Name: Eric “Whammo” Tolnes
Email: whammo@hangdaddy.com
I was bitten by the guitar bug at age 8 after watching my cousin play Wipeout with the treble and reverb cranked to ten. He was the coolest guy I knew, not just because he built a blue metalflake hot rod ‘55 Chevy with chrome reverse wheels and Cherry Bomb glass pack mufflers, but because he had an e
lectric guitar and a Fender amp and could play Wipeout and Pipeline!
After picking up the guitar, my early influences included Santana, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Deep Purple,
Sha Na Na (?!), The Beatles (of course), Yes, ELP, Robin Trower, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Bros,
Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, and Blackfoot.
Although, I played guitar constantly from the time I got home from school ‘til bedtime every night between the ages of 10 and 17, I resisted the urge to join a band until I was in college
because I didn’t think I was good enough.
In 1981 I was a founding member of White Lightning, a classic rock staple on the
Staten Island bar scene for many years.
After a 3 year stint playing bass with The Nashville Attitude, I returned to the guitar and never looked back.
A few years ago I was recruited to play in a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band that featured ex-Skynyrd members Artimus Pyle, Ed King, JoJo Billingsly, and Leslie Hawkins. I still play with Skynyrd tributes today.
A couple of years ago, a good friend at work handed me a compilation of surf instrumentals called Beach Classics. Listening to it, I was taken back to that day all those years ago in my cousin’s room when he played wipeout for me. I fell in love all over again with the deep reverb and the cool melodies of those early surf instrumentals. Right now, I’m having a blast playing with Hang Daddy and exploring that particular vein of rock and roll that was at the root of my interest in music.
Hobbies:
Boat Racing, Antique Speedboats, Sports Cars, Guitar Building and Collecting
Quotes:
“The more people I meet, the more I like dogs”.
“There are two kinds of musicians. Bad and busy. Your choice”.
Past Bands:
White Lightning, Special K and the Cereal Killers, The Nashville Attitude,
Branded Roads, Saturday Night Special
Concurrent Projects:
Second Helping, Crawdaddy, Revival, The Brooklyn Horns