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'''Thom Mooney''' (born 5 January 1948, [[Altoona, Pennsylvania|Altoona]], [[Pennsylvania]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[drummer]]. Strongly influenced by the British invasion during the sixties, he was a founding member of the East Coast rock group Nazz, along with guitarist Todd Rundgren, who later went on to have a mildly successful solo career. With the release of the first Nazz album (the name derived from an old jazz expression as well as the Yardbirds hit "The Nazz Are Blue"), his group had a larger than life live show, touring with the then-nascent group Spirit, with a huge guitar-driven sound that was firmly propelled by Mooney's wildly energetic drumming style. Reviews were more than enthusiastic, but the group's demise, shortly after their return to the recording studio, was resultant of growing pains and, some say, a bit too much hype--who could live up to the extravagant claims that were made during the first rush of print raves? Thom went on to assist in the release of the second album (Nazz Nazz), a posthumous and, albeit interesting, weak third album (Nazz 3), but then picked himself up to become one of the most active rock drummers on the burgeoning 70's scene, eventually working as musical director and drummer for Rita Coolidge, as well as session work and writing with Men at Work's Colin Hay, John Hiatt, tours with Roger McGuinn, and many others. (He has drummed with [[Nazz]], [[Fuse (band)|Fuse]], Paris (with [[Bob Welch (musician)|Bob Welch]]), the Curtis Brothers and Tattoo (with [[Wally Bryson]]). At present, Thom lives on the West Coast, is still rocking, and active in music.
==References==
*''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll - 3<sup>rd</sup> Edition''
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[[Category:American drummers]]
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:American rock drummers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Altoona, Pennsylvania]]
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