Tom Lavin
Encyclopedia
Tom Lavin is a Chicago
-born musician
and record producer
and founding member of the Juno Award
winning (1981) Canadian
group Powder Blues Band
on Warner Brothers Records
. He played guitar
on Prism
's self-titled album
(1977) on GRT Records, and guitar and drum
s on the Dale Jacobs and Cobra album for CBS Records
(1977).
As a record producer, Lavin worked with a number of well-known artists
including Long John Baldry
, Amos Garrett
, Denise McCann
and Susan Jacks
of the Poppy Family fame. As a composer
, Lavin is credited with the soundtrack
scores for Cannes-nominated Out of the Blue
(1980), a film
directed
by and featuring Dennis Hopper
, and Genie Award
winning My American Cousin
(1985) directed by Sandy Wilson.
Lavin continues to record
and perform with the Powder Blues Band
and is also currently director of the Pacific Audio Visual Institute
.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-born musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and founding member of the Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
winning (1981) Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
group Powder Blues Band
Powder Blues Band
The Powder Blues Band is a Canadian blues/pop/jazz band formed in 1978 in Vancouver. Its first album Uncut went double platinum in Canada. The second album Thirsty Ears was similarly popular...
on Warner Brothers Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. He played guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on Prism
Prism (band)
Prism is a Canadian rock band originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They were active from 1977 to 1984 and are active again from 1988 to present. The band's sound is a mix of Album-Oriented Rock and pop rock. They have released a total of 13 albums to date...
's self-titled album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
(1977) on GRT Records, and guitar and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s on the Dale Jacobs and Cobra album for CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
(1977).
As a record producer, Lavin worked with a number of well-known artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
including Long John Baldry
Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
, Amos Garrett
Amos Garrett
Amos Garrett is a Juno Award-winning American-Canadian musician, performer, and author. He holds dual citizenship and was raised in Toronto and Montreal...
, Denise McCann
Denise McCann
Denise McCann is an American-Canadian singer/songwriter.-Biography:Growing up in a musical family, Denise McCann (born December 16, 1948, in Clinton, Iowa) is an American-Canadian singer/songwriter.-Biography:Growing up in a musical family, Denise McCann (born December 16, 1948, in Clinton, Iowa)...
and Susan Jacks
Susan Jacks
Susan Jacks is a Canadian singer–songwriter.-Career:Susan Jacks was born to a family of eight children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her family moved to British Columbia when she was 9...
of the Poppy Family fame. As a composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, Lavin is credited with the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
scores for Cannes-nominated Out of the Blue
Out of the Blue (1980 film)
Out of the Blue is a 1980 film featuring and directed by Dennis Hopper. The film was written and produced by Gary Jules Jouvenat. It competed for the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival...
(1980), a film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by and featuring Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
, and Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
winning My American Cousin
My American Cousin
My American Cousin is a Canadian drama film, released in 1985. Written and directed by Sandy Wilson based on her own childhood, the film stars Margaret Langrick as Sandy Wilcox, a pre-teen girl growing up on a ranch in rural Penticton, British Columbia in the late 1950s...
(1985) directed by Sandy Wilson.
Lavin continues to record
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
and perform with the Powder Blues Band
Powder Blues Band
The Powder Blues Band is a Canadian blues/pop/jazz band formed in 1978 in Vancouver. Its first album Uncut went double platinum in Canada. The second album Thirsty Ears was similarly popular...
and is also currently director of the Pacific Audio Visual Institute
Pacific Audio Visual Institute
Pacific Audio Visual Institute is a private educational institution located in Vancouver, BC, Canada that offers diploma programs in Audio Engineering & Production, Film & Digital Arts, Film & Music Business, and Game Design & 3D Animation...
.