Russ Tolman (born August 15, 1956) is a singer-songwriter who came to international attention in the 1980s as guitarist, songwriter, and producer of True West, a band associated with the

Paisley Underground Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owin ...

Early life and career

Tolman was born August 15, 1956, and raised in Northern California. His father was a sheep rancher, and his mother was a former burlesque dancer who worked during World War II as a "

Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely new ...

". He is the grandson of noted psychologist

Edward C. Tolman Edward Chace Tolman (April 14, 1886 – November 19, 1959) was an American psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Through Tolman's theories and works, he founded what is now a branch of psychology know ...

, and great-nephew of

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

physicist Richard C. Tolman. While attending school at

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, Tolman was a DJ at the student radio station

KDVS KDVS (90.3 FM) is an American student and community radio station based in Davis, California. Featuring a freeform programming format, the station is owned by Regents of the University of California. Broadcasting at 13,000 watts, it is one of ...

, where he met a pre-

Dream Syndicate A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alth ...

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

and

Kendra Smith Kendra Smith (born March 14, 1960)Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, is an American musician who was a founding member of The Dream Syndicate, a member of Opal, and later recorded as a solo artist. Biography Afte ...

, who were also disc jockeys at the station. Together in 1978 they formed Suspects, which was touted as Davis's first New Wave band. Answering a classified ad in

The California Aggie ''The California Aggie'' is a weekly newspaper distributed in the Davis, California area. It is staffed entirely by UC Davis students and is the official campus newspaper. History ''The California Aggie'' was first published in 1915 as the ''Week ...

was drummer Gavin Blair (who would later be lead singer in True West) and bassist Steve Suchil. Active until 1980, when Wynn and Smith returned to Southern California to attend

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, Suspects played many of the Northern California punk and new wave venues of the day including San Francisco's

Mabuhay Gardens The Mabuhay Gardens, also known as The Fab Mab or The Mab, was a former San Francisco nightclub, located at 443 Broadway Street, in North Beach on the Broadway strip area best known for its striptease clubs. It closed in 1987. History The Ma ...

and The Deaf Club and UC Davis's Coffeehouse. They released a 45 RPM single, "Talking Loud" b/w "It's Up To You," in 1979. Following the breakup of Suspects, Tolman began playing with Sean O'Brien in The Meantime, which also featured bassist Rick Gates, son of

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (December 11, 1940 – January 5, 2023) was a American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread, which reached the top of the musical charts i ...

Bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

. The elder Gates produced Tolman's song "Two For One" for the band's self-released 7" EP in 1981. From 1979 until 1983, Tolman worked as a disc jockey at progressive country station KYLO in Davis, where he developed a love for classic honky tonk, western swing, and folk under the tutelage of music director Gordy Broshear, formerly of genre pioneers KFAT. By 1982, The Meantime had changed their name to True West and Gavin Blair had replaced Sean O'Brien as lead singer. The band went on to coalesce around Blair, Tolman, and guitarist Richard McGrath and record two well received albums, which allowed the band to tour constantly in the US and Europe from 1983 through early summer 1985, including accompanying

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

as opening act on their ''

Fables of the Reconstruction ''Fables of the Reconstruction'', also known as ''Reconstruction of the Fables'', is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on I.R.S. Records on June 10, 1985. The Joe Boyd-produced album was the first recorde ...

'' tour. In summer 1985, True West and Tolman parted ways.

Solo recording career

Tolman started work on his first solo album ''Totem Poles And Glory Holes'', which was released in 1986 on UK label Zippo/

Demon Records Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

. The album was released in the U.S. the next year on Down There/

Restless Records Restless Records is a record label that was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade R ...

and received many positive reviews including being named

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

music critic Robert Palmer's "Rock Album of the Week" in the May 29, 1987 ''Times'', as well as making that writer's and many other's year-end "Best Of" list. Tolman left Davis for Los Angeles at the end of summer 1986, where he helped manage

's Down There Records label, releasing albums by Tolman, The Romans, Divine Weeks, Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs, Doctor's Children, and others via a distribution deal with successful independent label

. Tolman did his first U.S. tour with a band that featured bassist David Provost (

The Droogs The Droogs were an American rock group from Los Angeles, California, United States, initially active between 1972 and 1992, with the majority of releases from the mid-1980s onwards. History The Droogs was formed in 1972, by Ric Albin (vocals), ...

Phil Seymour Philip Warren Seymour (May 15, 1952 - August 17, 1993) was an American drummer, singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for the singles "I'm on Fire" (with The Dwight Twilley Band), his own solo hit "Precious to Me" and for providing backi ...

Holly and the Italians Holly Beth Vincent (born Holly Beth Cernuto in 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. In her youth Vincent sang and played drums and guitar in several bands and took part in the Los Angeles punk scen ...

