A Conversation with Thomas Oliverio from Tommy and the Ohs

This review and Q&A were written by Nick, who runs The Third Eye psychedelic rock blog. Nick is a Philadelphia-area native who recently moved to Tennessee with his wife and two fuzzy children. Since moving to his new home, Nick’s enjoyed being surrounded by honky-tonks in the Nashville area, listening to WMOT Roots Radio, and being closer to the birthplace of country music.

Through the usual Nashville scene, Nick met Thomas Oliverio, a Nashville-based producer who’s the frontman for Tommy and The Ohs, who released their debut album Mariposa Gold in early 2022 via Perpetual Doom. You can get it on Bandcamp here.

Tommy and the Ohs started in 2013 with the release of Living in the Swamp, recorded live to tape at RCA Studio A. Mariposa Gold is billed as his psychedelic country opus, and it leaves up to the hype. The album is a memorable and wild ride through a melodic and lavish sonic soundscape. Perpetual Doom’s promo for the album is also a work of art, describing it as a trip through “California fantasy and heartbreak, where genres and traditions bleed together in “the big surreal.”

“The big surreal” – I freaking love that phrase. It reminds me of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude, and when applied to roots music, kind of like watching a band at a honky-tonk through kaleidoscope, rainbow eyeglasses.

Make sure to follow Third Eye and check out Nick’s full review of the LP on his blog after you read his thoughtful interview:

NP: Can you introduce yourself and the band? When did y’all meet and start making music together?

Thomas Oliverio (Tommy): I was born into this experience on August 21, 1980, in Crown Point, Indiana, and given the name Thomas Oliverio. My friends and family have always called me Tommy. I decided to embrace that when choosing a name for this project. I started Tommy & The Ohs as a creative endeavor while still primarily focused and committed to Bawn in the Mash, a band I started in 2004 while attending graduate school in Murray, Kentucky.

That group began as a Sunday bluegrass jam session with friends that quickly evolved into a serious lifestyle and brotherhood. We ended up performing over 500 shows across the southeast, released several albums, played up and down the regional waterways on steamboats, and shared the stage with musical heroes like New Riders of the Purple Sage, Leftover Salmon, Peter Rowan, and Tony Rice, Justin Townes Earle, Donnie Herron, Kenny Malone, and countless others. 

Although I have been writing songs and playing music my entire life, that band was truly where I learned how to express myself creatively. I had always served as an impresario of sorts, putting shows together and organizing events throughout school, conducting interviews with artists I admired, and setting myself up for a career behind the scenes. I’m fortunate that I get to work backstage as well as onstage.

From 2009-2017, I found myself spending several weeks per year on the central coast of California, so I initially started Tommy & The Ohs as an outlet to perform there. The project debuted on December 22, 2011, live on the radio station KCPR in San Luis Obispo, California. The Ohs have always featured a slew of some of the best musicians I know. It’s worth mentioning that Matt Kinman, the infamous hobo, was in my band for that show. I moved to Nashville on June 6, 2012, and soon after recorded Living in the Swamp at RCA Studios alongside my longtime friend and mandolin mentor Christopher Henry, who currently plays in the Peter Rowan Band. 

Jerry Pentecost played drums- he is now Bob Dylan’s drummer and, before that, was in Old Crow Medicine Show, an influential group whose members I have collaborated with on occasion. We made a few live appearances with Billy Contreras on fiddle (featured on Mariposa Gold and throughout Box Truck Boogie), including Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Forecastle Festival, and a handful of local events- that was an incredible group that set the standard for the past ten years. On Mariposa Gold, I was able to have several Bawn in the Mash members join me in both the studio and live performances- Logan Oakley (guitar on MG and BTB), Cody Campbell (keyboard on Living in the Swamp and MG), and Brey McCoy (percussionist on MG)- In my opinion, those boys are among the best musicians Kentucky has produced in the last 20 years. 

Another great friend who I love and admire, Tom Dicks, played bass with us until he moved to Florida a few years ago. I was also lucky to have Kate Haldrup, Houston Matthews, Ry Evans, Justin Amaral, and Matty Meyer, who I met when I was tour manager for Pokey LaFarge, contribute percussion tracks on both albums. My friend and neighbor Paul Thacker plays keys and saxophone, and another neighbor, Dave Harder, who was in Luke Bell’s band, played bass throughout BTB. 

