TOM FLASH

During a a summer production of Godspell in 2006, Kaleb Wells asked fellow cast member Kenny Gray if he had any interest in starting a cover band focusing on the music of Queen. Fast forward a year later and the two had enlisted Gray's younger brother Adam to play drums, and friend Kyle Finver to play bass. This fledgling band, named R.A.R.E. (Rock And Roll Evolution), served as the launching ground for the young musicians to hone their chops and for Gray to work on his songwriting craft. The group played a number of gigs, wrote and released a few originals, but eventually ended up disbanding. 

During this same time, Adam Gray had been playing in an Orchestra, where he met a fellow rock and roll minded cellist named Ryan Tidwell. The two became fast friends, with Adam sharing his love of progressive metal, and Tidwell sharing his passion for balls to the wall modern garage rock. It wasn't long before the two started jamming, and eventually enlisted their older brothers (Kenny Gray & Ricky Tidwell) to start a band. They called themselves The Winchesters. As R.A.R.E. had done before, the group started playing cover songs of their favorite bands such as Jet, Wolfmother, and early Alice Cooper. However, Kenny and Ricky were both songwriters and began to bring new material in for the band to learn. These songs would eventually serve as the basis for many of Tom Flash's first songs. The group released a track or two but once Ricky left for college the group was left without a frontman. So, they called up longtime pal and accomplished vocalist Kaleb Wells. Using all the material Gray had written in The Winchesters, the four called themselves "Tom Flash & The Lightning Band". 

From day one, the group was electrifying. They quickly booked gigs, wrote songs, and recorded and released music. Their strong suit was their live show, boasting over the top showmanship and high energy antics. Within a year and a half they had won a New England wide battle of the bands, played local festivals, and been offered a chance to record a full length in LA. However in 2010, Gray was in Boston, Kaleb in NYC, and Adam and Ryan were still in NH. Because of the distance, gigs had slowed down, and so had recording and writing. At that point, Gray had taken the role of the singer and guitarist at most gigs. So, the group recorded and released their first official EP "in Flash We Trust" and then quietly disbanded. 

Over the next two years the group would reconvene to play the occasional gig or two. Additionally, the group had a backlog of recorded songs that had never been released. This music was eventually released in both the loud and boisterous "603-EP" and the soft and mellow "Youth - EP". While the band remained inactive, Gray kept writing songs with no real outlet. At the time, he was DJ'ing and producing electronic music, but would come home and still write rock and roll demos. After graduating college, Gray decided to revive Tom Flash in order to play this unused music. With a new line-up, and a new look the group started recording.

The summer of 2014 would see the release of the new "Tom Flash-EP" (the band decided to drop "And The Lightning Band"), a release featuring re-records of older material as well as two new originals. Like the line-up before, the band's strong suit was their high energy live performances. Over the next year Gray would write a host of new songs, which were then released on the band's second EP "Spit Take". After many gigs, new music, and a wild ride the band eventually decided to call it quits. At the end of it all, Tom Flash left behind a solid catalog of kick ass music and a passion for balls to the wall rock and roll.

Tom Flash 2009-2015

DISCOGRAPHY