Tōmn: a Brazilian-inspired CD release party August 27, 2010

TŌMN: CD release concert. Friday, August 27, 9:30 pm-1:00 am. Admission: $10. Johnny D's Uptown, 17 Holland St., Davis Square, Somerville. Conveniently located on the Red Line. Wheelchair accessible. For more information (617) 776-2004 or www.johnnyds.com.

Tōmn (pronounced "tome") aka Tony Maiella is a North American musician based in Boston who fuses rock and Brazilian pop, creating lush arrangements. Some of his family background contributes to Tōmn’s musical explorations south of the border, since his maternal grandparents had originally moved to Buenos Aires from Italy in 1948. His mother was born there, before the family then obtained visas and moved to the US ten years later. In 2005, Tōmn, while backpacking for half a year with his guitar, travelled not only to Argentina but also across South America, and ended up falling most in love with Rio de Janeiro. Since then, Tōmn has revisited Brazil seven times, most recently in August 2009. Through patience and observation, he learned from Brazilian culture, adopted elements from that musical tradition, and now speaks and sings in Portuguese fluently.

The beginnings of the music occurred in Visconde de Mauá, a small hilltop town in the middle of the Atlantic Brazilian rain-forest. The sounds of the forest inspired him to experiment with unorthodox tunings on his acoustic guitar and craft pop songs that feature organic instruments combined with electronic ambience.

Upon returning to Boston in the Fall of 2009, Tōmn assembled a group of over 20 gifted musicians and collaborators for the studio recording, including but not limited to Colin Sapp (electric guitar), Neil Taylor (bass), Dan Shure (keys), Mike Daillak (drums), and Luis Maurette (programming). The music was recorded at Q Division Studios with Rafi Sofer and at Estudio 304 in Rio de Janeiro with Latin Grammy award winning producer Chico Neves. Mixed by Grammy award winning producer Tchad Blake and mastered by Bob Ludwig, Tōmn’s recording is a unique, complex combination of MPB (Brazilian pop) and rock. Most of the songs on the recording have about 80 tracks interacting inside the music.

An ex-member of the pop rock band Delhill, Tōmn has also performed locally at the Middle East, The Paradise, and Great Scott, and also at CBGB and the Dubai Media Center with Naree as an opener for Pink. For Johnny D’s, Tōmn (lead vocals/acoustic guitar) will be accompanied by the following musicians (*denotes those on the new recording): Samira Winter (back-up vocals/percussion), *Colin Sapp (electric guitar), Mike Effenberger (keys/samples), Will Cafaro (bass), Luis Blanco (percussion), Fabio Pirozzolo (drums); along with special guests: *Adam Friedman (flute), *Tony Savarino (electric guitar), Daryl Romkey (drums), Marcus Santos & AfroBrazil and Ray Hendricks Revival.

The evening’s schedule: Ray Hendricks Revival opens; Marcus Santos as emcee; Tōmn & friends perform songs from his new album, along with other songs that have yet to be recorded; AfroBrazil closes the night. Tōmn will be selling his album that evening for “name-your-own-price.”

For more information on Tōmn, visit www.tomnmusic.com and www.myspace.com/tomnsongs.

Official Website: http://www.johnnyds.com