Tommy Guerrero

Tommy Guerrero
Guerrero in 2009
Background information
Born (1966-09-09) September 9, 1966
San Francisco, California, USA
Genres Downtempo, art rock, alternative rock, electronic, jazz
Occupation(s) Composer, guitarist, skateboarder
Instruments Guitar bass percussion keys
Years active 1980–present
Associated acts Free Beer, Jet Black Crayon
Website www.tommyguerrero.com

Tommy Guerrero (born September 9, 1966) is an American professional skateboarder, company owner and musician.

Early life

Guerrero was born in San Francisco, California, United States. He is of Ohlone-Native, Chilean and Filipino descent from his father's side.[1]

Professional skateboarding

As a teenager, Guerrero was one of the prominent members of the Bones Brigade, Powell Peralta's professional skateboarding team that was successful during the 1980s. He was well known for his relaxed style of street skateboarding and his Bones Brigade footage was primarily filmed in his hometown of San Francisco—the videos Future Primitive, The Search for Animal Chin, Public Domain, and Ban This all featured the street skateboarding of Guerrero. After riding for Powell Peralta, Guerrero and Jim Thiebaud, a hometown friend and Powell Peralta teammate, started the skateboarding company "Real".

Karl Watson, professional skateboarder and founder of Organika skateboards, also grew up in San Francisco and revealed in 2012 that as a young boy, he moved into a house that Guerrero formerly resided in. Watson has stated that upon moving into the house, he discovered a drum stick that was used in the Animal Chin movie and explained: "... and that was in my room; and right then and there, I knew that I was destined to be a pro skater". Watson referred to himself as "blessed", as he also subsequently received packages of skateboard goods that were addressed to Guerrero.[2]

Music career

After his success in the world of skateboarding, Guerrero decided to pursue his musical interests and was a member of the skate rock band Free Beer and the experimental group Jet Black Crayon; however, Guerrero's work as a solo artist has so far been the most commercially and critically successful. Guerrero's critically acclaimed albums, EPs, and singles incorporate various types of music, from rock, hip hop, and funk, to soul, and jazz.

The EA video game skate. has featured numerous unreleased compositions that were written and recorded by Guerrero.

One of Guerrero's songs, 'Organism', was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.

Awards and accolades

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine named Guerrero's third studio album Soul Food Taqueria (2003), #2 on its 2003 "Best Of" list.[3]

At the 2013 15th Annual Transworld SKATEboarding Awards, Guerrero was the recipient of the "Legend" award—on the red carpet preceding the awards event, Guerrero stated:

I'm super grateful, that anyone really cares, to be honest. Um ... conflicted; I'm not one to rest on my laurels and it's hard to accept accolades for something you did thirty years ago, you know? I'd rather be appreciated for what I do now, but I ... I ... I'm super grateful ... I can't believe it [street skateboarding in the 21st century]. I mean the technical aspect, and the consistency, combined with that, is mind-blowing ... but just where it's at now, is, is insane; I mean, what Rodney [Mullen] sort of started, with the technical aspect, to a whole another level, you know? Making it extremely gnarly, extremely technical ... I'd hate to be growing up skating now ...[4]

Following his receipt of the Transworld "Legend" award, Guerrero invited all "street skaters" onto the stage to stand alongside him at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, California, US.[5]

Discography

Albums

  • Loose Grooves & Bastard Blues (1998)
  • A Little Bit Of Somethin' (2000)
  • Soul Food Taqueria (2003)
  • From The Soil To The Soul (2006)
  • Return of the Bastard (2008)
  • Lifeboats & Follies (2011)
  • No Man's Land (2012) - released in Japan
  • The Composer Series – Vol. 4 (2xCD) (Unknown)[3][6]
  • Perpetual (2015) - Digital release

Singles

  • Backintheday (1995)
  • Junk Collector (2001)
  • Rusty Gears Lonely Years / Organism (2001)
  • Gettin' It Together (2004)

EP

  • backintheDay+fotraque 7inch (2002)
  • Year of the Monkey - EP (2005)

Concept Album

  • Living Dirt (2010)

Collaborations

References

  1. ↑ "Thrasher Magazine - Tommy Guerrero". www.thrashermagazine.com.
  2. ↑ RIDEChannel (1 June 2012). "Karl Watson Skates Pier 7 and goes Organik - Insight" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Composer Series". Downtown Music Services. Downtown Music Services. 2013. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  4. ↑ TransworldSKATEmag (6 March 2013). "15th Annual TWS Awards Presented by New Era Red Carpet Pt 1 - TransWor ..." (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  5. ↑ VanStyles (28 February 2013). "TWS AWARDS". The Hundreds. The Hundreds. Archived from the original (Photo upload) on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Tommy Guerrero". Discogs. Discogs. 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
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