The live music venues of the Twin Villages regularly present local singer-songwriters playing intimate, acoustic sets; classic rock acts for the after dinner crowd, the occasional bluegrass or reggae band. Hip-hop, until recently, didn’t have a spot in the rotation.
The Jumpoff, a live hip-hop band led by former Damariscotta resident Tom Fallos, is changing that.
Last year, on Black Friday, The Jumpoff, sharing a bill with the pop/rock cover group Monthly Payment, played its first live show before a capacity crowd at Schooner Landing.
This year, The Jumpoff will headline the second annual Thanksgiving Special.
Fallos, 31, of Auburn, provides the group’s lead vocals.
A native of Illinois, Fallos came to Damariscotta at the age of 13. His early love of hip-hop and writing, especially poetry, led to writing and performing his own songs.
The young Fallos called himself Concept and Tommy Atomik before settling on the stage name Tommy Knottz. He recorded a studio album, Fruits of Labor, under the name in 2005.
In the years after high school, Fallos lived in Boston and Portland. Today, he lives with his wife and two children in Auburn, where he works in customer service for TD Bank.
Fallos, in a phone interview with The Lincoln County News, said he draws on his experiences and those of the people around him while writing his songs. “I think the best music is honest music,” he said.
He cites a wide array of influences, from platinum-selling artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West to the indie duo Atmosphere to the “old school” flavors of Gang Starr and Wu-Tang Clan.
The music of his parents’ generation – Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd – also influences his music, he said.
Fallos and a musician friend, Kevin Chase, formed The Jumpoff in late 2010. Hip-hop vocalists often perform with a DJ. Fallos prefers a full band. “It’s a better energy. It’s just more fun,” he said.
The band covers a wide variety of hip-hop standards and performs Fallos’ original material. In the year since the inaugural Thanksgiving Special, they’ve expanded their repertoire, returned to Schooner Landing and played venues in Brunswick and Portland.
Chase (percussion), Scott Gammage (guitar) Farren Pelkey (bass), Jesse Tavares (keys) and Bobby “Brainstorm” Throckmorton (vocals) join Fallos on stage.
The band has a strong connection to Lincoln County. Tavares and Throckmorton live here and Gammage, of Brunswick, also plays guitar for the Bristol-based classic rock outfit Fir Hollow Band.
Fallos hopes to eventually return to the studio with the band. In the past, he recorded his songs over beats made with a drum machine and samples. Next time, Fallos wants to gather “the best of the best” of his archives and new material and record with the goal of achieving a more “organic” sound.
The second annual Thanksgiving Special, on Black Friday, Nov. 25, starts at 10 p.m.