), former True West drummer Frank French (later of

Cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

), and San Francisco guitarist Jeff Kane. In 1988, Tolman recorded ''Down In Earthquake Town'', which was the first of a series of albums he made at

Westbeach Recorders Westbeach Recorders was a recording studio in Hollywood, California famous for recording punk rock groups, such as Bad Religion, Avenged Sevenfold, NOFX, Rancid, The Offspring and Pennywise. History It was established in 1985 by Bad Religion g ...

with engineer (and sometimes co-producer and co-writer)

Brett Gurewitz Brett W. Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962), nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and a number of sister labels. He has produced albums f ...

, founder of

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

and

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

. This album was released in Europe on Zippo/

and in the U.S. on Skyclad Records. Tolman supported this album with a U.S. tour with a band that included keyboardist Robert Lloyd, bassist Brian Mazur, guitarist Jeff Kane, and drummer Dave Drewry.

Johnette Napolitano Johnette Napolitano (born Jonette L. Napolitano; September 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and bassist for the alternative rock group Concrete Blonde. Early life Johnette Nap ...

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...

, credited as the Strawberry Neapolitan Singers, lends background vocals to the album. Tolman makes vocal noises on the title song of

's 1989 album ''Free''. ''Goodbye Joe'' was released in 1990 on Skyclad Records and on France's New Rose Records. The record was recorded at

with the nucleus of bass player Provost and drummer Drewry, then fleshed out with the contributions of lead guitarist Jon Klages ( The Individuals, The Richard Lloyd Band) and multi-instrumentalist Robert Lloyd. It was after the release of this album that Tolman began frequent tours in Europe joining

and his band as solo opener for their 1990 tour of France, Spain, and Italy. Tolman particularly was drawn to Scandinavia, looking to relocate to Oslo, Norway. With this plan in mind, Tolman based his recording band for 1992's ''Road Movie'' around drummer Ned Leukhardt (

Wall of Voodoo Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single " Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV and ...

) who had relocated to Scandinavia with the demise of Wall of Voodoo in 1988. With Brett Gurewitz in the co-producer's chair, the album features a core band of Leukhardt on drums, bassist David Provost, Jon Klages on guitar with guest appearances by

Green on Red Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground. Earlier records have the wide-screen psy ...

's Chris Cacavas on organ, Robert Lloyd on mandolin and accordion, Chris Bauer steel guitar, and

The Long Ryders The Long Ryders are an American alternative country and Paisley Underground band, principally active between 1982 and 1987, who have periodically regrouped for brief reunions (2004, 2009, 2014, 2016). In 2019 they released a new studio album � ...

Sid Griffin Albert Sidney "Sid" Griffin (born September 18, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist-mandolinist, bandleader, and author who lives in London, England. He led the Long Ryders band in the 1980s, founded the Coal Porters group in t ...

on backing vocals. The album was released in Europe on New Rose Records. Around this time, Tolman toured Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark with

John Wesley Harding ''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and folk ...

. Earlier, he had done a winter tour of Spain with Harding,

, Chris Cacavas, and

Giant Sand Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later s ...

. In 1992, Russ contributed background vocals on

's album ''Dazzling Display.'' ''Sweet Spot'' was Tolman's fourth album released 1994 on his own Brilliant label via several European record companies including PIAS. Once again recorded in Los Angeles at

, ''Sweet Spot'' featured a band that included guitarist Kirk Swan ( Dumptruck), drummer Dave Drewry, bass player

Nino Del Pesco Nino Del Pesco (born September 6, 1959 - August 14, 2019) was a musician known for playing in various critically acclaimed and groundbreaking bands throughout his career including the Lonesome Strangers, Snake Farm, the Knights of the Living De ...

, multi-instrumentalist Robert Lloyd (

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...

Amy Rigby Amy Rigby (born Amelia McMahon, January 27, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter. After playing with several New York bands she began a solo career, recording several albums which had only modest sales despite enthusiastic reviews. She settled ...

), and Canadian vocalist Wendy Bird (

Barney Bentall Barnard Franklin "Barney" Bentall (born March 14, 1956) is a Canadian pop/rock singer-songwriter who is most well known for his 1990s-era band, Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts. Their most successful Canadian singles included "Something ...

