinney, and is newly returned from Ireland, where he performed in a solo acoustic mode that made it seem as if there was a full band backing him.

Currently planning a grass roots U.S. tour, Tom Clark & The High Action Boys combine the best of all worlds; rockers who are not afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves, and heartfelt musicians who roll up their sleeves and get to rockin'.

Doc Rock