Artist Spotlight: Tom San Filippo. PHRED instruments

Guitars

Bio

Tom is an accomplished guitarist, singer and songwriter as well as a performer and home recording enthusiast, and is constantly challenging himself in a field that remains an integral part of his life.

Tom taught himself the guitar at age 9, studied music theory, sang in choir, played bass guitar in the jazz ensemble and learned piano by age 17. Throughout his formative years, Tom wrote and performed exclusively with "The Underdogs". Performing nationally, sharing the stage with The Ramones, Dave Mason, Debbie Gibson, The Dixie Dreggs and Cinderella to name a few. The Underdogs would eventually be known as "Wide Awake", who in the mid 90s released 2 CDs and was voted Long Islands' Best band of 1994 and 1995 by Good Times Magazine and WBAB. Tom has been at it professionally for over 25 years now and still continues to find new meaning for the word "guitarist".

Today, besides writing and recording his own music, Tom plays in a variety of projects with many talented musicians. Having been exposed to the Grateful Dead scene at an early age, Tom has developed an innate ability to faithfully recapture the essence of Garcia's sound and style. As a member of the New York Grateful Dead tribute band “Half Step” and JGB tribute “Tiger Rose”, Tom is striving to not only give audiences an accurate homage, but to tap into the true vibe that the Dead have always been known for.