). Tolman, along with Kirk Swan, Wendy Bird, and bassist Spike Priggen, embarked on an acoustic European tour to support ''Sweet Spot'' that included Scandinavia, France, Spain, and Italy. Late in 1996, Tolman left Los Angeles for San Francisco. Living in the Mission District, he wrote his next album ''City Lights''. During this time he made frequent trips to Portland, Oregon to work with songwriter/drummer Jim Huie on Huie's Girls Say Yes project that featured Huie's songwriting and drumming with vocals by Huie and several other Portland artists. Notably, True West guitarist Richard McGrath lends his considerable guitar talents to the project. Canadian songstress Wendy Bird also appears. The album was recorded with engineer Mike Demmers at Desitrek Studios. Tolman would later go on to record and mix part of his ''City Lights'' at this studio. ''City Lights'' was also recorded in San Francisco with engineer

Chris Von Sneidern Chris Von Sneidern (born in Syracuse, New York) is an American singer-songwriter. He earned a cult following with a string of indie releases during the 1990s and 2000s. Career Von Sneidern played in a local band called the U-Turns in the earl ...

with

co-producing several songs that include

Linda Pitmon Linda Pitmon is an American drummer known for her work with the supergroups The Baseball Project and the Filthy Friends. Pitmon played percussion in band and orchestra in high school. She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and drumming was a he ...

on drums, pianist Robert Lloyd, and Doug Freeman on bass. Guitarist Jeff Kane (who died from cancer in 2012) also participated in the album, both playing guitar and engineering overdubs. The album was mastered by the late

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

and released on Germany's Blue Rose Records in 1998. Tolman followed up the ''City Lights'' release with two tours of Europe. First in May and June 1998, he was solo opening act for The Cole Porters featuring his friend

playing in Germany and the UK. Tolman returned for a Fall 1998 tour with a band that featured guitarist Jeff Kane, drummer Jim Huie, and Portland bass player Roland Couture. It was on this tour in Cologne, Germany that Tolman met his future wife Kim Assing (now noted Hollywood production designer Kim A. Tolman). In addition to songwriting and performing, Tolman has a keen interest in music production, having produced records for

Barbara Manning Barbara Manning (born December 12, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose albums blend elements of rock, folk, pop and proto-punk. She's also known for her cover versions of often obscure pop songs. In addition to an acclaimed ...

's first band 28th Day,

The Windbreakers The Windbreakers were an American power pop group from Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of ...

, The Downsiders, The Popealopes, Lost Durangos, and others. In 1998, he started

Innerstate Records Innerstate Records (also known as Innerstate) is a San Francisco Bay Area based rock music, rock and alternative rock, alternative American record label founded by Russ Tolman and Pat Thomas (musician), Pat Thomas in 1998.http://www.allrecordl ...

, along with Pat Thomas. The label was active in the San Francisco Bay Area till 2006 with nearly 100 releases and spawned offshoot labels InnerSpace and WEED (which released albums by Thomas's band

Mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

). During the early 2000s, Tolman also worked as a reissue producer, overseeing re-releases from

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

, and others. In 2000, Tolman released ''New Quadraphonic Highway'', which he recorded almost entirely in his Haight Ashbury district bedroom. It featured guest appearances by

Chuck Prophet Charles William Prophet (born June 28, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. A Californian, Prophet first achieved notice in the American psychedelic/desert rock group Green on Red, with whom he toured and rec ...

Tom Heyman Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, and Dale Duncan of Map of Wyoming and Flying Color. In 2006, Tolman joined Gavin Blair, Richard McGrath, and True West newcomers Jim Huie, and bassist Ian Barrett for a series of True West reunion shows, which included several dates as opening act for old friends

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...

, playing at venues such as San Francisco's legendary Fillmore Ballroom and the House of Blues at Downtown Disney, Anaheim. In 2011, Tolman and wife Kim left the SF Bay Area to relocate in Los Angeles. Tolman reformed the Russ Tolman Band shortly after, featuring Kirk Swan on guitar, drummer Dave Drewry, Robert Lloyd on organ, bassist Dave Provost, and new addition Carl Byron on piano. They recorded and released the digital single "Los Angeles" in 2013. In 2016, Tolman released the singles "Time Flies," "Everybody's Gonna Love Me," and "Vancouver Sun" on the 304 Stainless label. Tolman released in 2017 a 20-song, 27-year retrospective album (CD and digital) entitled ''Compass & Map'' that covers the years 1986 to 2013 and includes songs from his previous seven albums, plus the best of his digital singles. In 2019, Tolman's eighth solo album ''Goodbye El Dorado'' was released.

Personal life

In 2000, Tolman married Kim Assing (now Kim A. Tolman) in Cologne, Germany. They currently reside in Los Angeles, where Kim works as a production designer and art director for film and themed entertainment. She is also a fine art painter.

Discography

; Russ Tolman with True West * ''True West'' EP 1983 Bring Out Your Dead (USA) * ''Hollywood Holiday'' 1983 New Rose (F) * ''Drifters'' LP 1984 Zippo (UK) resp. PVC / Passport (USA) * ''TV Western'' 1990 LP / CD CD Skyclad (USA)
Side A: EMI Records-demos recorded Dec. 1983 @ Bearsville Studios, produced by Tom Verlaine, Side B: Live at Rex Club, Paris France May 1985 * ''Best Western'' CD Skyclad 1988 (USA) (Rarities, outtakes) * ''West Side Story'' LP / CD 1989 Skyclad (USA) (Rarities, outtakes) * ''Hollywood Holiday Revisited'' CD 2006 Atavistic (USA) (reissue of first two albums, along with the 1983 demos produced by

Tom Verlaine Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television. Biography Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...

