Biography
Uncle Tom originated once a disastrous recording contract and eighteen months of nonstop road work alongside the Bogus Toms had ended. After severing ties with the label, shedding two musicians, and discarding everything else connected to that earlier group, the remaining members began composing material that would appear on their self-titled 1999 album.
Drummer Louie “Woodshit” Shilling, long regarded as both unhinged and repeatedly criminal, had been urged to depart North Dakota after accumulating multiple convictions, the most notorious involving joyriding a stolen school bus off-road. He had previously shared stages in the Bogus Toms with singer-guitarist Robert “Beast” Best. Onstage he routinely ignites his drum kit and occasionally himself. His pursuits include women, water skiing, vinyl collecting, and the flavor of lighter fluid; his aversions are employment, idle chatter, and any composition exceeding four chords.
Bassist Fling recognized his destined instrument in childhood. At thirteen he acquired his nickname through an intense fixation on Flea and Sting. Following completion of the new record he was removed from the lineup after British immigration authorities deported him for lacking a work permit; he had entered the United States with his parents and elected to remain in pursuit of rock stardom. The band’s final report placed him investigating the legal maneuvers that once allowed Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious to reside in the country.
Robert “Beast” Best remains uncertain whether his nickname arose from playground taunts or from his consumption habits, literal or otherwise. Raised immediately north of New York City, he earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology; songwriting began during those student years, while the practice of music itself later demanded psychological insight. Music constitutes his central passion, guitars and muscle cars his chief obsessions, several striking examples of the latter now in his possession. After logging years of recording and touring inside the Bogus Toms, he recognized that earlier ensemble merely as the origin point for Uncle Tom. He alone wrote, produced, and tracked the band’s 1999 self-titled debut.
Uncle Tom operates as a guitar-driven, hard-edged power-pop and rock unit whose original songs favor concise, melodic hooks frequently laced with wry, comedic lyricism. Among the influences they acknowledge are the Beatles, early Cheap Trick, the Sex Pistols, the Monkees, and Tom Petty. Their material delivers forceful impact alongside a pronounced dance rhythm guaranteed to draw audiences onto the floor.
Drummer Louie “Woodshit” Shilling, long regarded as both unhinged and repeatedly criminal, had been urged to depart North Dakota after accumulating multiple convictions, the most notorious involving joyriding a stolen school bus off-road. He had previously shared stages in the Bogus Toms with singer-guitarist Robert “Beast” Best. Onstage he routinely ignites his drum kit and occasionally himself. His pursuits include women, water skiing, vinyl collecting, and the flavor of lighter fluid; his aversions are employment, idle chatter, and any composition exceeding four chords.
Bassist Fling recognized his destined instrument in childhood. At thirteen he acquired his nickname through an intense fixation on Flea and Sting. Following completion of the new record he was removed from the lineup after British immigration authorities deported him for lacking a work permit; he had entered the United States with his parents and elected to remain in pursuit of rock stardom. The band’s final report placed him investigating the legal maneuvers that once allowed Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious to reside in the country.
Robert “Beast” Best remains uncertain whether his nickname arose from playground taunts or from his consumption habits, literal or otherwise. Raised immediately north of New York City, he earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology; songwriting began during those student years, while the practice of music itself later demanded psychological insight. Music constitutes his central passion, guitars and muscle cars his chief obsessions, several striking examples of the latter now in his possession. After logging years of recording and touring inside the Bogus Toms, he recognized that earlier ensemble merely as the origin point for Uncle Tom. He alone wrote, produced, and tracked the band’s 1999 self-titled debut.
Uncle Tom operates as a guitar-driven, hard-edged power-pop and rock unit whose original songs favor concise, melodic hooks frequently laced with wry, comedic lyricism. Among the influences they acknowledge are the Beatles, early Cheap Trick, the Sex Pistols, the Monkees, and Tom Petty. Their material delivers forceful impact alongside a pronounced dance rhythm guaranteed to draw audiences onto the floor.
Albums
Singles
