Thomas "Tommy" Brenneck is an American guitarist,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

. He became known as the leader of the

Menahan Street Band Menahan Street Band is a Brooklyn, New York-based instrumental band formed in 2007, that plays funk and soul music. The band features musicians from Antibalas, El Michels Affair, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and the Budos Band. The group was ...

and a member of The Budos Band, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, and El Michels Affair. He is the founder of Dunham Records, a subsidiary of seminal retro-soul label Daptone Records; he was the producer of soul singer Charles Bradley. As a producer and session musician, he frequently works with Daptone and

Big Crown Records Truth & Soul was a record label and production team based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was formed in 2004 by Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman with Philippe Lehman. The label was best known for their releases with Lee Fields & The Expressions and ...

artists.

History

Tom Brenneck was born and raised in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, New York. He is a self-taught guitarist and joined the original Daptone band The Dap-Kings at the age of 20. He quickly became one of the essential members of the Daptone family, working closely with the label founder and producer Gabe Roth aka

Bosco Mann Gabriel Roth (born August 17, 1974), also known as Bosco Mann among other aliases, is an American record producer, musician, and co-founder of Daptone Records. He is best known as the bandleader, bass player, primary songwriter, and producer of ...

. He played and toured with

Sharon Jones Sharon Lafaye Jones (May 4, 1956 – November 18, 2016) was an American soul and funk singer. She was the lead singer of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, a soul and funk band based in Brooklyn, New York. Jones experienced breakthrough succ ...

who was the label matriarch. Jones gave Brenneck his nickname, “TNT". Since then Brenneck founded Dunham Records and Studio, cultivated the music and career of the late Charles Bradley (also his son's godfather), performed and recorded with

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A m ...

, and is a principal in his other Daptone project the

. He has been a session guitarist, writer, and producer on projects with

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarl ...

Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

, Beyoncé & Jay-Z, Josh Tillman AKA Father John Misty,

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and se ...

, and

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

among others. Additionally Brenneck has played guitar for

and he is one of the musicians featured on "

Telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

" by

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice o ...

featuring

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

. As an engineer on Yebba's ''Dawn'', he was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the

64th Annual Grammy Awards The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, ...

Dunham Records and recording studios

Tom Brenneck is the founder of Dunham Records, a subsidiary of Daptone Records. The record label originally operated out of Tom's bedroom in

Bushwick, Brooklyn Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Pa ...

and produced iconic hits from artists including Charles Bradley before eventually moving to a larger space in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 Unit ...

. Brenneck ran a small recording studio out of his home in Bushwick before opening Dunham Sound Studios with Homer Steinwiess in Williamsburg in 2008. The all-analog studio operated with Menahan Street Band as the in-house band and recorded artists including

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, ...

, Rufus Wainwright, Cee-lo Green, Theophilus London, and

Diane Birch Diane Birch (born January 24, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. Early life Birch was born in Michigan. At the age of seven she began studying piano using the Suzuki method. While growing up she listened to opera, classical and church mus ...

among others. In 2014, the studio was succeeded by The Diamond Mine, a recording studio in

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to th ...

founded with Steinweiss, Nick Movshon, and

Leon Michels Leon Marcus Michels is an American music producer, record executive, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known as the leader of the eclectic soul project El Michels Affair and co-founder of Truth & Soul Records and Big Crown Records. He ...

. In 2017, Brenneck moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

with his wife and two children. He now works in Los Angeles out of

The Sound Factory The Sound Factory (also known as Sunset Sound Factory) is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California. The Sound Factory was built in the 1960s on Selma Avenue in Hollywood. At the time, it served as the home of Moonglow Records and the Moon ...

studio with Mark Ronson, whom he got to know well during his time working with Winehouse.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Other appearances

"Up From the South" of The Budos Band is featured in a commercial for the

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

(2013). "T.I.B.W.F." of The Budos Band is featured in a series of commercials for 1800 Tequila and in the sixth episode of ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...

''. "The Chicago Falcon (Remix)" of The Budos band is featured on Wale's fourth mixtape, '' The Mixtape About Nothing'' (2008). "Budos Rising" and "The Proposition" of The Budos Band are featured in '' MLB 09: The Show'' and '' MLB 10: The Show'', respectively, for PlayStation consoles. "King Charles" of The Budos Band is featured in episode 37 of the HBO TV series '' Entourage'' ("Manic Monday," Season 3). "Origin of Man," "Up From The South," "T.I.B.W.F." and "Hidden Hand" of The Budos Band are featured in the movie '' New York, I Love You'' (2009). "Mas o Menos", "Ride or Die" and "Scorpion" of The Budos Band are featured on the fictional radio station "Daptone Radio" in the game '' Sleeping Dogs'' by United Front Games and Square Enix London. (2012) "The Volcano Song" of The Budos Band is featured in the documentary ''

I Knew It Was You ''I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale'' is a 2009 American documentary film about actor John Cazale, directed by Richard Shepard and produced by Brett Ratner, Stacey Reiss and Richard Shepard. Background The film received its title f ...

