Tom Stevens

Thomas Howard Stevens (September 17, 1956 – January 23, 2021) was an American bassist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, often associated with the Paisley Underground and alternative country movements as bassist for roots rock band the Long Ryders. He was a member of Magi and Danny & Dusty, and recorded as a solo artist. In his solo work, Stevens incorporated elements of folk rock, country, psychedelia and garage rock into his music, and released what music reviewer Stewart Lee calls "fascinatingly different solo albums." Stevens was based in Los Angeles in the 1980s, but later returned to his native Indiana. Early life Stevens was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana and started playing music at age nine in various garage and hard rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s. Classically trained, he received scholarship offers from several universities to study double bass, but turned them all down, as he wanted to play rock music. "The thought of either playing in a symphony orchestra or teaching music in a high school did not appeal," he said. Career Magi In 1975, after graduating from high school, Stevens joined Indiana hard rock band Magi, who released their sole album Win or Lose in 1976. It was recorded in August 1976 at Uncle Dirty's Sound Machine Studios in Kalamazoo, Michigan and co-produced by the band and Bryce "Uncle Dirty" Roberson, a former session guitarist with Chess Records. The self-financed album was released with no major distribution in a limited edition of 1,000 copies, and the band toured Indiana, Michigan and Illinois in the late 1970s. "We were very, very popular in those areas, drawing big crowds everywhere we played. To this day more people in Northern Indiana know Magi than the Long Ryders," Stevens said in 2004. Trying to attract music industry interest, the band relocated to Los Angeles in 1979. However, with their style of hard rock being out of fashion in Los Angeles at the time, the band unsuccessfully tried to adapt to a scene dominated by punk and new wave. Lack of success led to the band slowly falling apart in 1980. Magi reunited for a one-off show in August 1994 at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds and again in March 2011 in Nappanee, Indiana for a benefit concert.