Tommy Igoe Biography, Videos & Pictures

Who Is Tommy Igoe?

Tommy Igoe was born to a very musical family. His father, Sonny Igoe, had been making a name for himself as an educator and drummer since the early be-bop era, playing with guys like Benny Goodman and Woody Herman. Knowing the shortcomings that came from working in the music business, Sonny Igoe tried steering Tommy Igoe in a different direction. However, growing around music and having a father as a drummer quickly shaped little Tommy Igoe’s likings. Before he could even walk, Tommy Igoe was already using knitting needles to drum on everything around him.

Tommy Igoe began drumming when he was a 2-year-old toddler. Tommy Igoe got his first drum set at the age of 3. It was a black Slingerland drum set that Sonny Igoe himself converted into a junior drum set. So it could fit Tommy Igoe’s small stature, Sonny Igoe used the 16 inch floor tom as a bass drum and got some mini stands to go along with the set. Although it was perfect fit for him, Tommy Igoe refused to play on it – he’d rather play on the “real” thing.

Tommy Igoe’s exposure to the music and drumming of the marching parades his parents took him to see, played a huge role in his love for drumming and for the art of rudimental drumming. For the following years, Sonny Igoe would take Tommy Igoe through various books on rudimental drumming that further nurtured his appreciation for military-inspired snare work.

From his early days into his early teenage years Tommy Igoe was taught by his father. During that time, Tommy Igoe took time to study classical and jazz piano as well. At the age of 15 Tommy Igoe began working on his drumming with two great and influential teachers: Darryl Bott, a band director from New Jersey, and Dennis DeLucia, a Drum Corps legend.

“(…) They showed me lots of important musical things. But mostly, they showed me by example that it’s okay to care about this thing called music. I mean, it’s really okay to throw yourself in as far and as deep as you can. As a matter of fact, if you aren’t going to do it all the way, don’t do it at all. They were passionate about their art, and their commitment to education. They gave me that same passion and for that I am truly grateful.” – in “Tommy Igoe: 5 Minutes”, Hudson Music’s website.

Tommy Igoe first heard of Dennis DeLucia through the work he had developed in the mid-1970s with a junior drum corps from Hawthorne, New Jersey called the Hawthorne Muchachos – Tommy Igoe’s favorite drum corps at the time. By the end of that decade Tommy Igoe had a new favorite drum corps to root for, the Bayonne Bridgemen. Curiously, Dennis DeLucia was the man writing music for them. So in 1980, a 15-year-old Tommy Igoe convinced his father to let him audition for the Bayonne Bridgemen. Tommy Igoe had a successful audition and joined the 1981 Bridgemen drumline as a bass drummer. He eventually became a snare drummer.

Tommy Igoe’s first gig came at the age of 16. It was with a wedding band whose drummer hadn’t show up for a gig. Tommy Igoe did that wedding and was actually called back to do the remaining dates from the band’s fall wedding season. The coolest thing about those gigs was that Tommy was getting paid for doing them. Those were not only Tommy Igoe’s first gigs, but also his first professional ones.

In 1983, and after capturing various junior and senior high school drumming awards on the United States East coast, Tommy Igoe left the Bayonne Bridgemen to focus on his gigging career. He still managed to stay in contact with the world of drum corps by writing percussion scores for high schools. This enabled him to work with really good band directors and meat great professional teachers from the public school system. It was then that Tommy Igoe discovered the passion for drumming education that has been following him throughout most of his adult and professional life.

Tommy Igoe’s first big break came in the same year he left the Bridgemen. At the age of 18 Tommy Igoe found himself touring the world with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. In 1986, Tommy Igoe’s career really took off when he became an active member of the New York studio scene while simultaneously joining the ranks of Blood, Sweat and Tears as a touring musician.

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