A man with a 1000 faces and a million sounds!
Few guys in the music world has such a versatile background as Tommy Denander. A self taught guitarist and keyboard player since the age of five he has played almost every style you can think of, both live and on countless sessions.

A short list of artists he has played/worked with -
TOTO, FEE WAYBILL, RICHARD MARX, BILL CHAMPLIN, BOBBY KIMBALL, FERGIE FREDERIKSEN, VINNIE COLAIUTA, TONY FRANKLIN, BRUCE GAITSCH, STEVE STEVENS, PAT THRALL, GLENN HUGHES, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BILL CANTOS, DAN REED, JOEY TEMPEST, LIONS SHARE, TALISMAN, TALK OF THE TOWN, PRISONER, RAINMAKER....for more see below!

Tommy was just as much a fan of hard rock bands like Kiss, Van Halen, Whitesnake and Judas Priest as westcoast artists like David Foster, Toto, Bill Champlin and David Roberts or jazz players like Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour or classic music like....you get the picture.

This mix is what inspired Tommy at a very young age to start getting into doing sessions... "I loved the idea to be able and play any style they ask of you on the spot in the studios" Tommy says. He started doing sessions for friends demos when he  was only 12 years old and made his first album at  14 with Swedish hard rockers ATC "Cut In Ice"  (Polygram/Vertigo).

The media soon discovered this "kid who could play like Eddie Van Halen AND Eric Clapton!" and this of course only helped Tommy to get more work and quickly he was a part of the top players in Sweden...still only in his mid teens!

In 1987 he moved to Los Angeles where he spent three wonderful years. This was a big learning period for Tommy, to find out if he could play with "the big boys" and the first people he got to know were TOTO. As this was mostly a watch and learn period, he did only a few sessions during his time in LA but the knowledge and contacts he gained are the reason why Tommy's name is getting well known around the world these days.

Back in Sweden he opened his first professional recording studio - Noble House. Tommy has always been equally interested in writing music as the whole craft of producing and recording it so the next logical step was to become a studio owner.

Trying too hard to manage a growing list of high demands like running the studio, doing sessions in other studios, several big tours and keeping a social life Tommy burnt himself out and in 1993 he had a major collapse. Life changed overnight and even now almost 8 years later Tommy is still not well.

"I'm slowly getting back there but it's still a long way to go" - Tommy says. These days Tommy has his studio at home and does all his work there and thanks to an always positive attitude he's very pleased with his life...

"I've never felt better actually, sure I'm not well enough to travel yet but life and work is going great" he says.

Tommy tells the story about his once in a lifetime project Radioactive:

In 1991 TOTO played a festival in Sweden and of course I went there to meet my new buddies. During a nice and quiet moment in the lobby of the hotel I just got this idea and it popped right out at the same time, I just asked them - guys, would you play on my album if I got a deal?...within 5 seconds they all said yes!!!

I didn't know what to say cause I was stunned but to my luck there was a guy from their record label there and I just told him that if you sign me TOTO has agreed to play on the album!

He invited me to his office to following week and I signed with them went home and put together the songs and flew to LA and recorded...simple as that...well no but almost!

It happened really quick but not without flaws cause I went through some shitty times trying to book a studio in LA with one of the biggest names in the session world who turned out to be a complete asshole and other things like that. In the end it was the incredible Jeff Porcaro who took care of it for me...in a way I'll never forget.

Jeff and Mike Porcaro made this trip the greatest thing I've done in my life. I produced and recorded 10 songs with Jeff, Mike, Steve Porcaro and David Paich, a rather scary but wonderful thing for a 23 old Little guy from Sweden!!! Back home the label and I had totally different views on how to do this album and it got to the point where I bought the tapes back and we went separate ways...something I'm extremely happy for today.

It was not a good breakup because I got treated in a very bad way by their A&R and I ended up "paying" him and the label back in an even more stupid way than what they did to me...it's sometimes a hard process to grow up! One of the first guys I talked to about releasing it was Magnus who wasn't working for MTM then cause they hadn't even started yet! He was working for a small Swedish company that specialized in AOR and westcoast so of course I was interested but I needed to find the right singers and more for the album so I took my time....to say the least as it's been ten years now!!!

Over the years I've met many big stars who've added to the album and when it's now finally done I'm amazed at how many true legends that's taking part of my "little" album. The circle took a long time to close but thanks to Magnus I'm with a great label, MTM, and thanks to the higher powers that helped me get through and the list of amazing guests it's time for me to let go of this once in a lifetime project... I just hope that you'll enjoy it as much as I have.
/ Tommy Denander 01 06 15

Since 1997 Tommy's been the main man behind several acclaimed projects and new bands like Sayit, Prisoner and Rainmaker as well as writing, playing and producing a major part of the "comeback" album for Swedish AOR legends Talk Of The Town.

Sayit is one of Tommy's best friends and when he asked for help making his first album simply called "Sayit" in 1999 Tommy provided songs and production aid as well as playing most instruments, the CD is now a hot item for westcoast and AOR fans. A second album will be released in late September 2001 called "Again".

Tommy is also a member of two critically acclaimed bands, Prisoner and Rainmaker. He started Prisoner with song writing buddy Ricky Delin in 1997 and together with the two fantastic singers Geir Rönning and Piere Wensberg they released the highly praised "Blind" in the beginning of 2000 through Z Records in Europe and Marquee/Avalon in Japan.

The band made it's live debut at the ZROCK 2001 festival in Manchester England and they have their second album "II" out now as well. Z Records label boss Mark Alger was impressed with the skills of Tommy and singer Geir and asked them to put together an album around a name he had...Rainmaker.

So in the end of 2000 this new bands first album was released and also gained a lot of praise and space in the media, the album also included bass legend Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder, Whitesnake).

In between Prisoner and Rainmaker Tommy did the Talk Of The Town album and all three album ended up on many top 10 lists in magazines around the world!

At the moment Tommy is busy as always and recent releases include Prisoner II, Radioactive, Sayit Again, Bruce Gaitsch, Jason Becker Tribute and a long list of compilation albums.

The Hit Men studio is growing rapidly and the changes to a more digital environment creates new and interesting ways to be creative. There are many exciting projects for Tommy in the near future so be on the lookout and check in here frequently for updates.

Over the years Tommy has played or worked with an impressive list of stars either live, on records or privately... here's a few!