Tom Payne was the original bassist for Los Angeles based garage rock band, the Leonards. Originally from the Detroit area, Tom and the band migrated to L.A. in the late 80s to try to get a break.
As the fickle gods of Rock and Roll would have it, a fledgling power pop powerhouse in L.A. during the era of big hair and bad metal was going to have a rough time making a go of it. They pressed on nonetheless and that persistence paid off, eventually gaining the band a very large and loyal following that today is still very active both in L.A. and Detroit.
In 2004, Tom was diagnosed with cancer, so he made the decision to leave the band and move back to Michigan to be with his family. He died as a result of the cancer on April 14, 2005.
Lenny Grassa, the Leonards lead guitarist currently resides in the Detroit area and reunites the band each year to play a Detroit show in memory of Tom. For the last several years, Joe Wang and the Test Pilots have been privileged to be be the opening act for the shows.
The links below are to photos and other memories of the shows that JWTP has participated in. We hope you enjoy checking them out.