: Rediscovering John Cazale'' (2009). "The Sticks" of The Budos Band is featured in the background of a trailer for

Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although oft ...

's ''Dark Below DLC''. (2014) " Say Amen (Saturday Night)" by Panic! At The Disco features an interpolation Of Aphasia off of the album ''Burnt Offering'' of The Budos Band.

Production discography

Albums

* The Budos Band – ''The Budos Band'' (Daptone, 2005) (with

) * The Budos Band – ''The Budos Band II'' (Daptone, 2007) (with

) *

– ''

Make The Road By Walking ''Make the Road by Walking'' is the debut album by Brooklyn based group Menahan Street Band. It was released on October 14, 2008 through Dunham Records, a then-new subsidiary of Daptone Records. The album is named after a Brooklyn non-profit org ...

'' (Dunham, 2008) * The Budos Band – '' The Budos Band III'' (Daptone, 2007) (with

) *

– ''The Crossing'' (Dunham, 2012) * Charles Bradley – '' Victim Of Love'' (Dunham, 2013) * Low Cut Connie – '' Hi Honey'' (Contender Records, 2014) * The Budos Band – ''Burnt Offering'' ( Daptone, 2014) (produced with The Budos Band) *

The Black Box Revelation Black Box Revelation (BBR, previously named The Black Box Revelation) is a Belgian garage rock band. It was formed in 2005 by vocalist and guitarist Jan Paternoster and drummer Dries Van Dijck. The band achieved great reviews with their debut ''S ...

– ''Highway Cruiser'' (Bana Kin, 2015) * Paul & The Tall Trees – Our Love In The Light ( Big Crown, 2016) * Lee Fields & The Expressions – ''Special Night'' (Big Crown, 2016) (produced with

) *

Lady Wray Nicole Monique Wray (born May 2, 1979), also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single "Make It Hot" was certified gold. Early life Nicole Monique Wray was born on May 2, 1979, in Salinas, California, to ...

– ''

Queen Alone ''Queen Alone'' is the second studio album by American singer Nicole Wray, released on September 23, 2016, by Big Crown Records. This is her first solo album in 18 years since her last album ''Make It Hot'' and her first under a new name, Lady Wr ...

'' (Big Crown, 2016) (produced with

) * Charles Bradley – ''

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinso ...

'' (Dunham, 2016) * The Sha La Das – ''Love In The Wind'' (Dunham, 2018) * Charles Bradley – '' Black Velvet'' (Dunham, 2018) * The Budos Band – ''V'' (Daptone, 2019) * The Jay Vons – ''The Word'' (Daptone, 2019) (produced with Wayne Gordon & The Jay Vons) * Paul & The Tall Trees – ''So Long'' (Big Crown, 2019) (produced with

) * The Budos Band – ''Long In The Tooth'' (Dunham, 2020) *

– ''The Exciting Sounds Of Menahan Street Band'' (Dunham, 2021)

Other tracks

Other standalone tracks include: * 3 Titans – "College" / "The Life Of A Scholar" (Dunham, 2010) (with Homer Steinwiess) * The Like – '' Release Me'' ( Geffen, 2010); 2 tracks (with

) *

– "

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

" single (

Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...

, 2010) * Ikebe Shakedown ''– Ikebe Shakedown'' (

Ubiquity Ubiquity is a synonym for omnipresence, the property of being present everywhere. Ubiquity may also refer to: * Ubiquity (software), a simple graphical installer made for the Ubuntu operating system * Ubiquity (Firefox), an experimental extens ...

, 2011); 3 tracks * The Sha La Das – "Sha La Da La La (Christmas Time)" single (Dunham, 2013) *

Black Lips Black Lips is an American garage rock band from Atlanta, Georgia formed in 1999. History The band formed in Dunwoody, Georgia after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the Rer ...

– '' Underneath The Rainbow'' (

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or Habit (psychology), habit generally considered immorality, immoral, sinful, crime, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refe ...

, 2014); 4 tracks *

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the si ...

– "Price Of Fame" from '' The Architect'' (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

, 2017) (with Homer Steinwiess) * Lee Fields & The Expressions – "Time" single ( Big Crown, 2017) (produced with

) *

Charlotte Day Wilson Charlotte Day Wilson (born 1993) is a Canadian contemporary R&B singer-songwriter.

– "I Can Only Whisper" featuring BadBadNotGood from '' Alpha'' (2021) (with Wilson)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brenneck, Thomas 1981 births Living people American soul guitarists American session musicians 21st-century American guitarists Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings members