Great songwriters have the innate ability to meld compelling melodies with insightful lyrics to form a whole that can touch listeners’ hearts and souls.  A performer then needs to take those songs, put their personal stamp on them, and make them come alive.  Tommy Reeves demonstrates a great talent to do all of this on his upcoming release. ”Anyone Who Isn’t Me” crafts deeply personal songs and then brings them to a new level with his gift as a singer and keyboardist.

 

As a pianist, Tommy has backed up such artists as Tony Bennett, Reba McEntire, Melissa Etheridge, Jesse McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Smokey Robinson, Jackie DeShannon, Sophie B. Hawkins, Liza Minnelli, and Raven Simone among others. 

 

He has also written, produced, and recorded music for the Oprah Winfrey Show, So You Think You Can Dance, The Office, Dateline NBC, the NBC hit show “Smash”, American Idol, Apple Computers, the ABC show Wife Swap, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Food Network, America's Most Wanted and the A&E series "Biography" of Shannen Doherty and Motley Crue. 

 

”Anyone Who Isn’t Me” marks a new phase for Reeves as he takes center stage to show his own formidable talents as a singer/songwriter.  “As a composer, I write songs about my life and my experiences,” he explains.  “I write about personal things that I am sure many people can relate to.  I’ve had strangers tell me that my songs sounded like they were written for them.   While my songs often deal with deep – and sometimes painful – subjects, I try to write them with hope and humor.” 

 

In fact, Reeves’ music is often deceiving – the upbeat and melodic nature of it draws listeners in with its captivating pop appeal, while real life dramas take place in the lyrics.  This is reflected in songs like “1024 Neptune Drive” the street address of his childhood home where he faced difficult change and an uncertain future as his parents went through a divorce.  “Bringing My Baby Home” reflects Tommy’s memories of road trips from Los Angeles to Reno to visit his young daughter after his own divorce, including a final trip to bring her home to live with him for good.  "Anyone Who Isn't Me" was written in response to a question that someone had asked him: “If you could be anyone other than yourself, who would it be?”   Reeves put together a list of some of his favorite people, including cartoon characters, singers, actors, and sport stars.   Tommy laughs, “I put the song together around that list. I think this song might be the first and only song to include the name Ray Liotta.”

 

Reeves’ pursuit of music started at the age of 12.  Following his parents’ divorce, he often found himself at home alone.  He started spending a lot of time at the house of his neighbor, who owned an old, beat up upright piano.   His neighbor also sang in a barbershop quartet and began to teach Tommy about piano and vocal arrangements.  By junior high school, Tommy had put his own barbershop quartet together and was performing at school and community events. 

 

At this time, Reeves also found himself gravitating toward the popular singer/songwriters of the day like Billy Joel (one of his greatest influences) and Elton John – artists who wrote music that appealed to pop audiences while still taking on meaningful subjects.  

 

Following high school, Reeves attended the Phil Mattson School for Singers in Spokane, Washington, where he studied vocal arranging as well as classical and jazz piano.  He then moved to Los Angeles to further his musical studies at the prestigious Dick Grove School of Music.  It was at this time that he started seriously writing his own music while honing his “chops” as a keyboardist and musical director for other artists and various productions.  Upon graduating from Dick Grove, he began teaching music theory, ear-training, and keyboard voicing at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood and, soon after, was hired to become the director of the keyboard program.

 

After 4 years as the keyboard director, Reeves resigned this position to devote more time to his career as an artist.  (He continues to teach at the school.)   The result of Reeves’ dedicated time to writing new songs is clearly heard in his latest project.  “It has been a long journey that has taken me to this place and this music,” says Reeves.   “I am particularly proud of this recording and feel like this songwriting reflects the years and experiences that it took to get here.  I’m now looking forward to getting out to perform the music live and really have fun!”

 

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