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Tommy
John Ehman - singer, songwriter, performer
“It
was an early fall day in 2005 when I saw a video that was being edited to
help mark the upcoming Remembrance Day; Soldiers, now much older with time,
sitting and telling their stories of World War II. The video, though simple
in nature, somehow captured an emotion in me unlike that of any other
commemorative video that I’d seen. It was with that emotion that I wrote the
song “Song For The Soldier” which came to be the cornerstone and the focal
point for my new CD “Wheels of Life.”
Though “Wheels of Life” may be your introduction to Tommy John Ehman’s
music, he has worked on the Canadian music scene for two decades honing his
performance and songwriting skills. Three previous album releases including
“Wasted Nights” in 1996, “To The Wall” in 2002 and “Like Father; Like Son”
in 2005 all helped lay the groundwork for 2008’s “Wheels of Life.”
“We
put a tremendous amount of effort into this record. Everything from the
writing, production, musicians and editing had to be just right. Brad (Prosko,
producer) put his heart and soul into making it sound exactly as it should.
I guess his most exciting contribution was soliciting Garry Tallent of
Bruce Springsteen’s E Street band to play bass guitar on the album. Such
an experience. Garry couldn’t have been more gracious and professional and a
tremendous musician!”
The
first single from Wheels of Life “Stand Up For Your Country” climbed to #60
on the CanCon chart receiving airplay at country radio across Canada. “Walk
A Little Lighter With Me” rose to #65 and remained on the chart for over 3
months. The current single (Oct ’08) “Jack And The Letters Home” is a
Remembrance Day release to honor our veterans and debut on the chart at #87
after only a few days of release.
Tommy grew up on a farm in Southern Saskatchewan and was singing and
writing songs at a very young age. In his early 20’s he joined a band and
went on the road playing the club circuit across western Canada, writing,
recording and performing. After traveling for almost 10 years he returned to
his rural roots and took up farming with his father but continued with his
music with the same passion and commitment as always leading to such notable
events as opening for Doc Walker on two occasions and for Aaron Pritchett as
well.
In
late 2005 Tommy was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition called
retinitis pigmentosis, which with time will lead to partial or total
blindness. As of now there is no known cure for RP and although debilitating
it hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his musical dreams. With a team of
dedicated musicians and friends Tommy is able to continue to write, sing and
record his music.
“I
truly believe these songs and this record and everyone involved came to me
because of the RP. There is definitely a restriction on what you can do for
a living when you can’t see very well. But I can always write and sing. And
I hope this album will allow me to do just that.”
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