Artist Bios, Links, Recordings and How to Buy

A native of New York City, Tom Ianniello brought his guitar and his dreams to Los Angeles in the mid 1970s. A master of folk, jazz and rock guitar and a songwriter of funny, sad, twisted and emotional songs, Tom somehow found himself the owner of a coffeehouse in North Hollywood he named The Iguana Café – which for more than five years stood as one of the most influential venues in Southern California for artists, musicians, poets, actors – famous, soon-to-be-famous or never-to-be-famous – to gather, perform, play and be themselves. Tom rarely performed his own music at The Iguana, but one hot July night in 1992, he played an entire set of his own, with Duke McVinnie on bass and Jimmy Powers on harmonica – and it was recorded. And it was preserved for 28 years until it was unearthed and released in the spring of 2020 as the album HOLE IN THE ICE. Now the world can know all about this amazing man who did so much for so many – and hear his music in his own voice.

Tom continues to serve the folk/singer-songwriter/eclectic music community via his internet radio station, Radio Free Exile, where nearly all of the Trough artists are in heavy rotation. We highly recommend that you give it a listen.

You can buy/stream Hole in the Ice and other music by Tom at Tom's bandcamp.com site.

Andrew Lorand grew up in suburban Los Angeles reading Lenny Bruce and listening to Tom Lehrer. As a result, Lorand's musical tastes became somewhat skewed. An eclectic satirist and keen observer of the humor and pathos found around the darker edges of the human condition, Lorand takes his listeners on a wild and often contemplative ride.

Perhaps Andrew’s most remarkable gift as a songwriter is the ability to simply and succinctly convey complex feelings in totally unique, and often humorous, ways. And his vision goes well beyond his own voice – his four Trough releases include two solo efforts and three titles under the band name Puppets of Castro – which feature the extraordinary vocal talents of stand-alone artists Matthew Mars and Darryl Purpose interpreting Andrew’s songs. A favorite of his songwriting colleagues, Andrew’s songs have been covered by such artists as Kristina Olsen, Emily Kaitz and Mark Humphreys. Memorable melodies and lyrics that can elicit laughter and tears, often in the same stanza, make Andrew Lorand’s music a truly satisfying experience.

Visit the Andrew Lorand/Puppets of Castro website.

Brett Perkins is a Grammy-nominated, California-born, Copenhagen-based songwriter, consultant, educator and presenter whose involvement in the international songwriting community spans four decades. He has co-written with numerous international artists, including Mads Langer, Una Healy, Boo Hewerdine and many others. An active performer since the early 1980s, Brett has toured 39 countries to date. His voice and songs have appeared on more than 20 different music releases as well as in films and television shows.

In 2009 Brett released his internationally-acclaimed third album RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT, GO on Trough Records. The album is a striking and brutally honest collection of exquisitely-crafted songs of lost love, self-examination and ultimate redemption, with rich melodies and sterling musicianship. We are delighted to have this multi-faceted and supremely talented artist (and artist advocate) as a label-mate.

Make sure to visit Brett on the Web:
Brett’s Facebook Music Page
Listening Room Retreats
Listening Room Speaking
ReverbNation Music Site
You can stream Red Light, Green Light, Go at Spotify (click image or title to view):

There is no way to accurately describe the art of Rod Sphere – his music, his performances, his very presence on stage – all are simultaneously ethereal yet somehow incredibly tactile. Rod’s live concerts are experiences that require active participation, and that includes participating as both a listener and a visual observer. A master of song craft and the Great American Songbook (he has been known to play for nearly 5 hours without a break without playing the same song twice), Rod is also a composer and lyricist who refuses to allow any part of his music to grow static. The same song played two nights in a row might sound so different each night, some might say they are two different songs – when in fact it is all one evolutionary creation. Witnessing a Rod Sphere performance can be as exhilarating as a roller coaster ride over a deep ocean – each movement, each twist, each new step can be an awe-filled, gasp-inducing surprise.

Visit Rod’s website to stream his songs.

dot is out of print, but you can order the other three albums on CD.

Just send $12 per album via PayPal by clicking here (it'll take you to philwardmusic), and make sure to include your name & address as well as the title of the album(s) you are ordering in the "add a note" section on PayPal.

BONUS!

Just because we like you: For every CD of Rod's you order, we'll throw in

a surprise CD by Rod or a different Trough artist.

Born and raised in Chicago, Paul Zollo started writing songs as a kid, walking in the long shadows of legendary Chicago songwriters such as John Prine and Steve Goodman. He performed in Chicago clubs long before he was old enough to drink in them, and then moved east – to Boston and New York – performing solo and with bands - and ultimately west to Los Angeles. He made one self-titled album with his band The Ghosters in 1984, before going solo with Orange Avenue (Windyapple Records, 2000). The album received rave reviews in America and the UK. Zollo also collaborated on many songs, including "Midnight In Nebraska" with Dan Bern, "Angelyne" with Severin Browne, and all the songs with Darryl Purpose on his album Still The Birds. In 2014 Paul released his second solo album, UNIVERSAL CURE, on Trough. He's also a long-time music journalist, and served as Senior Editor of American Songwriter magazine. He's the author of six books, including the award-winning Songwriters On Songwriting, More Songwriters On Songwriting, Hollywood Remembered and Conversations with Tom Petty.

You can buy/stream Universal Cure at Apple Music (click image or title to view):