We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tommy Strazza. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tommy below.

Tommy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Martin Luther King Day… 1979. I was seven years old. I wanted to buy an album with my own money. My dad took me to Harmony Hut in Brunswick Square Mall. My cousin was a big KISS fan, so I wanted to buy a KISS album that he didn’t have. The artwork reached out and grabbed me. The album: Rock & Roll Over. I brought it home, put it on my turntable, and those sounds transformed me on the spot. It was a life-defining moment. I knew by age seven what I wanted to do with my life.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Tommy Strazza. I started playing the guitar when I was fifteen years old. At seventeen, I got accepted to Berklee College of Music. By twenty-one, I was finished at Berklee and started gigging/ teaching guitar professionally. I have been doing it ever since. I started singing and writing songs when I was twenty-two years old. I worked very hard at my craft by way of writing constantly, recording and producing seven of my own albums, gigging, and teaching students – all while working in a restaurant until being able to play and teach music full-time. Since 2009, I have been a full-time working musician. Along the way, I grew tired of paying expensive recording studios to NOT get my records the way that I knew I wanted them to sound. I began learning to become an audio engineer in 2014, and now record, mix, and master my own records, as well as producing and recording several other artists.
As far as my brand goes… I’m kind an anti-brander, if that makes any sense. I always want to be evolving and changing. The term “brand” always made me feel like I had to work within a set of parameters, in order to be categorized. I’ll have none of it. If I do have a brand, it is one of versatility, without boundaries, and constant and continued growth. I have no desire to be known for one thing. My favorite artist is Prince, and I strive to be as versatile, self-sufficient, and independent as he was.
I guess that is what I am most proud of. If somebody needs a guitarist, a singer, a songwriter, a producer, an audio engineer, a mixer, a mastering engineer, or a guitar teacher… I can do it. Providing all of these services enables me to continue to create on my own, as well as collaborating with so many talented and creative people. I learn so much from all of them, and then I get the thrill of passing on what I know to my students, so that they may be well equipped, when starting their own musical journeys. All of this equals me being able to make a full-time living at what I love to do. My grandmother once said to me, “Gigs are feast or famine… Students are steady income.” She taught piano until she was ninety years old, and she gave me some of the best professional advice that I ever received.
If there is one thing that I want all of my clients to know about me, it is that I am not happy until they are, and I won’t stop until they are satisfied. If there is one thing this industry can provide, it’s a never-ending supply of disappointment and disappointing people. Again… I’ll have none of it. I take what I do very seriously, and I think it shows.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Pay us what we are worth. If you see a live musician, put money in the tip jar. Support local.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew the power of YouTube sooner. I think it’s one of the most creative and informative tools in the world.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @tommystrazza
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/tommystrazzamusic
• Youtube: @TommyStrazzaMusic
• Other: TikTok: @tommystrazzamusic

Image Credits

Mall photo, and beach photo: Kenny Bieber
Studio photo: Tommy Strazza
Album Artwork: Anthony Walker
Live Photo with Kayleigh Wharton: Daniel Acosta