Something to say, and a distinctive way of saying it."
— The Free Times
Tom Prasada-Rao is as far from boring folk music as you can get and still be holding an acoustic guitar."
— The Washington Post
Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
TPR brings out the dancer in me. I’m guessing he brings out the dancer in just about everybody. His music is soulful and groovy and there is just no denying it. How can you sit still when you are listening to Tom? It’s that simple; but it’s not simple at all. His music is also deep, inspiring, and truthful, and those are the other things that draw me in. Inspiration and groove at the same time – all I can say is wow.
Tom taught songwriting at The University of Virginia for eight years and he has his fair share of awards: Kerrville, Falcon Ridge, Wammies, and WAMAs. But maybe the greatest prize of all is that when he performs, everyone wants to dance and sing along. It must be pure joy for him to look out on the happiness he is sharing with his audience.
Falling Star was written by Tom with Michael Lille and was the first song I ever heard Tom perform. I fell in love with his songwriting instantly. This is a perfect example of an amazingly great song that has a serious groove.
See Myself in You was written with Tom Kimmel and was covered by Randy Travis. The Toms started writing this song after a long conversation with a homeless man on the street before a gig.
Would I know you as you are
Would I take you for a stranger
And brush past you in the door
If you called me would I hear you
Or would I walk away too soon
If I lingered for a moment
Would I see myself in you
I Begin to See Your Face is probably my favorite TPR song. It was written by Tom with Pierce Pettis (who I will be profiling soon). Sometimes it is really just the lyrics I want to share with you rather than my impressions of the song. This is one of those times.
It’s not the tide that’s pulling me
It’s more the way the seabirds play
I begin to see your face
Not in a temple or a mosque
Or stone cathedral cold and dark
But in the coolness of the day
I begin to see your face
It’s not the sun that burns my eyes
The one eyed one the sputnik spy
It’s in the longing lovers ache
I begin to see your face
It’s not the pilgrimage we make
It’s not the road we do not take
It’s in the turns along the way
I begin to see your face
Sleeping Beauty was recorded live at The Kerrville Folk Festival. There are a number of wonderful things about this video besides the great song. I love the enthusiasm of the backup singers (Stephanie Corby, Johnsmith, and Kristin Dewitt) The djembe player is Jeff Berkley of Berkley Hart. I think that the amazing Chris Rosser is playing piano, but the video is so pixelated that I’m not sure. It sure sounds like him. I have no idea who the bass player is – maybe someone will tell us. You also get to briefly see one of the sign language interpreters – always a presence on the Kerrville stage. Their work is amazing – they dance with their hands.
The song in the second video was not written by Tom. This song was written by Eric Balkey. It’s a great song and a wonderful video. It belongs here because Tom is singing the lead and he produced the recording. Did I mention that Tom is a great producer? I just love this song and this video and the message of hope and change.
Here’s to the turns along the way…
Sleeping Beauty
Making Love
The piano player does sound like Chris Rosser; he’s also almost as tall sitting down as everyone else is standing up, so it probably IS Chris!