Tommy Allen

My name is Tommy Allen and I was born in 1973 in Mansfield, Ohio. My love for music started 24 years ago when I was only 5 years old. I beat on coffee cans day and night. A few years later I 'upgraded' to a Mickey Mouse 4 peice set. My passion for drumming and rock and roll was fueled when I watched a KISS concert for the first time.when Peter Criss trashed his drumset after a song, I followed suite by destroying my Mickey Mouse set. Needless to say, I was demoted back to playing coffee cans!

While I was a drummer at heart, I tried other instruments because there wasn't enough room for a drum kit in our home. I have played fiddle, mandolin, and bass guitar. At the age of 10 I got my first taste of playing out as a bass player in a gospel group. I enjoyed playing, but my heart was set on playing drums.

At the age of 12 I received my first drum set. I taught myself how to play by practicing day and night. Because my dad played music, I started playing out only two weeks after my 12th birthday. I played in numerous country bands from 1985 to 1993. These include The Country Persuaders and Sundown. As the drummer in Sundown I felt lucky to share the stage with both my father Paul and my brother Jeremie. In 1993 Heartbroke was formed, and by 1997 I was playing with my brother again and two other talented musicians and good friends. Heartbroke's strenght was it's diversity. We played everything from George Jones to Creed. As a result of our more rock orienter feel by 1999, we played the Z-98 Party in March 2001 and October 2001. By this time I knew my heart was in rock & roll!

In February 2002 I broke ties with Heartbroke to persue other musical interests. A big thanks to my buddy Scott Cain for giving Lost Angel my number. I heard their CD and I knew they were the band for me.

My influences are quite lengthy, so here is a short list of the most important.

  • Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater

  • Eric Singer of KISS

  • Scott Phillips of Creed

  • Eric Carr of KISS

  • John Bonham of Led Zepplin

  • Phil Collins of Genesis

Regarding my kit, I play TAMA Star Classic drums and use Sabian cymbals.

In closing I just wanted to thank my wife for her continuous love and support over the past 11 years and to my two baby girls, your hugs and eskimo kisses keep me going!