- Born
- Died
- Birth nameThomas Joseph Rowe
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Tom Rowe's life as a musician began at age six, when he received a clarinet. It was then that he set out on the performing path, which ranged from the grange halls of rural Maine to major concert venues, such as Town Hall. Later on, when thirteen years old, he was given a banjo as a gift, which lead him to forming a folk band in high school. They called themselves the Chord Majority and toured Maine extensively. Later, in 1975, shortly after graduating from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in music education, Tom joined the Maine folk/rock group Devonsquare, which split up three months later. He then decided to go with the side of the band that wanted to cover more traditional music, which also consisted of brothers Chuck and Steve Romanoff. Together, they formed the folk trio Schooner Fare. As a member of the band, Tom sang and played electric bass guitar and tin whistle, plus various other instruments. In 1992, he became part of a second group, Rowe by Rowe, a duo which also featured his son, Dave. Six years later, a third member joined, Tom's old friend Denny Breau. It was then that the group's name was changed to Turkey Hollow. Tom had also released a solo album, titled "Whistle Up a Storm", in 1991. Sadly, his life ended in 2004, after he had fought a two and a half month long battle with throat cancer.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Shanak41
- SpousesJoanne Demers(1971 - 1977) (divorced)Donna(? - January 17, 2004) (his death)
- Tom is survived by both his parents, Charles "Bud" and Thoma Rowe, as well as his brothers, Chuck and Russ, and his sister, Shirley. Russ still handles the book keeping and shipping business at Outer Green Records, the company that produces the Schooner Fare albums.
- He had five children: David, Erikka (with Joanne), Marin, Summer (with Donna), and Toni Lyn (adopted).
- He shared a birthday with Irish singer/songwriter Tommy Makem, who was a good friend of Schooner Fare. They had covered each other's songs and done many concerts together.
- During most of his musical career, Tom played the typical four-string bass, of which he had many, including his trademark Steinberger XL2. However, there was a brief time period when he also had a white Yamaha bass, which had five strings. He finally sold it upon finding he was naturally using the four-string bass more.
- Tom's compositions for Schooner Fare include: "Salt Water Farm", "Big House, Middle House, Back House, Barn" (co-written with his old friend, David Crossman), "The Royal Tar", "Quebecois", "John Cook", and "First Snow". Among his songs for Rowe by Rowe/Turkey Hollow are "Autumn and You", "Another Way" (co-written with his son), and "The Train to Somewhere".
- [on performing with Schooner Fare] I love it. It's not a job. The actual performance part is too much fun. Don't tell anyone this, but I'd probably pay to do it.
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