Tom Hess (guitarist)

Tom Hess
Background information
Origin Illinois, United States
Genres Power metal, progressive metal, neo-classical metal, symphonic metal
Occupation(s) Musician, composer, guitar teacher
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1986–present
Labels Nuclear Blast, Magic Circle Music
Associated acts Rhapsody of Fire, HolyHell, Hess
Website http://tomhess.net

Tom Hess is a touring guitarist, recording artist and a former member of the band Rhapsody Of Fire from 2010 until 2013.[1] Hess also toured Europe and US with the band HolyHell [2] and recorded the album "Apocalypse" which landed on the charts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[3][4]

In addition to his professional music career as a recording artist, Tom is also an online guitar teacher and a mentor to musicians, guitar teachers and rock bands around the world.

Biography

Hess began playing guitar on January 31, 1986 inspired by heavy metal bands such as Metallica, Def Leppard and Iron Maiden. His musical style later evolved from hard rock and heavy metal to the neo-classical and progressive rock styles, influenced by artists such as: Yngwie Malmsteen, Dream Theater, Symphony X, Andy Larocque, Jason Becker, Fryderyk Chopin, Gustav Mahler, Johannes Brahms and Claude Debussy.

Hess went on to receive two music degrees: one in music theory and another in music composition. In addition to his music school background, Hess also studied guitar with many guitar teachers, most notably with Lion Music recording artist George Bellas.[4]

Rhapsody Of Fire

On April 15, 2011 it was announced that guitarist Tom Hess has become a new official member of the epic metal band Rhapsody Of Fire.[1] His playing can be heard on the band's album From Chaos to Eternity. Hess recorded all the rhythm guitar parts and contributed several solos for the CD. Hess began touring with the band at the festivals that took place in the summer of 2011.[5]

Alex Staropoli, Rhapsody Of Fire’s keyboard player, released a statement saying: "I saw Tom Hess playing on stage several times and was always impressed by his great stage presence and his way of playing. When I heard the rhythm and solo guitars he recorded for Rhapsody Of Fire I was blown away, I could feel that strong presence in between every single note."

Rhapsody Of Fire's 2011 Release "From Chaos To Eternity" was listed in the top 100 album charts in many countries around the world, such as Japan, Italy, Switzerland, German, France and many others.[6][7]

Tom Hess and Rhapsody Of Fire 2011 Tour Dates
Date City/State Country Venue
June 11, 2011 Sölvesborg Sweden Sweden Rock Festival
July 15, 2011 Vizovice Czech Republic Masters Of Rock
August 4, 2011 Wacken Germany Wacken Open Air
August 6, 2011 Székesfehérvár Hungary Fezen Festival
August 12, 2011 Derby UK Bloodstock
Tom Hess and Rhapsody Of Fire 2012 Tour Dates
Date City/State Country Venue
April 1, 2012 Pamplona Spain Sala Totem
April 2, 2012 Madrid Spain Sala Cats
April 3, 2012 Barcelona Spain Salamandra
April 4, 2012 Bordeaux France Theatre Barbey
April 6, 2012 Mons Belgium PPM Festival
April 7, 2012 Pratteln Switzerland Z7
April 8, 2012 Paris France Bataclan
April 9, 2012 Aschaffenburg Germany Colos-Saal
April 11, 2012 Milano Italy Live Club
April 12, 2012 Bologna Italy Estragon
April 13, 2012 Roma Italy Orion
April 14, 2012 Treviso Italy New Age
April 15, 2012 Vienna Austria Szene
April 17, 2012 Zlin Czech Republic Master of Rock Cafe
April 18, 2012 Kraków Poland Kwadrat
April 19, 2012 Warsaw Poland Progresja
May 25, 2012 Philadelphia USA The Trocadero
May 26, 2012 Baltimore USA Soundstage
May 27, 2012 Worcester USA The Palladium
May 29, 2012 New York USA Gramercy Theatre
May 30, 2012 Montreal Canada Club Soda
May 31, 2012 Quebec Canada Imperial de Quebec
June 1, 2012 Toronto Canada Mod Club
June 3, 2012 Cleveland USA Peabody`s
June 4, 2012 Pittsburgh USA Altar Bar
June 5, 2012 Joliet USA Mojoes
June 6, 2012 St. Paul USA Station 4
June 8, 2012 Englewood USA Gothic Theater
June 10, 2012 Seattle USA El Corazon
June 11, 2012 Portland USA Hawthorne Theatre
June 12, 2012 San Francisco USA Slim's
June 14, 2012 San Diego USA House of Blues
June 15, 2012 Anaheim USA The Grove
June 16, 2012 Mexico City Mexico Vive Cuervo Salon
June 19, 2012 San Jose Costa Rica Peppers Club
Tom Hess and Rhapsody Of Fire 2012 South America Tour Dates
Date City/State Country Venue
June 21, 2012 Quito Ecuador Teatro 24 de Mayo
June 23, 2012 Concepcion Chile Ex-Sala 2
June 25, 2012 Antofagasta Chile Statix Rock & Soccer
June 26, 2012 Santiago Chile Teatro Caupolican
June 28, 2012 Buenos Aires Argentina Teatro Flores
June 30, 2012 São Paulo Brazil Carioca Club

