The eclectic musical career of Tom "The Lion" King
started in the gurgling bowels of Albany, New York, in the early '70's, playing guitar, keyboards,
drums, and any other piece of hardware suitable for making noise. Falling victim to several garage band drive-by shootings, he traveled south, (or was it east?), to Swaziland, where he studied contemporary Claptrap music and Majored at the
University of Jabip. It was while there that Tom received his Totem name "The Lion" from a visiting Ukranian Shaman, and under who's expert tutelage Tom mastered the "Zitchik", a most rare and mystical rhythm
instrument, and distant relative to the Appalachin Wind Harp.  While freelancing as a busboy/lounge singer in a Berlin BierGarten, King overheard the local Burgermeister lamenting the exodus of disco...so much for 99 Luftballoons... In a foggy flash, the 70's had come and gone...Ever the optimist, King sidled back to Albany's nether regions with positive attitude in tow, and introduced "Negative Space" upon the music-hungry masses in '81. His handiwork on acoustic guitar and harmonica was well ahead of its time. Too bad. In short order, the band quickly established itself as one of Capitaland's shortest-lived and under-appreciated original cover bands. Years drifted by. By 1990, King regrouped with Bernie Gerling to form "Technical Difficulties". The band's name was not so much clever as it was indicative of their continuous problems with PA equipment, leading to a string of failed gigs and slow burn attempts to drown out angry bar crowds. Such an endeavor could only last so long...  Enter 1993, and another dynamic shift in musical progression. Answering an Altamont, NY "Help Wanted" ad for a hogfarm handyman/part-time guitar player, King barreled his way into the "Mountain Minstrels", where his university studies in Claptrap paid big dividends. King thought, "This is it", however, the sweet smell of success was shortlived. In-fighting amongst bandmembers, some of whom were caught moonlighting with "The Chicken Feeders", a band comprised of unneighborly chicken farmers, broke up the Minstrels in late '94.  Coming back down from the hills brought a new sense of adventure and smell. King found himself trekking to Troy's myriad of underground acid punkfolk establishments, and in '95, the resilient King was gigging in earnest with "Big Bag and the Romulettes". Despite King's purple beehive hairdo, the stir created by the scantily-clad Romulettes, the all-female backup singers, did much to overshadow his nimble-fingered genius. Within two years, The Lion had warped out of the group. Finally, King established his court on Park Avenue, with "King Tom and His Merry Men", a frolicking, loose knit band of musical thieves, who stole songs from established artists and played them to unwitting listeners as their own tunes...sort of a weird musical Robin Hood...Throughout these hyperbolic years, "The Lion" also hosted the Open Mic at downtown Albany's musical haven, Mother Earth's. Though the monetary remuneration for such artistic dedication was spartan, fortunately, Tom's Minor in Animal Husbandry (yes, the sheep are still scared..) has served him well, and he's been able to make ends meet soliciting local farms and the county jail, where there is never a shortage of animals to tend to.  Now, wise beyond his years, King has settled into his rightful place amongst fellow artistic giants in the Flood Road band. While his main instrument is the mandolin, The Lion King also vents his artistic heat on the harmonica, 6 and 12-string guitars, cowbell, rainstick, bongos and pan flute. INFLUENCES: Old Crow Medicine Show, The Grateful Dead, J. Peter, Ex-Lax, Shirley Temples, George Washington, Marvel Comics DISCOGRAPHY: Negative Space - "Filling the Void" (1982) Technical Difficulties - "Technical Difficulties" (1990) King Tom and His Merry Men - "Bring Me Hossenfeffer" (2000) J. Peter Yakel & Flood Road - "Pickin' On Park Ave" - (2008)  Copyright@2009 by J. Peter Yakel and Flood Road. | Visit Tom "The Lion" King Reality Page Return to Flood Road's Page! Return to Flood Road's MySpace Page!   |