Tommy Keene

Tommy Keene (born Thomas Clay Keene; June 30, 1958 – November 22, 2017)[1] was an American singer-songwriter, best known for releasing critically acclaimed rock & roll/power pop songs in the 1980s. He has a longtime cult following among fans of the musical genre of power pop.[2]

Tommy Keene
Background information
Birth nameThomas Clay Keene
Born(1958-06-30)June 30, 1958
Evanston, Illinois, United States
OriginBethesda, Maryland, United States
DiedNovember 22, 2017(2017-11-22) (aged 59)
GenresPower pop, jangle pop, rock & roll, pop rock
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
InstrumentsGuitar, vocals
Years active1979–2017
LabelsAvenue, Dolphin, Geffen, Matador, Alias, Parasol, spinART, Not Lame, Eleven Thirty
Associated actsRobert Pollard, Paul Westerberg, Goo Goo Dolls, Velvet Crush, (The) Razz, Richard X. Heyman
Websitewww.tommykeene.com

Education

Evanston, Illinois-born Keene was raised in Bethesda, Maryland. He graduated in 1976 from Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, which was also the alma mater of fellow musician Nils Lofgren, who went on to play and record with Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. Keene played drums in one version of Lofgren's early bands.[3] Keene then attended the University of Maryland, College Park.[4]

Musical career

Keene first received critical acclaim with his pioneering pop band The Razz, who released several local independent singles. His 1984 EP Places That Are Gone became one of the year's top selling independent releases.[5] The EP garnered a four-star review in Rolling Stone, and was voted the No. 1 EP in the following year's Village Voice Pazz & Jop Poll. Keene recorded and released numerous albums on such labels as Dolphin, Geffen and Matador Records. He worked with producers T-Bone Burnett, Don Dixon, and R. Walt Vincent. He continued to record and tour and released an album with Robert Pollard, of Guided by Voices, as 'The Keene Brothers.' Keene also played guitar on the Goo Goo Dolls' hit song, "Broadway", on their 1998 album, Dizzy Up The Girl.

In 2011, Keene released his ninth original studio album, Behind The Parade, with Second Motion Records. This was the fourth release working with Second Motion's founder Stephen Judge. Judge had released Keene's 2010 two disc retrospective Tommy Keene: You Hear Me and his previous release, Crashing The Ether. Keene's 2006 release Eleven Thirty Records was released while Judge was A&R Director and General Manager at Redeye Distribution.

Death

Keene died in his sleep on November 22, 2017 at the age of 59 of cardiac arrest.[6]

Discography

Albums

Compilations and live albums
  • The Real Underground (1993, Alias)
  • Driving into the Sun (1994, Alias)
  • Showtunes (2001, Self Released)
  • Drowning—A Tommy Keene Miscellany (2004, Not Lame)
  • Tommy Keene You Hear Me: A Retrospective - 1983-2009 (2010, Second Motion Records)
  • Showtunes II (2016, Self Released)

EPs
  • Places That Are Gone (1984, Dolphin)
  • Back Again (Try...) (1984, Dolphin)
  • Run Now (1986, Geffen)
  • Sleeping on a Roller Coaster (1992, Matador)
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References
  1. Salam, Maya (November 24, 2017). "Tommy Keene, power-pop songwriter and star of '80s D.C. music scene, dies at 59". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  2. "Tommy Keene". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  3. "Cult Rocker Tommy Keene, R.I.P." That Devil Music. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  4. "In Our Lives". No Such Thing As Was. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  5. Jack Leaver. "Places That Are Gone - Tommy Keene | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
  6. "Tommy Keene 6/30/58 – 11/22/17 – Tommy Keene". Tommykeene.com.
  7. "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. 1986-07-19. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
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