Tom Collier / Mallet Head Music
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Here is a 44 year-old recording I made in 1982 at Studio C in Tukwila, WA. Entitled "Black Hole", I had composed and recorded it as a demo for a second Collier and Dean album. Unfortunately, the New York-based label, Inner City, halted operations later that year, and we never made a permanent recording of "Black Hole" with our band. On this demo track, I played all of the instruments including vibraphone, marimba, electric piano, syntheisizer, synth bass, (real) drums, conga drums, and percussion. As you'll see, I spent $1.50 for the required Facebook video format...
04/11/2026
10 months after my 1962 guest appearances on the Lawrence Welk concert shows at the Seattle World's Fair, I was back performing at the same Seattle Center Arena, this time in a circus. The James Brothers Circus added me to their 1963 program for their May 24 and 25 Seattle dates, and I actually played in one of the same rings where the clowns, dogs, and acrobats performed. That was my only adventure as a circus performer. Here is the circus poster I retrieved from the Arena lobby.
Here is a live recording of "A Song For You" composed by Leon Russell. This performance was made by electric bassist Dan Dean and me (vibraphone) on January 24, 1982 at the Broadway Performance Hall (Seattle). We have performed this song many times over the years, but this is one of only two live recordings of Dan and me – and the best one in my opinion.
As I was preparing to post this song/video, I got word of the passing of one of my West Seattle High School classmates, Al Vinson. "A Song For You" is dedicated to Al...
Brand new digital release: ARBOR HEIGHTS CHRISTMAS ALBUM available on my Bandcamp site (link below). Here is a track from the album, "Little Drummer Boy". My version answers the question, "What if the little drummer boy joined the BO DIDDLEY band?" Listen to find out.
Get the entire album here:
https://tomcollier.bandcamp.com
On July 4, 1961, I appeared on the Don Riley Show, a local Seattle program on KIRO TV. I digitized the film my Dad made from a kinescope provided by the TV station. The program director instructed me to smile while I was playing, so I tried to look up when I could take my eyes off of the marimba bars for a couple of seconds. I remember the microphone hanging around my neck was bothering me, but I made it through OK. I was 13 years old and a student at Madison Jr. High.
11/03/2025
A new trunk of stuff discovery: On the back of this program, the date was May 20, 1961. Look who was prividing dinner music for the Safeway Employees Association Banquet - Walt Wagner! I followed with a floor show (I know the program says dancing, but it was a show). This was 10 years before I joined Walt's Trio in 1971. Who knew?
June, 1978. Wacky, fun recording of a Walt Wagner original entitled "Berzerka". Live recording – no studio gimmicks or edits. I'm not sure how I managed to execute it on the marimba. Recorded at Casey's Sports Bar, Olympic Hotel, Seattle WA. (Thanks for letting me share this, Walt!)
I recorded 'Hopscotch' 50 years ago (1975) as part of an audition reel to use just before moving to Los Angeles. The reel worked - I started to get music gigs in L.A. after playing the demo for key musicians (esp. Larry Bunker, Emil Richards, Shelly Manne). For a demo recording, 'Hopscotch' and the other tracks sound pretty good...50 years later.
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