His dad was a summer-stock amateur thespian in local theaters playing such memorable roles as Lincoln in "A Man From Illinois" and other leading characters. Thom got bitten as an early teenager by the theater bug when he'd join his dad going to the shows and hanging around backstage.

"I'm sure I was probably a bit of a pest always poking around asking everyone questions," Thom confides. "It was a really neat summer though, as my dad was in a show, which was held in a 150 year-old barn," he adds.

"I believe the cast and crew, to get me out of their hair, exiled me to the lighting booth," he says with a broad smile. But this proved to be a godsend to Thom as he eventually took up a keen interest in lighting design, which later helped him with his hobby of photography. Later that summer he got to run the lights for Steinbeck's, "Of Mice & Men," a play that still moves Thom to this day.

Eventually Thom's life led him into little things like college, getting jobs, paying bills, leaving less and less time for theater. In 1984 he was laid-off from his job fixing paint application equipment (ie. airbrushes, spray guns, pumps). As he was let go with two months severance pay, he took advantage of the situation using his free summer to travel to folk festivals around the United States and Canada.

"I was also heavily involved at the time with an environmental education organization on the Hudson River called, 'Clearwater,' and there was always little folk festivals going on," Thom recalls. "A lot of my friends were folk singers and songwriters and I was drawn to their world. Someone said I should become an agent, so poof! I was an agent. I went around developing relationships with different artists, particularly in the burgeoning new singer-songwriter scene of the early ‘80s, centered around The Speakeasy in Greenwich Village, befriending folks like Suzanne Vega, Christine Lavin, John Gorka, Shawn Colvin and Lucy Kaplansky.

"I eventually moved to New York City where I merged with an agency (Doug Yaeger Productions) there. It was a very educational experience, but one I had to move on from a year and a half later. It wasn't working out financially. I was so poor I couldn't afford to go to a free museum," Thom quips. "I decided I could be that poor on my own, and eventually moved up to Tarrytown, N.Y., where I had discovered this great old theater. The previous autumn I'd helped some old 'Clearwater' friends put on a benefit in it.

"I just love old theaters and antiques, things with the dust of those who've previously gone before, caked on them. The Tarrytown Music Hall, built in 1885, had the feel of a comfortable, well-worn denim jacket," Thom adds.

"I dusted off the files and papers of my old booking agency and moved my operations to a building right across Main Street from the theater. I could look out my office window at it and the Hudson River," he wistfully recalls.

Eventually Thom gave the booking agency to his “Three Kings” brother Mike, who had joined him in Tarrytown to learn the business. He in turn eventually moved to Arizona, Australia, and now works at SRO in Madison, Wis. Thom was left just presenting concerts successfully for a total of 15 years.

"I brought Mike into the business," reflects Thom. "He was supposed to give me a share of the profits, but I'm not holding my breath in this business," he quips.

All this time Thom kept hoping to be able to run the Music Hall as a successful performing arts center, with a proper board of directors and plenty of community support. This was an insurmountable, uphill battle, as the owners were content with it as a "rental hall."

Eventually he gave up on this dream. He had gotten married and quickly had a daughter. "I wanted to find not only a more stable situation, maybe more importantly, one where I could expand my creativity," Thom says.

"I had taken on a couple management clients in the meantime, starting in 1995 with bluesman Guy Davis, as well as Big Bill Morganfield, and John Lennon's original Quarrymen," he adds.

Thom heard about the Claremont Opera House in New Hampshire and interviewed for the position of executive / artistic director. Once again Thom found another great old theater. The nature of the hiring still allows Thom to pursue other outside projects including his management and independent concert production back at his old stomping ground in Tarrytown and elsewhere.

"My focus is really on the beautiful old Claremont Opera House though, and my ambitions to expand on the quality work that my predecessors and current board have built over the years. I'm looking to add my own 'dust' to the place."

