Hollie Thomas | Pianist

PIANIST

After I moved to Austin, Texas in 1997...

over then next 20 years, I found myself performing piano with chamber ensembles, then for theater & dance productions, which lead to pop and rock bands, in Austin and all over the US and Canada.

Such an adventure, and everyone should do it who has any curiosity about it. (Also do it when you can, as later on, you might feel like staying home more, which is okay, too!).

Having focused only on acquiring solo classical piano and composition skills for the 15 years prior, and teaching English, playing with bands was an extraordinary (& weirdly scary) new education for me in how music works, how music collaboration evolves, and how determination, commitment, and countless hours (thousands actually) can bring creative dreams to life.

If you love love love a song, there is no better immersion experience into it than playing that song with the actual person who created it, with other musicians, in a very loud way. The experience of being a part of a living breathing ever-evolving musical creation that is playing in a band has been perhaps the most fascinating adventure I've taken on in my external musical life so far outside of my teaching. (My inner adventures are to be documented elsewhere...).

Everyone in this small batch of six artists highlighted here created a musical world so intriguing, I wanted to be inside of it. I'm so happy to have played a part of bringing their music to the stage and into the world. Each also taught me SO much by including me in their creative process. (And, they are basically my best friends forever now too. Lucky me!).

Furthermore...

In addition to and because of those artists above, I have gotten to collaborate with so many other musicians, artists, dancers, choreographers, & filmmakers whose own gifts and artistry helped me explore my own. Many are like brothers and sister, partners in late-night Satie gatherings and daily coffee acquisitions.

This is ever-growing list of people and organizations I have worked with just in Austin, although many have moved about the world as they continue their creative quests.
If I worked with you, and your name is not here, tell me. I want to stay connected! [email protected]

There are more. I'm still thinking...

The rest of this page is an archive of some of those moments. In the years before the ubiquitous phone cameras, many, many events occurred without even ONE photo being taken. Mind blowing, right? Each photo below represents perhaps 30 rehearsals and 10-15 shows that went undocumented, maybe. Here in 2023, if something isn't captured on our phones, it's like never happened. But it did!

Some of the bands are no longer. There are some photos on lost myspaces pages, unrecoverable.

But I'd like to keep this here, not because I am famous or played in any giant high profile bands, but because to encourage whoever may be reading this to seek out musical experiences in whichever way your curiosity takes you. Not for money or fame, although there was some of that for me, and there may be some for you.

In the end, it's just crazy fun to create art and music with friends.

Go play in a band! Make art & music with your friends. It's magic.