Tom Hambridge, drummer and songwriter, came close to wider recognition in 2000 when New York-based Artemis Records issued his major-label debut, Balderdash. The imprint, a short-lived venture led by industry veteran Danny Goldberg, assembled an eclectic roster of roots acts that included Warren Zevon, Jimmie Vaughan, Todd Rundgren, Hubert Sumlin, and Susan Tedeschi before folding a few years later.
Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., Hambridge received his first drum kit at age five and soon formed his initial group. The youngest of four siblings, he absorbed the Rolling Stones and Beatles LPs owned by his older sisters and taught himself to play by ear. Through high school he concentrated on music and football, yet ultimately enrolled at the Berklee School of Music.
He thrived amid Boston’s bustling early-’80s club circuit, balancing performances with coursework and completing his degree on schedule. Shortly after graduation, the late Virginia guitarist Roy Buchanan recruited him as drummer and vocalist; years of touring with Buchanan sharpened his skills. Whenever he returned to Boston, local promoters enlisted him to assemble pickup bands for visiting legends such as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley.
During the ’90s, while maintaining session work, club dates, and brief tours with established artists, Hambridge assembled his own group, TH & the Wreckage, which collected multiple Boston Music awards. After repeated near-misses with major-label contracts, he relocated to Nashville with his wife and young daughter. Just before departing Boston, he served as drummer and producer on Susan Tedeschi’s platinum-certified debut blues album for Artemis, Just Won't Burn, and penned two of her crossover hits, “It Hurt So Bad” and “Rock Me Right.”
In early 1998 he began shaping his own material into Balderdash. Tedeschi, who later married and recorded with Derek Trucks, contributed vocals to the duets “Opposites Attract” and “Boneyard.” The album blended country and blues elements into a roots-rock sound.
Since those Boston sessions with Tedeschi, Hambridge has recorded and performed alongside an array of blues and rock figures that includes Johnny Winter, George Thorogood, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, and Hank Williams, Jr. Beyond the 2000 Artemis release, his discography encompasses Still Running, Bang N' Roll, Boogieman, Live, and Master’s Car Blues.
