Tom Thunder a/k/a Tommy Thunder is actually Tom Robinson, administrator of The Byrds Online Appreciation Society, freelance writer and photographer, former artist manager (local Los Angeles artists), recording engineer, musician and songwriter.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to professional figure-skaters, I grew up in New York, New Jersey, and primarily Illinois. Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, is where I spent my formative years, and it is where I earned my respect for the work ethic at a young age. It is a place, as Mike Royko put it, 'where the only thing a man puts up his nose is his finger'.

Through a variety of circumstances, I now reside in southern California. One day I will return to Illinois, or some other locale where people do not eat their young, freeways are not battlegrounds, and you don't need to speak a foreign language or wear body armor (psychic or otherwise) to get around.

The Byrds turned me on to music. I guess you could say Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Gene Clark, and company are my musical fathers. Buddy Holly is also a huge influence on me. I love music - anything with intellligence, creativity and feeling (which excludes most Rap/Hip-hop).
My Favorite Albums
My Favorite Singles

I love a good movie. Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, John Ford, Steven Speilberg, and George Lucas are my favorite directors. I prefer Action, Sci-Fi, Drama and Comedy. As a sub-type, a good 'film-noir' intrigues me.
My Favorite Movies

As for television, I shun the so-called 'golden age' for the periods that followed it. I give Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone), Joseph DeStefano (The Outer LImits), George Schlatter (Laugh-In) and Stephen Bochco (Hill Street Blues) the prize.
My Favorite Television Shows

Barry Feinstein, Ansel Adams, Weegee, Henry Diltz, and Mike Moir (Surfer Magazine) are my favorite photographers. I also take photographs.
Some samples of my photograpy

The writing of the late Mike Royko takes me back home. Bud Scoppa and Steve Simels are my favorite rock critics. I also write.
Some examples of my writing

I also write poetry. While I amire more classical poets like Carl Sandburg and Edward Arlington Robinson, my poetry comes closest to the 'Beat Poetry' of Allen Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
To view a sample of my poems

Favorite foods: My homemade, very thick, very hot, very low-fat chili (a/k/a Tommy Thunder's Texas Chili). Pizza/Italian, Chicken, Turkey, Veggies, Fruits, Chocolate, and non-alchohol beer. My nickname, Tommy Thunder (shortened to 'TomThunder' for AOL), actually comes from a mixed drink I created during my wild young days while in the U. S. Navy, before I realized that I didn't need alcohol to have a good time.

TomThunder's Editorial Page
Byrds Online Home Page