Tom Donlinger, a drummer who recorded and performed with artists such as Van Morrison, Brian Auger and Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead), has died. After struggling with pancreatic cancer for a long time, Tom passed away at age 63 on April 20.
Originally from Chicago, Tom started his drumming career right out of highschool by playing with groups like Rotary Connection, Aorta, and The Cryan' Shames.
Tom's reputation as a solid drummer spread across the US and it didn't take long before he was invited to join Californian band Lovecraft.
Tom moved to the West Coast and followed his career with with such notable artists as Mike Bloomfield, Jerry Garcia, Keith and Donna Godchaux, and Howard Wales. At the same time Tom succesfully finished his Master’s Degree in Percussion Performance at San Francisco State University.
Following a year’s tenure with Hammond master Brian Auger, Tom spent five years playing in Van Morrison's backup band.
At the end of this period, he chose to stay ‘in-town’ more and focus on teaching and drum clinics in the area, working out of Drummers Tradition and Just Percussion in Marin County to focus on raising a son and enjoy not sitting in airports and waiting for sound checks.
A few years later, after sensing a need for change, Tom resided in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a year and then relocated to the Denver, Colorado area where he commenced working on his own African-Brazilian influenced cd geared towards drummer-percussionists, and playing a variety of guest artist venues.
