Tommy McClendon | |
---|---|
Also known as | Atomik Tommy M |
Born | Yokohama, Japan |
Origin | Stockton, California, U.S. |
Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal |
Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
Years active | 1981–present |
Formerly of | UFO, Soulmotor |
Tommy McClendon, also known by his stage name, Atomik Tommy M, is a Japanese-born American guitarist, best known for his work with rock band UFO from 1984 to 1988. [1]
McClendon was born in Yokohama, Japan, and moved to Stockton, California when he was 10. He began learning violin at the age of 5, piano at 10, and guitar at 13. [1] McClendon's first band was formed when he was 15 with his brother, Dan. He graduated from Stockton's Lincoln High School in 1972. [1] McClendon performed in multiple different bands before becoming a member of UFO. The members of the group were Deep Water, Thunderwing, and Boy Wonder, the latter of which inspired his "Atomik Tommy M" stage name. [1] His early musical influences include The Beatles, The Lovin' Spoonful, Mance Lipscomb, and Paul Butterfield. [1] [2]
Before McClendon joined UFO, the band disbanded after its unsuccessful tour supporting Making Contact . Phil Mogg spent time in Los Angeles, where he contacted, through Mike Varney, McClendon, asking him to be in a new band. This new band later ended up staying as UFO, and they released Misdemeanor in 1985. They also released Ain't Misbehavin' in 1988 with McClendon.
McClendon was the guitarist for ex-Tesla bassist Brian Wheat's band Soulmotor, appearing on their first three releases. [3] More recently, he was in the group When We Become Kings, which broke up in 2017. [4] McClendon gives guitar lessons at The Music Box in Lodi, California. [5]
UFO are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the new wave of British heavy metal. The band's current lineup includes vocalist Phil Mogg, lead guitarist Vinnie Moore, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Neil Carter, bass guitarist Rob De Luca, and drummer Andy Parker. They have gone through several line-up changes, leaving Mogg as the only constant member, and had two breaks. The band also featured former Scorpions guitarist and Michael Schenker Group (MSG) founder Michael Schenker, who was a member of UFO from 1973 to 1978 and rejoined the band sporadically between 1993 and 2003, when Moore replaced him. In May 2018, Mogg announced that he would retire from UFO after one last tour as a member of the band in 2019; however, the band plans to resume their farewell tour in 2022.
Michael Schenker is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker. In the mid-1970s, Schenker joined UFO, playing lead and rhythm guitar. He left the band in 1978 to found the Michael Schenker Group. He has rejoined UFO three times, producing an album each time. Schenker continues to perform and record. He has been called "a legendary figure in the history of metal guitar".
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Ain't Misbehavin' is an EP by the British hard rock band UFO, recorded in 1987 after the band's USA tour, and released early in 1988.
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Lincoln High School, founded in 1954, is Lincoln Unified School District's only comprehensive high school. The school serves approximately 3,500 students from ethnically and socio-economically diverse populations.
Misdemeanor is the twelfth studio album by the British hard rock band UFO. After the disastrous tour supporting Making Contact, UFO disbanded, with Phil Mogg spending time in Los Angeles, where he contacted guitarist Atomik Tommy M. Mogg decided to start a new band, involving the new American guitarist and Paul Gray, who had played bass guitar in the last UFO tour. The three of them recruited former UFO keyboard player Paul Raymond and drummer Robbie France and started writing new material. Chrysalis Records signed the new band as UFO and assigned experienced producer Nick Tauber for the recording process of a new album. France resigned before the recording started and was replaced by former Magnum drummer Jim Simpson. Paul Raymond quit the band during their US tour in August 1986 and was replaced for the rest of the tour by David Jacobson.
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Jeffrey "Jeff" Kollman is an American guitarist and occasional bassist from Toledo, Ohio, best known for his work with Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, Glenn Hughes, UFO offshoot Mogg/Way, progressive rock trio, Cosmosquad, and his 90s progressive metal band, Edwin Dare.
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