Tom Luekens: Chief Sound and Recording Engineer

Tom Luekens picked up the guitar at age 5, but put it down in favor of the violin at age 8, and soon started studying privately.

Of course, Tom wound up rediscovering the guitar in junior high school and formed several bands throughout the next few years, playing mostly hard rock. In the meantime, he continued studying violin very seriously. This type of background could lead to some very scary hard rock violin action (can’t you just see the hair?) or a diverse, well-shaped musicality that could serve a long, eventful career in music. Luckily, the latter transpired.

While in college, Tom wound up in a summer course which would set his future path. He took Intro to Recording Engineering in Los Angeles, and was hooked.

Tom graduated from Valparaiso University in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music. He moved back to southern California to attend Golden West College's recording engineering program. During the two year program, he started doing live sound reinforcement and lighting for several different companies. He also started doing recording sessions at a small studio in Los Angeles. Tom's first job as an assistant recording engineer was doing vocals with a soul singer by the name of Clarence Reid who released several records under the name of Blow Fly. Not many records were sold by Blow Fly but it turns out Scott Mathews was a huge fan and bought every one. Coincidence? Ha!

In 1992, Tom moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and climbed the sound recording engineering ladder by leaping onto the top rung. He worked on the film-scoring stage at Skywalker Ranch, George Lucas’ beyond the state of the art film-mix complex in Marin County. In addition, he became an recording engineer at the legendary Plant Recording Studios in Sausalito. Through the Plant, Tom met Booker T. Jones, of Booker T. and the MG’s Fame. Tom became the recording engineer for Booker for a year, doing sound recording for various major label projects.

During the summertime, Tom was the Assistant Recording Engineer at the Marlboro Music Festival in Marlboro, Vermont, working with Judy Sherman, a Grammy-winning classical music producer. By 1995, Tom accepted the position of Chief Recording Engineer at the Marlboro Music Festival, which he still holds each summer.

In 1996, spending most of his time recording, Tom became an A&R representative for BMG Records. While there, he co-produced Windham Hill’s 20th Anniversary Sampler, Sanctuary, as well as producing and engineering several other projects.
Shortly after that, he hooked up with music producer Scott Mathews, whom he met through Booker T. Showing the incredible range of expertise he had developed, Tom became Scott’s favorite recording engineer and subsequently his full-time engineer at a time when Scott was doing most of his own engineering while producing. Scott Mathews’ quote puts it best; “I've finally met my technical better half. I’ll never solo another hi-hat in my life!” Their collaboration proved to be the longest running and most successful team of independent recording engineer/music producer in the Bay Area and is still ongoing.

Tom is one of those incredibly rare individuals who has an amazing ear and understands music while at the same time possesses up to the moment knowledge and intuition for all things technical. Combined with the patience of Job, no one is better qualified to make great records.

When not busy at TikiTown, Tom has blended his deeply rooted hard rock and classical background perfectly, having worked with: Metallica, Kronos Quartet, Sammy Hagar, George Crumb (earning a Grammy), the San Francisco Opera Orchestra…some things never change.