Thomas Lees
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Behind the Band | | |
Thomas Lees
-Vocals/Rythm Guitarist-
I have lived in High Point, NC for most of my life, though I did spend a brief time in Raleigh when I was young. I attended many elementary schools as well as the YMCA during the summer where I became friends with Connor and Jack. I attended Welborn Middle and then Andrews High School where I'll graduate in 2002. I love jazz, swing, and acoustic music (pretty much any kind of music except rap or country). A lot of bands have influenced me and I can't really point out one that I get my style from the most. I'm currently listening to Supertones, Room Full of Walters, Poor Old' Lu, and Jars of Clay. I got started playing guitar because my dad had always played since I was little. I started taking lessons every Wednesday, and pretty soon, my dad was taking lessons from me. I learned varying styles in my lessons ranging from blues to rock to jazz. I like to swing dance and regularly attend swing dances every other week with Justin and others. I have two cats, Snickers and Oreo. I recieved my Eagle Scout award in February of 2002. I am also a vegetarian and proud of it, thanks to Connor (it's all your fault). Anyways, I drive a burgandy blob (an '89 Toyota Camry), so if you see me on the road feel free to honk. I own four guitars: an electric Lotus, an electric-acoustic Washburn Festival, an Yamaha electric, and an Epiphone Dot (jazz guitar). My amp is a Crate GFX-65 with DSL. I also use a DigiTech RP3 foot pedal.
Here's how the band formed: Greg and I both attended the same church but never knew each other until Greg asked if I played guitar. Well, we ended up with a band called FIG made up of me, Greg, Vince, and Jerry. Vince moved away and we recruited Travis Burney. We made a couple demos and played a gig but the band didn't go anywhere. Travis and Jerry ended up quitting (no hard feelings guys!) and so again, it was myself and Greg. Through a few connections we came across Justin Bingham. We were uncertain about his playing ability at first due to the short amount of time he had been playing. But all fears were put to rest when he plugged in. That made three of us. We began to write songs vigorously and come up with as many different sounds as we could. During this time we continued to look for a lead vocalist. We put up flyers around schools and got a few responses. One of those was Jazmine Dawkins. We were curious about a female vocalist and wanted to see how it would fit our sound. It turned out great. But unfortunately, Jazmine left for college a few months later. So again we searched. Our next find was our last. We came across Alan Taylor who was currently playing solo. He quickly became our vocalist and the band was complete. Me and Alan ended up sharing the mic as time went on and he was phased into lead guitar and I into rhythm and vocals.
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