Silicone Soul Save Our Souls CD

, in 1978, began playing the saxophone at the age of 12 at West Hardin Middle School in Kentucky. "The band director tested the students on musical skills a year before they were eligible to join the school band," he said. "At that time, I did very well on the rhythm segment of the test, so he urged me to play percussion." But God had other plans - and during an evening of trying out several instruments, Thomas was drawn to the saxophone. He began on the alto saxophone and later added tenor and soprano sax. "Almost every night while I am playing my soprano sax, an audience member asks me what that straight thing is," he said. "Usually they think it is a clarinet. The soprano sax has a straight shape, unlike the other members of the saxophone family." Thomas also plays the piano to write his songs and record demos. "From my music theory background and some knowledge of piano, it really comes in handy to do these jobs in my studio," he said. "Whenever an idea pops up in my mind, I record them and then I give my scratch ideas to a professional pianist to bring those ideas to life." Thomas credits his parents, Larry and Theresa, who were teenagers in the 1970s, with influencing his music by exposing him to some favorites such as Earth Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder. "I remember ...