Gear

Tom Hess's Guitars
Make Model Year Pickups Bridge Frets Color Strings
Carvin V220 1987 2 Seymour Duncan Metal Live Wire bridge pickups Stop Tail Piece 24 Black GHS 10-46
Carvin V220 1988 2 Seymour Duncan Metal Live Wire bridge pickups Stop Tail Piece 24 White GHS 10-46
Carvin V220 1985 1 Seymour Duncan Metal Live Wire bridge pickup and 1 EMG 81 Stop Tail Piece 24 White GHS 10-46
Carvin V220 1984 2 stock Carvin Humbuckers Stop Tail Piece 24 Red GHS 10-46
Carvin V220* 1989 2 Seymour Duncan Metal Live Wire bridge pickups and 1 Carvin Humbucker in the middle Floyd Rose Bridge 24 White GHS 10-46
Carvin V220T 1985 with Seymour Duncan Distortion and Invader bridge pickups Kahler Pro 24 Red GHS 10-46
Carvin X220C 1993 2 DiMarzio Humbucker pickups Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Black GHS 10-46
Carvin X220C 1992 2 DiMarzio Humbucker pickups Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Black GHS 10-46
Carvin X220C 1992 2 DiMarzio Humbucker pickups Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Black GHS 10-46
Carvin X220C 1992 2 Carvin Humbucker pickups Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Black GHS 10-46
Carvin DC400 1990s 2 Carvin stock Humbuckers Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Koa Natural GHS 10-46
Custom HESS Infinity 1 2004 2 Seymour Duncan Metal Live Wire bridge pickups Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Black GHS 10-46
Custom HESS Infinity 1 2004 2 Seymour Duncan Metal Live Wire bridge pickups Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Black GHS 10-46
Ibanez 7621 7 String 2000s DiMarzio Evolution Humbucker pickups Standard 24 Black GHS 10-56
Yamaha RGZ 321P 1980s? DiMarzio Humbucker pickups and stock Yamaha single coil in middle position Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Black GHS 10-46
Yamaha RGZ 321P 1980s? stock Yamaha Humbucker pickups and stock Yamaha single coil in middle position Floyd Rose Bridge 24 Blue GHS 10-46
Gibson Flying V (Double) 1989 Seymour Duncan pickups Floyd Rose Bridge 24 White GHS 10-46
Gibson 1957 Re-Issues Korina 1981 Gibson Humbucker and Seymour Duncan Invader Stop Tail Piece 22 Cream GHS 10-46
Samson 1/2 size Flying V 1990s? 1 Humbucker Stop Tail Piece 22 White GHS 9-42
Music Man SingRay5 (Bass) 2010 Dual Humbucking with alnico pole pieces, Optional - Humbucking/Single coil with alnico pole pieces Standard 22 Tabacco Burst GHS 40-130
Washburn XB400 (Bass) 1996 stock active pickups Standard 24 Red GHS 40-105

On stage and in the studio, Hess plays mainly Carvin guitars, including V220 and X220 models with a stoptail bridge. Hess uses Seymour Duncan Metal Live Wire Pick Ups in most of his studio and live performance guitars.

