Tom Dumont

Infobox musical artist
Name = Tom Dumont


Img_capt = Dumont performing in 2005
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Thomas Martin Dumont
Alias =
Born = Birth date and age|1968|1|11|mf=y
Los Angeles, California
Died =
Origin = Irvine, California, United States
Instrument = Guitar, keyboard, synthesizer
Genre =
Occupation = Guitarist, producer, audio engineer
Years_active =
Label =
Associated_acts = Rising, No Doubt, Invincible Overlord
URL = [http://www.tomdumont.com/ TomDumont.com]
Notable_instruments =

Tom Dumont (born January 11, 1968) is an American guitarist and producer. Dumont is a member of third wave ska band No Doubt, and during the band's hiatus, he began Invincible Overlord as a side project and produced Matt Costa's "Songs We Sing".

Life and career

The Dumont family lived in Irvine, California. Tom was the only adopted child in his family and has two siblings. [Strauss, Neil. [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939747/no_doubts_anniversary_party/ "No Doubt's Anniversary Party"] . "Rolling Stone". January 31, 2002. Retrieved April 14, 2007.] Dumont's father, who played the piano, gave his son a guitar at age twelve. Dumont practiced by strumming folk songs by the likes of James Taylor. Dumont was influenced by heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and KISS. [http://www.tv.com/tom-dumont/person/175305/biography.html "Tom Dumont"] . TV.com. Retrieved January 18, 2007.] He joined his older sister's heavy metal band Rising, [Heath, Chris. "Snap! Crackle! Pop!". "Rolling Stone", issue 759. May 1, 1997.] but left in 1988 for third wave ska band No Doubt. He has one sister named Gina and a brother named John.

Dumont studied music theory for five semesters at Orange Coast College. When the band moved into a house on Beacon Avenue in Anaheim, he wrote a poem about being addicted to television. He took the poem to Eric Stefani, who put the poem to music and came up with the song "Trapped in a Box". The song was recorded for the band's self-titled debut album and was the album's only single. [Bush, John. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3nkpu3t5andk~T10 "No Doubt > Biography"] . Allmusic. Retrieved January 18, 2007.]

The band later self-released "The Beacon Street Collection" in March 1995. The same month, Dumont left his job as a file clerk at a mortgage company. He had "a good feeling" about having finished recording "Tragic Kingdom" and planned to fall back on promoting rock concerts if the album was not successful. [Kam, Nadine. [http://starbulletin.com/98/04/30/features/story3.html "No doubt about it"] . "Honolulu Star-Bulletin". April 30, 1998. Retrieved September 13, 2007.] "Tragic Kingdom" became a commercial success, certified diamond in the United States [ [http://www.riaa.com/newsitem.php?news_year_filter=2002&resultpage=16&id=F7BCFCE2-C8B3-8A98-73E0-0ECC6BFFDEF1 "Linkin Park Moves Two Steps Closer"] . Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 1, 2007.] and selling sixteen million copies worldwide. [Van Meter, Jonathan. [http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/032204/page2.html "The First Lady of Rock"] . "Vogue" (April 2004). Retrieved from Style.com April 16, 2007.] When Eric left the band, Tom took leadership in writing and composing responsibilities.

After the Tragic Kingdom tour, Tom returned to his home in Long Beach, California and started surfing in 1997.Murphy, Chelsea. [http://www.surfrider.org/makingwaves/makingwaves19-5/4-7.asp "Faces in the Line-Up"] . "Making Waves". The Surfrider Foundation. October 2003: Volume 19, Number 5. Retrieved January 19, 2007.] Dumont is a member of The Surfrider Foundation, an environmental organization to preserve coastal life. Since Eric Stefani left, Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal and Gwen Stefani became No Doubt's primary songwriters.

During No Doubt's current hiatus, Dumont produced Matt Costa's 2005 debut album, titled "Songs We Sing", after hearing a demo tape by Costa. [Atizado, Roy. [http://www.nowontour.com/news/interviews/00048.php "Interview with Matt Costa"] . NowOnTour. Retrieved January 19, 2007.]

Personal life

Dumont and his wife, Mieke have two children together, a son Ace Joseph Dumont, born April 6, 2006 and another son Rio Atticus Dumont, born June 18, 2008. According to the band's record label representative, the couple was married in October 2004.

According to his No Doubt band mates, when Dumont drinks enough alcohol he becomes an alter-ego doppelganger named "The Douche". [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939747/no_doubts_anniversary_party/ "No Doubt's Anniversary Party"] . "Rolling Stone". January 31, 2002.]

Equipment

Though Dumont uses a wide variety of guitars, he is most commonly seen with a natural finish Hamer Guitars Standard, which is similar to a Gibson Explorer or a Hamer Vector, which is similar to a Gibson Flying V.

References

External links

* [http://www.tomdumont.com Official website]
* [http://www.invincibleoverlord.blogspot.com Tom's Personal Weblog]
* [http://www.invincibleoverlord.com Invincible Overlord- Tom's indepedent musical project with collaborator, Ted Matson]