Tom Shad's first recording as a sideman was at age fifteen with a rock/punk band called the Breakdowns. It was for a single at Gary Scilifani's studio in South Hackensack, New Jersey. Tom doesn't remember the name of the songs they tracked, but he does remember Scilifani plugging his Kramer DMZ 5000 Bass into
an MXR Dynacomp compressor.
Tom's next recording was with the group the RIff Doctors (later renamed Cowboy and Spingirll) at producer/musician Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studio in Reedsville, North Carolina. One track "Say Goodbye" from the Drive-In sessions appeared on the Record Runner Records compilation "Eastern Shores." Actor Tim Robbins directed the Riff Doctors video for the song "You Turn Me On " The Drive In sessions were later released under the name Cowboy and Spingirl on Subway records from England, and later on Parasol in 199? although neither he nor
drummer Dave Ryan were credited on the album.
Shakespeare Fungus V was a co-led project by Tom and Jesse Obstbaum. They only recorded one tune "Alice" at 6/8 studious in NYC which was played on radio station WFDU maybe two or three times. It was the first time Tom recorded as a writer/player/producer on a song that got radio airplay.
Children in Adult Jails was a Psychedelic hardcore punk band . "Beard Restraints" 8 track at the Dungeon Studio Tom played bass and sang "Fake Mellow" It was the first song he recorded in a studio that he wrote and sang lead on .
"Crispin GloverAngeltits and Beanbag" 7- inch
"Anything ? " CD
Dumptruck
"For the country" LP on Bigtime recorded in Rockfield, Wales Hugh Jones producer
US and Canadian Tour
Videos "Going Nowhere" on MTV's 120 minutes
"Island" shot in pixelvision with Matt Caw of Nada Surf as an extra at the Central Park Zoo
"For the country" re-release cd on Rykodisk November 2004
Otis Ball and the Chains:
"I'm gonna love you till I dont" cd on Bar none records
"Time for a Change" compilation Bar none
Live on WFMU
Freedy Johnston
David Hamburger
Jerry Kitzrow
The Marys
Mo Beasley
Blue Man Group