Tom Freund

Singer/songwriter Tom Freund, whose style has drawn parallels to both Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones, issued his first full-length recording, North American Long Weekend, during 1998. That project included contributions from noted session players such as pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz alongside jazz organist Jimmy Smith. A New York native, Freund enrolled at Claremont College in California during the early 1990s, where he formed a duo alongside future star Ben Harper; the pair cut the limited-edition vinyl release Pleasure and Pain in 1992. Not long after, he joined roots rock stalwarts the Silos on bass. Once he departed the band, Freund made his home briefly in Austin, TX, where he wrote much of the material that later appeared on his debut. Following the arrival of North American Long Weekend, he joined a songwriters-in-the-round package tour alongside Graham Parker and Radney Foster. In 2001 Freund issued his second album, Sympatico, through his independently run Surf Road imprint.