During clinics and instructional master classes, he also sometimes plays the Yamaha RGZ 321P with a Floyd Rose bridge.[8]

Endorsements

Online Guitar Teaching, Music Career Mentoring And Guitar Teacher Training

On top of his career as a recording artist and touring musician, Hess also teaches musicians from all over the world how to improve their guitar playing skills, develop their music careers and build their own guitar teaching businesses. Many of Hess's guitar students have become full-time professional musicians and successful music teachers who tour the world, release records and run their own music schools teaching in excess of 100 music students per week.[9]

Hess also contributes guitar lessons, columns and articles to guitar websites around the world, including: Ultimate-Guitar.com, Cyberfret.com and MusicCareers.net.[10][11][12]

Tom Hess has also taught guitar at the National Guitar Workshop and started an electric guitar program at Harper College in Illinois, USA.[13]

In 2008, Hess's company Tom Hess Music Corporation has partnered with Luca Turilli from Rhapsody Of Fire to release a course for neoclassical guitar players, based upon Turilli's style of guitar playing.[14]

Other Musical Projects

HESS Band

In 1994, Tom Hess formed the progressive rock band "HESS" along with his brother Scott Hess. To date, the band has released 2 full length albums: "Opus 1" (April 20, 2000) and "Opus 2" (January 4, 2004).[15] Both albums have sold in more than 26 countries around the world, and remain among the top sellers in the Neo-Classical and Progressive categories at the instrumental guitar music distributor Guitar9.com.[16][17]

Current lineup of the HESS band:

HolyHell Years (2004-2008)

In 2004, Hess joined a power metal band HolyHell.[18] The band went on tour in 2005, before releasing its first album. Tom Hess and HolyHell played alongside bands such as Black Sabbath (Heaven and Hell), Motorhead, Nightwish, Epica, Testament, Manowar and Rhapsody of Fire performing for crowds of up to 30,000 people.[4] Some of the band's notable performances included the Earthshaker's Festival in Germany and Masters of Rock Festival in the Czech Republic where the band performed the cover of "The Phantom Of The Opera".

In 2007, the band's first album Apocalypse was released [19] and HolyHell went on tour the second time.

In 2008, Hess left HolyHell to focus on other aspects of his music career.

Tom Hess and HolyHell 2005 Tour Dates
Date City/State Country Venue
Thursday, June 2, 2005 Cleveland, Ohio USA House Of Blues
Friday, June 3, 2005 Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA Ziggy's
Saturday, June 4, 2005 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida USA The Culture Room
Sunday, June 5, 2005 Orlando, Florida USA House Of Blues
Tuesday, June 7, 2005 Atlanta, Georgia USA The Masquerade
Wednesday, June 8, 2005 Charleston, South Carolina USA The Music Farm
Thursday, June 9, 2005 Baltimore, Maryland USA Sonar
Saturday, June 11, 2005 Buffalo, New York USA The Icon
Sunday, June 12, 2005 Toronto, Ontario Canada Opera House
Monday, June 13, 2005 Quebec City, Quebec Canada Albert-Rousseau
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Montreal, Quebec Canada Metropolis
Thursday, June 16, 2005 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA Theater Of Living Arts
Saturday, June 18, 2005 Worcester, Massachusetts USA The Palladium
Sunday, June 19, 2005 New York, New York USA B.B. King's
Friday, July 15, 2005 Zlin Czech Republic Masters Of Rock Festival
Saturday, July 16, 2005 Zlin Czech Republic Masters Of Rock Festival
Sunday, July 17, 2005 Zlin Czech Republic Masters Of Rock Festival
Thursday, July 21, 2005 Nuremberg Germany Earthshaker Fest 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005 Nuremberg Germany Earthshaker Fest 2005
Saturday, July 23, 2005 Nuremberg Germany Earthshaker Fest 2005
Tom Hess and HolyHell 2007 Tour Dates
Date City/State Country Venue Capacity
March 14, 2007 Zlin Czech Republic Sportovni Hala Novesta 6,400
March 15, 2007 Pardubice Czech Republic Republic Cez Arena 9288
March 16, 2007 Plzen Czech Republic Hala Lokomotiva 6150
March 22. 2007 Berlin Germany Max-Schmeling-Halle 11,950
March 23, 2007 Munich Germany Olympiahalle 12,150-14,000
March 24, 2007 Frankfurt Germany Festhalle 13,592
March 27, 2007 Dortmund Germany Westfalenhalle Westfalenhalle 14,000
March 28, 2007 Hamburg Germany Color Line Arena 13,000
March 30, 2007 Nuremberg Germany Arena 10,200
March 31, 2007 Stuttgart Germany Germany Schleyerhalle 15,000
April 4, 2007 Athens Greece Peace And Friendship Stadium 14,095
June 30, 2007 Kavarna Bulgaria Kaliakra Rock Fest 20,000+
July 6, 2007 Bad Arolsen Germany Magic Circle Festival 20,000+
July 7, 2007 Bad Arolsen Germany Magic Circle Festival 20,000+

