Tom Michael

Biography

Tom Michael is an educator, music producer, and co-founder of Zodlounge Music in Nashville, TN. Tom began playing bass guitar at the age of nine and was heavily influenced by classic rock, pop, and R&B. While in junior high school, he joined the high school jazz band, which sparked a deep love for jazz music. In high school, he added the upright acoustic bass to his repertoire, going on to earn a Bachelor of Music in classical upright bass performance from Western Michigan University’s School of Music. Throughout college he performed in various jazz combos and big bands as well as in the University Orchestra, Gold Company and jazz fusion band Inside Out of which he was a founding member.

After graduation, he settled in Nashville where he has played bass with numerous artists, touring and recording extensively. After recording demos for songs he had written, he took up the craft of digital recording. He produced songs for some top songwriters as well as full albums for Nashville artists, leading to the creation of Zodlounge Music in 2004. Completing a Master of Fine Arts terminal degree at Middle Tennessee State University in Recording Arts and Technologies in 2023, Tom began teaching Studio Production, Entertainment Entrepreneurship, and Digital Audio as an adjunct professor at MTSU, and is now teaching Music Theory courses at Belmont University. He and Connie, his wife, have raised five children together.