PLAY caught up with Tom Gillam, Philly-based rocker extraordinaire, host of a weekly Americana-flavored open mic at Center City bar Whiskey Dix (421 North 7th St., 215-923-2192), and self-declared connoisseur of summertime cruising, top-down dashboard classics. “I’m a music addict. I can make favorite music lists by any category, and by decade,” he says. Gillam has several solo albums and a Best New/Emerging Artist nomination by the Americana Music Association under his belt, plays with his band Tractor Pull, and tours internationally with fellow singer-songwriter and guitarist Joseph Parsons. He’s currently recording tracks for both his next solo effort and with Four Way Street, a singer-songwriter collective that also features Parsons, Ben Arnold and Scott Bricklin. As the music community knows, Gillam suffered three consecutive heart attacks back in March but, thankfully, survived to tell the tale. Since he is recovering, we we’re going to have the poor taste to call this mix “I Saw the Light: Top Ten Summer Tunes Tom Gillam Is Sure Glad He Is Still Around To Rock Out To,” but there’s just not enough room on the little stickers that go on each side of the cassette for all that. You can catch Tom’s next appearance at Roots Rock Revival Night at Whiskey Dix Saloon June 17, check out his full schedule at www.tomgillam.com, and help push the dreaded MySpace Tom further out of his Top 8 at www.myspace.com/tomgillamstractorpull. You’ve got to respect a man whose summer tune list manages Davey Jones and Brian Wilson in the same listening hour, and isn’t scared to admit he still considers Aerosmith, well, at all. Plug in the extension cord and drag the boom box out back and fire up the grill … summer’s coming and we’re feeling just fine …
Tom Gillam returned recently to the music scene after suffering three heart attacks last March. Now he tells PLAY what his picks are for our mixed tape.
from the archives: mix tape column: tom gillam
Top 10 summer tunes with Tom Gillam