In addition to touring the world, mentoring musicians online and recording music, Hess also performs instructional guitar clinic tours.[20]

2008 Tom Hess Instructional Clinic Tour

Date City/State Country Venue
Sunday, September 7, 2008 Algonquin, IL USA JC's Guitars
Monday, September 8, 2008 Arlington Heights, IL USA Guitar Center
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Grand Rapids, MI USA Guitar Center
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Indianapolis, IN USA Guitar Center
Thursday, September 11, 2008 Florence, KY USA Guitar Center
Friday, September 12, 2008 Pittsburgh, PA USA Guitar Center
Saturday, September 13, 2008 Vestal, NY USA McNeil Music

2009 Tom Hess Instructional Clinic Tour

Date City/State Country Venue
Thursday, September 10, 2009 Crystal Lake, IL USA Private Hotel
Friday, September 11, 2009 Crystal Lake, IL USA Private Hotel
Saturday, September 12, 2009 Crystal Lake, IL USA Private Hotel
Sunday, September 13, 2009 Crystal Lake, IL USA Private Hotel
Monday, September 14, 2009 Algonquin, IL USA Guitar Center
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 Grand Rapids, MI USA Guitar Center
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 Toledo, OH USA Guitar Center
Thursday, September 17, 2009 Cleveland, OH USA Guitar Center
Friday, September 18, 2009 Rochester, NY USA House Of Guitars
Saturday, September 19, 2009 Vestal, NY USA McNeil Music
Sunday, September 20, 2009 Philadelphia, PA USA Private Hotel
Monday, September 21, 2009 Philadelphia, PA USA Private Hotel
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 Philadelphia, PA USA Private Hotel
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Harrisburg, PA USA Guitar Center
Thursday, September 24, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA USA Guitar Center
Friday, September 25, 2009 Columbus, OH USA Sam Ash Music
Saturday, September 26, 2009 Cincinnati, OH USA Guitar Center
Sunday, September 27, 2009 Indianapolis, IN USA Guitar Center

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 Tom Hess Joins Rhapsody Of Fire - http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/label/music/news/details/340260.tom-hess-joining-rhapsody-of-fire-aeons.html
  2. ↑ http://baroqueroll.blogspot.com/2006/05/update-1-1752006-tom-hess-interview.html
  3. ↑ http://www.metalrage.com/news/49728/holyhell-putting-finishing-touches-on-debut-album.html
  4. 1 2 3 http://tomhess.net/TomHessBio.aspx
  5. ↑ http://rhapsodyoffire.com/tours.html
  6. ↑ http://acharts.us/album/64102
  7. ↑ http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/label/music/band/news/details/74761.71101.rhapsody-of-fire-in-the-charts.html
  8. ↑ Tom Hess' Guitars - http://tomhess.net/TomHessGuitars.aspx
  9. ↑ http://tomhess.net/TomHessStudentLessonAndProgramFeedback.aspx
  10. ↑ Ultimate Guitar - http://profile.ultimate-guitar.com/tomhess/
  11. ↑ Cyberfret - http://cyberfret.com/practice-motivation/tom-hess/fix-common-guitar-practice-problems/index.php
  12. ↑ Music Careers - http://www.musiccareers.net/career-articles/from-day-job-to-music-career/
  13. ↑ Shred Academy - http://www.shredacademy.com/content/artists/3/tom_hess
  14. ↑ http://seenation.com/view_full_news_details.php?newsid=276707
  15. ↑ http://hess.4t.com/history.htm
  16. ↑ http://racerx.edutom.co.uk/board/viewtopic.php?t=6899
  17. ↑ http://www.progressiveworld.net/html/modules.php?name=Interviews&rop=showcontent
  18. ↑ http://holyhell.com
  19. ↑ http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=24908
  20. ↑ http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/press_releases/tom_hess_on_instructional_clinic_tour.html
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