My recordings have also been greatly improved by the contributions of soulful singer Alicia Gail, featured on both full-length albums. This past year one of my oldest friends from growing up in Southern Illinois, Ryan Boyles, has been playing electric bass in our live shows. While I often have a rotating lineup, everyone has been a long-time friend. No hired guns, except virtuosic piano player Mr. Jimmy Rowland. Almost every one of the musicians on my recordings are consummate professionals and individuals. However, I have been in the business long enough to have worked with a few wild cards. C’est la vie.

Living in Nashville

NP: Either you told me, or I read it somewhere, but you’ve lived in Nashville now for over a decade, right? Did you move to Nashville for music/career purposes? And what’s it been like living in Music City?

Tommy: Nashville is the closest airport and city to where I lived in Kentucky, so I often found myself here. In January of 2012, I was invited to attend a party at legendary photographer Jim McGuire’s house, and it was the real deal. I packed up a Uhaul and said goodbye to Kentucky soon after, although my immediate family all still live there, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I’m lucky that I can go back for lunch and be home by dinner. 

McGuire ended up shooting the cover photo for Living in the Swamp right before he retired and moved away. He used the same backdrop on every legendary Nashville portrait session he has ever done, so I am rather lucky to be included in that era of Music City. Living in Nashville is a privilege and an honor. There is not another city on Earth that has this much musical talent, production amenities, and industry-related opportunities. I probably wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing anywhere else.

‘The Big Surreal’

NP: One of the things I love about your 2022 album, Mariposa Gold, is how it puts such a psychedelic spin on country music. What was your vision when making Mariposa Gold?

Tommy: During my time in California, we would often visit Yosemite National Park. I was in Mariposa Grove on December 21, 2012, writing in my notebook and waiting for the world to end when a vision of the album presented itself. Years later, the final tracks were mastered by the incomparable John Baldwin and returned back to me in February of 2020. Mariposa Gold was finally released by Perpetual Doom on March 18, 2022, as this album took a full decade to come to fruition.

NP: The description from Perpetual Doom about Mariposa Gold is excellent – I especially like the part that says the album is where genres and traditions bleed together in the “big surreal.” What does that term – the big surreal – mean to you regarding the music?

Tommy: The term is a quote from the song ‘Wine Country Girl’: It’s the big surreal, the golden coast, like a wild west shootout between two ghosts. Down 41 and up 46, having the opportunity to drive Highway 1 or ride the Pacific Surfliner; I’m lucky to have had my California experience- spending time on beaches in Big Sur, walking through forests of eucalyptus, live oak, sequoia, and manzanita trees, hanging out with the cats at the Henry Miller Library, befriending the surf poets Kyle Field and Zeb Zaitz; It was a transcendent time period that I will carry with me always.

Intergalactic Folk & Country Cosplay

NP: Why do you think there’s been such a surge in the popularity of “cosmic country” lately, a term that dates back to Gram Parsons?

Tommy: Gram is an important figure in American Music. He was a visionary, an effortless tastemaker, and had about one of the best singing voices you can hear represented by any era. There is a reason why he was so revered both alive and after his passing. I see a lot of country cosplay going on in Nashville these days, but he was the real deal. GP called his sound ‘Cosmic American Music’; When I started Bawn in the Mash, I called it Intergalactic Folk. These days I’m not much for labels of any sort; They are just anchors that keep us from growth. Miles Davis said it best, “good music is good no matter what kind it is.”

NP: You also work as a producer and have worked with “some of the biggest names in music.” Can you tell us any particularly weird or funny stories about working with a big music artist?

Tommy: It is true that I have worked alongside countless stars and celebrities. One thing I can tell you is there is a big difference between being a star and being a celebrity.

NP: What’s one album you can’t stop spinning right now?

Tommy: I leave side A of Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra’s Interstellar Low Ways on the turntable and play it at least once daily.

Box Truck Boogie Coming Soon

NP: Last question – You told me you have a new album due in the fall of this year. Can you give us any hint/taste of what’s in store?

Tommy: I can’t wait to share my next full-length album Box Truck Boogie with the world. It is the endearing, sentimental companion piece to Mariposa Gold; I conceptualized it during post-production of MG, driving 13,000 miles in one month across North America. Weigh stations, DEF, diesel, Sedona at Sunrise… 

This record is primarily based around one live session recorded at the Bomb Shelter with engineer Jack Tellmann. While I had intended on releasing both albums at the same time, I’m so thankful that Perpetual Doom is going to release it on October 27, 2023, alongside the 10th-anniversary edition of Living in the Swamp. This is my trilogy- ten years in the making, in search of lost time. Thank you so much for the kind words and for listening.