Bearsville Studios Bearsville Sound Studio was a recording studio founded by Albert Grossman in Bearsville, New York, west of Woodstock in 1969. History Albert Grossman, who was the manager of Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, first arrived in Bearsville in 1 ...

. * ''The West Is History: Live At The House of Blues" 2011 DVD Atavistic Video (USA) ; Russ Tolman solo * ''Totem Poles and Glory Holes'' LP 1986 Down There-

(USA) & Demon (UK) * ''Down in Earthquake Town'' LP 1988 Skyclad (USA) & Demon (UK) * ''Goodbye Joe'' LP /CD 1990 New Rose (F) & Skyclad (USA) * ''Road Movie CD 1992 New Rose (F) * ''Sweet Spot'' CD 1994 Red River (Germany) * ''City Lights'' CD 1998 Blue Rose (Germany) * ''New Quadraphonic Highway'' CD 2000

WEED A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

(USA), Blue Rose (Germany) * "Los Angeles" Digital Single 2013 Innerstate (USA) * "Time Flies" Digital Single 2016 304 Stainless (USA) * "Everybody's Gonna Love Me" Digital Single 2016 304 Stainless (USA) * "Vancouver Sun" Digital Single 2016 304 Stainless (USA) * ''Compass & Map'' CD/digital album 2017 LOST (USA) * ''Goodbye El Dorado'' CD/digital album 2019 LOST (USA), Blue Rose (Europe) ; Russ Tolman – Compilations & Special Releases * Various Artists - ''Only 39,999,999 Behind Thriller'' LP Down There/

1989. Russ plays "Talking Hoover Dam Blues" * Various Artists –''Live At The Kremlin Volume One'' LP/CD New Rose Records ROSE247 1991 (Concert highlights 13.–16. November 1990 in Espace André Malraux, Kremlin-Bicètre, 10th anniversary celebration of New Rose Records, Russ Tolman plays „Vegas“) * ''Live At The Shop'' Cassette RUSS 01 1992 Get Happy!! Records (Live Concert 11. November 1992 at Get Happy! Plattenladen, Frankfurt am Main, limited to 20 copies) * Various Artists - ''39 Steps to Seattle'' 1995 Zippo/

. Russ Tolman plays "Everything You Need And Everything You Want" * Various Artists - ''This Note's For You Too!: A Tribute To Neil Young'' (Inbetweens/

1999). Russ Tolman & Richard McGrath play "Old Man" ; Russ Tolman as Producer * 28th Day -''28th Day'' LP 1985 Bring Out Your Dead/

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/dis ...

* Lost Durangos - ''Evil Town'' LP 1986 Armadillo Records (Canada) * The Downsiders – ''All My Friends Are Fish'' LP 1988

Mammoth Records Mammoth Records was an independent record label founded in 1989 by Jay Faires in the Carrboro area of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The majority of the acts on Mammoth were executive-produced by Faires and the label's general manager, Steve Balcom ...

(USA) (Russ Tolman plays lead guitar on "She’s Alright") * The Popealopes – ''An Adder's Tale'' LP 1988 Skyclad (USA) & Resonance (NL) *

- "Change Is Now" ''

Time Between – A Tribute to The Byrds ''Time Between – A Tribute to The Byrds'' is a various artists tribute album consisting of cover versions of songs originally written and recorded by the Los Angeles band The Byrds. It was released in 1989 as an LP and CD by Imaginary Records ...

'' CD 1989 Communion Records (USA),

Imaginary Records Imaginary Records was an independent record label based in Heywood, Greater Manchester, England, which specialised mainly in indie rock and post-punk. It was started in 1985 by Alan Duffy, known for his lyrical contributions to Porcupine Tree's f ...

(UK) * The Popealopes – ''Kerosene'' LP 1990 Skyclad (USA) * The Windbreakers - ''Electric Landlady'' LP 1991

DB Records DB Records (stylized as DB RECS) was a record label owned by Danny Beard, active from 1978 to 1997. The label was operated out of the Wax'n'Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points. Through the 1980s, the ...

(USA)

Videography

* True West - ''The West Is History: Live at The House of Blues'' (DVD, 2011) * Various Artists - ''Frozen Ghosts'' VHS 1989 Iceworld Video. Contain's Russ Tolman's video for "Domino." * Various Artists - ''Slipping Through The Cracks'' VHS 1988 Iceworld Video. Contains Russ Tolman's video for "Talking Hoover Dam Blues"

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolman, Russ 1956 births Guitarists from California University of California, Davis alumni Living people 20th-century American guitarists Restless Records artists