Meet Tommy Grasley

We recently connected with Tommy Grasley and have shared our conversation below.

Tommy, so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.

I chuckled at answering this, as the question itself kinda feels as if I’m feeding into the haters and nay-sayers – and yet it’s a really important part of knowing who you are and how you can become stronger because of it. So yes, I actually persist despite the haters, nay-sayers, and all those who want to keep me small – I’m stronger for it. Because it’s not about me – it’s about others not being happy with who they are or what they’re doing. That’s on them. Have you ever noticed that no matter how hard you’ve struggled, as soon as you receive some kind of recognition, others want to pul you down. Immediately. I’ve learned to keep my head down and do the work – and hold my head high in knowing that I’m doing something that makes me happy. For me, the only way to move in this world is by taking action. I won’t allow others to bring me down. I surround myself with positive and uplifting people.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I grew up in a steel town in Canada. My musical journey started as a young boy drawing on the influence of a successful musically inspired family. My father, Sonny Del Rio (CROWBAR) played saxophone with Kelly Jay, and King Biscuit Boy (aka Richard Newell). On my mother’s side (the Stewarts), my cousin is Rod Stewart.

Coming from a family of musicians, it was feast or famine. But the thing with that is, you quickly know that music is a passion or else you’d probably give it up. Sure I needed a day job, and yet it never discouraged me from persuing my love of music. For sure others tried to shut me down, which actually gave me the motivation to keep striving.

My band is called TOMMYGUNN, and I released my first album in 2013, UNLEASH THE HOUNDS which charted #7 in Australia and had success in the U.K. My next album, I BELIEVE IN LOVE released in 2020 reflected the world around me at the time. It’s the story of my life moving from hate to love. Yep, there was a lot of struggle in my life leading up to that.

But this album, I BELIEVE IN LOVE, gave me the opportunity to collaborate with some of the best artists in Rock and Roll – Eddie Kramer (Beatles, Led Zeppelin , Jimi Hendrix …), Dale Harrison (Headstones), Greg Godovitz (Goddo); Kim DesChamps (Blue Rodeo), and more.

And then, the pandemic hit and I started to write a lot. I was prepping for my next album. CALIFORNIA WAY. This album was inspired by my love of the California coast. The album includes legendary musicians; Gregg Bissonette (David Lee Roth, Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band, ELO, Bee Gees), Laurence Juber (Paul McCartney & Wings), Richard T Bear Gerstein (Kiss, Pat Benatar, Mick Fleetwood, Cher, The Doobie Brothers …). Daniel Goldberg (drummer, writer, producer Meatballs, Stripes, Old School, Private Parts, Heavy Metal, The Hangover Part 1,2,3 … ), Fernando Perdomo (Echo In The Canyon, Appice/Perdomo, Todd Rundgren), Ryan Shore (Howard Shore, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Matchbox Twenty), Stephen Hogg (Fred Eaglesmith, Ray Materick, Tom Wilson, …), Dalton Cyr (singer, songwriter) sings back-up vocals along with Mikal Blue. And other incredible musicians. The album was produced by Mikal Blue at his studio Revolver Recordings Studio. Mikal is a Grammy award winning producer, engineer, singer, songwriter (artist include: One Republic, Five For Fighting, Colbie Caillat). And definitely a special thanks go to Steve Hoffman (MCA Records).

I released CALIFORNIA WAY on a new platform called GoodTunes, where finally artists aren’t taken advantage of. They are appreciated for their work.

And, I do feel this is my best work to-date. And I’m grateful for the incredible talent that I’m surrounded by.

Right now I’m working on a tour.

I hope people dig my sound. Rock and Roll is alive and rockin’

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Confidence, belief, and perseverance are the three qualities that come to mind. These have helped me along the way when I found myself getting down on myself. These 3 qualities helped me to quickly regain my momentum and continue along my journey as an artist. I learned early on that I had only myself to fall back on. No one was coming to do the work for me. And I never expected that, that would happen. What I found was, that when I believed in myself, and honed my music, that’s when the music finally spoke for itself. It came directly from my heart. When you’re starting out, you’re probably going to be swayed by other peoples opinions and advice, and it may discourage you more than it lifts you. The best thing I learned over time was to get really great at my craft. Trust in myself and what I was doing. You gotta be in it for the long haul if you want to ‘make it’ in whatever it is that you’re doing. Be patient and persevere, because I’ll bet you my last dollar that others will give up early on if they don’t see immediate success. Keep going. Take small actions every single day. Build momentum.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Out of necessity I wear all hats to get my music out there. I don’t have a ‘machine’ behind me. And I’m ALWAYS grateful for those who share my work. Always. As an independent artist it takes 10 times the amount of work, with lots of doors slammed in your face to get to where you want to go. Right now I’m planning a small tour, and while I’m trying to get someone to rep my band, I’m looking at booking venues, merchandise options, promotion, constant content, and all the other millions of moving parts that go into the logistics of making this happen. One hope would be that I’d love to be a support band for a major act touring across the U.S. like EDDIE VEDDER & PEARL JAM, or any other major act. Ha, I’m not the only one with that hope. I see challenges as temporary obstacles that need to be moved one piece at a time. Some challenges take a lot longer than others. Creating great music is only the start. You have to do a lot more to get it out there. To be seen.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Leadership Development
Where does your generosity come from?

Over the years, we have consistently been blown away by the examples of generosity we’ve

Leadership Development
Risk Taking & Saying Goodbye To Comfort Zones

Taking risk is natural for some, but in our experience most successful risk takers gradually

Productivity
From Exhausted to Energized: Overcoming and Avoiding Burnout

Between Hustle Culture, Work-From-Home, and other trends and changes in the work and business culture,