photo by Scott Beale
Last week I found out that our good friend Tom Morgan and his girlfriend Rebecca passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. I first met Tom back in 1996 at Chicken John’s weekly Church of the Bleeding Ulcer events at the now defunct Commotion space in San Francisco. Back then most of us had email accounts and were on the Burning Man email list. Tom did not have email at the time, so I gave him the nickname “Analog Tom”, which seem to stick with him, even after he finally got online.
Tom was a great guy, full of passion and he really knew his music, especially psychedelic rock. In fact it was Tom who turned me on to the German group Can and New York’s Silver Apples, both amazing and somewhat obsure, late 60’s psychedelic bands.
Tom was a talented musician in his own right, with his bands Sexpot and later on Transcender. Transcender’s “self-titled debut album” is still available through CD Baby, so you may want to pickup a copy as a reminder of Tom’s contribution to the music world. Here are some photos I shot of a Sexpot show from August 5th, 2000.
Tom, thank you so much for writing the Alonso Smith tribute song. One day, someone should write a song about you, maybe something like “Strawberry Tom Forever” (Tom played the unforgetable role of a giant, dancing strawberry in the fruit and vegetable ballet at Burning Man’s 1997 Mysteria event at SomArts).
Rock on Tom! We’re going to miss you.
UPDATE 1: After a thorough investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Tom and Rebecca death was determined to be accidental, caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. A couple of articles confirming this information were published on June 1st, 2005 by the Lake County Record-Bee and Clear Lake Observer. For more info on carbon monoxide safety, check out this PG&E article. (Thanks for the update, CB.)
UPDATE 2: “Instrument of Change”, Tom Morgan’s last album, is now online.
Instrument of Change was recorded February 18-21, 2005 in Clear Lake, California. Tom, Eugene and Bill spent a rainy weekend in Tom’s living room improvising and working with some of Tom’s latest song ideas. By the fourth day, the tape had captured three hours of music. After Bill and Eugene went back to San Francisco, Tom started mixing, with the idea that some tracks were worth sharing.
A few weeks later a malfunctioning heater took Tom and his girlfriend Rebecca from this world leaving friends, family and the arts community stunned. Eventually Bill and Eugene continued with the mixing and distilled the entire three hours into this 35 minute CD. Instrument of Change serves as a sonic memorial to the supremely talented Tom Morgan and his music, both of which are sadly missed.
Tom Morgan: Guitar, Keyboard, Vocal
Eugene Chen: Casio, Farfisa, Guitar, Vocal *
Bill Miller: Drums *
Here Are A Few Related Posts You Might Enjoy:
- Rita Moreno & Morgan Freeman Sing Tom Lehrer’s Menu Song on The Electric Company
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
by by tom.
he put my band up on his floor, talked tons o’ recording, hung out at the tapeop conferences, played a show w/us, enthused endlessley about music, recording, history, life, etc…. bye bye tome. i hope he’s doing ok where he is now..
I cant belive what I am reading?! I played guitar and mellotron with Tom in Transcender for a while until I moved to LA. I just spoke to him the last time he was down here? Can someone please write me and let me know what the hell happened as I am just finding out and I am completley shocked and saddened.. Tom was one of my biggest inspirations for songwriting and also turned me onto alot of great music like CAN, Captain Beefheart , Zappa, and of course rare beatles…… Oh my god I cant believe.. what a fun guy to play music with.. I remember seeing the flaming lips with him and we passed each member a copy of the cd and then hung out backstage to talk at length with Wayne and Steven. I think his music was up there with the best of them and I still cant get enough of “What is in the minfd of Alonzo G. Smith”, and “Superlosers”. Man Im gonna miss him..
Tom, “You rocked em and socked my brother”
I too was a good friend of Tom’s back here in Baltimore, and i am too, also very shocked and saddened to hear of his unfortunate passing. I am the “P.T.” of “PT Needs A Drink” off their Transcender cd…and lemme tell ya’ll, if EVER there seemed to be a time for a drink, well, certainly a toast, this is it: Tom, you were a really good buddy to me back-in-the-day. I am also indebted to you for turning me on to Can, obscure British Invasion, Funkadelic, etc.,etc.,etc. Had’nt seen much of you lately bro. and I’m now PARTICULARLY sorry I never made it to Burning Man to hang with you. geeeeeeeeeeeezuuuuuuuuuus – I’m just sittin’ here thinking of all the great marathon phone conversations we’d get into; all the great mixed tapes you made me; other cool people you introduced me to, again, etc.,etc.,etc. Peace my brother. Make a rock and roll sound, wherever your good soul is.
I first met Tom in 1982, in a record store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was an extraordinary person with a whole lot of talent and vision. There are so many people here in Detroit and elsewhere who have had their musical outlook totally altered and enhanced by contact with him. He was a catalyst. He was also a very good friend and as I write this I realize that my mind simply cannot process the information about his passing. Tom’s energy seemed so limitless. His vibrations will be felt on this planet for a long, long time.
I can’t believe Tom is gone. What a great guy- so full of energy. I played with Tom in a band called Pruitt Igo in Baltimore. He added so much to the music and production. I also discovered CAN and others through Tom. We recorded alot of songs. Tom’s spirit was amazing. One recording I have tells the tale: we were playing at a party, (pretty loudly), and when the police showed up and tried to shut us down one can hear the song disintegrating – except of couse Tom – who in the background was shouting “Just Keep Playing ! Just Keep Playing”. Brother, every time I play “St. Simons Troops” I will remember your perfect pitch. See ya when I get there.
I spent about a year with Tom in the mid 1990s in baltimore, and we ended on pretty bad terms. However, like many others, I learned a lot about music from Tom, and the bands Tom and some of his amazing friends turned me on to back then are still on heavy rotation on my ipod. thirteenth floor elevators, the monkees (rare tracks by mike nesmith especially), the beach boys, stereolab, nancy sinatra, francoise hardy, outrageous cherry, the volebeats, and countless indie pop bands– just a few of the bands and musicians I started listening to that year that continue to form the core of my musical interests. I’m glad others got to experience and appreciate this wonderful part of him. thanks tom.
After all these years,what a sad way to find out what your old friend has been up to.I played guitar with Mister Tom back in the early 90’s in a band called Jag!.We had a lot of fun composing,playing,drinking and arguing.Yes,Tom was dynamic and quite talented,like a crazy love-child of Captain Beefheart and Tom Verlaine .When we split as a group,I lived with Tom for some months in San Fransico.He asked me to fill in for a lost guitar player in his then current band,”sexpöt”,and always had some cool guitar and amplifier ready for me to play.Thanks Tom.I’ve been living in Berlin now for some years,and I often think of Tom when I plug in my guitar and play something loud and psychedelic.Nigel Tufnel’s amp went to 11…Tom’s was always more like 17!Wow,what a loss.Auf wiedersehen mein freund.Tom,If you’re playing somewhere with Link Wray,I wouldn’t be surprised.Alles liebe