Thom founded Twin Cloud Concerts May 2, 1986 when he presented his first show at the Music Hall in Tarrytown. He founded the company on the premise of presenting, "great sounding concerts in a comfortable setting in your own 'backyard'." For 15 years, Twin Cloud has presented hundreds of shows, mostly in the field of "Roots"-oriented music (folk, blues, jazz, country) and mostly at the Music Hall. Artists included Judy Collins, 10K Maniacs, Wynton Marsalis, Kathy Mattea, Buddy Guy, Pat Metheny and many others. His partner, Gene Tullio (1986 - 1989) went on to work in estate planning.

Occasionally Twin Cloud would boldly venture away from both this genre of music as well as from the theater. It presented concerts and festivals as far afield as New Brunswick, N.J., Tilghman Island, Md., and New London, Conn. And presented such interesting shows as a children's opera about the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and a one-man 'reader's theater' piece by actor Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins of TV show “Dark Shadows” fame) reading that famed story in the church of the "Headless Horseman" located in town.

Over the years Twin Cloud has presented benefit concerts, helping to raise well over $200,000 for some terrific organizations in Westchester County with the unblinking support of the business community.

What do you prefer: management, talent buyer or production company?
I really like that I do BOTH management (Guy Davis, John Lennon's original Quarrymen) and talent buying as the executive director of the Claremont Opera House in New Hampshire. Throw in that I have the freedom to occasionally present my own concerts (ie. at the Music Hall in Tarrytown, N.Y. for example) and I've never felt better.

First industry job
Well, that depends on the definition of "industry." When I was a young teenager I was making a pest of myself at summerstock theatre that my dad was involved in. That was until they threw me out of their hair, up into the tiny lighting booth at the very top of the barn's hayloft to run the dimmer board, which was literally held together with chewing gum.

After getting laid-off from a job fixing air brushes and spray guns, and having spent a lot of time hanging around the resurgent songwriter scene in Greenwich Village in the early ‘80s, someone said, “you should be a folk agent,” so I said okay, I'm a folk agent.

So I actually created my first "industry job" trying to get gigs for Christine Lavin, Tom Chapin, and Suzanne Vega.

Career disappointment
Having Bonnie Raitt cancel on my presentation at the Capital Theatre in Port Chester, NY 30 days out. I had heard it was because her mom, who lived just over the border in Greenwich, Conn. dissuaded her daughter that "Port Chester's not the sort of town you should be playing" (the other side of the tracks). Don't know if that's really true or not, but shortly thereafter Bonnie was having great success with Nick of Time.

Greatest challenge
Balancing my career with my greatest productions, daughters Sonja and Anna.

Best business decision
Jumping into the management side and helping to put Guy Davis on the music map.

Best business advice
I was invited to Peter, Paul & Mary's 25th Anniversary events around New York. I did a lot of photography things on the side, more as a hobby. At the Bitter End, I recreated their first album cover by posing them in front of the brick wall. While there I got to meet and chat briefly with Albert Grossman, their first manager. I told him the photography thing was just for fun and that I was getting involved in the music business as an agent. He looked me square in the eye and said, "Do it because you really love it and only until you stop loving it." I never forget this and paid my respects by attending his funeral service.

Most memorable concert/event
I presented John Prine in 1989 at the Tarrytown Music Hall. Bruce Springsteen, along with his then girlfriend Patti Scialfa, and his agent Barry Bell and his wife showed up. Bruce wanted to buy a ticket and see one of his favorite performers and songwriters. We took them backstage before Prine’s set and John asked Bruce if he wanted to do a song. He said, with complete sincerity, "I'd be more honored if I could back you up on a song."

So, we arranged to have him come up for the encore. They did John's classic, "Paradise." John gave Bruce the lead in the middle and while Bruce feverishly picked and grinned, John laughed all through it, "Man, they're gonna have you on the Opry!"

Office paraphernalia
My Nolan Ryan rookie card which I saved since childhood; my set of dice for playing the game, "Threes" that Townes Van Zandt taught me; my autographed photo of Bruce and Patti that ran in Us magazine for the “Born in the USA” tour (which according to Patti accompanied the story that first mentioned them as a rumored couple), and lots of pictures drawn by my four-year-old daughter.

Industry pet peeve
Lack of loyalty and true 'partnership' that is formed in all working relationships.