Who Doesn’t Like Thom Allison?

T is for the tons of applause he will be hearing for the rest of his life.

H is for Hysterical… What? He is a godly singer and he is funny…. it couldn’t be so.. but it is.

O is for…..OH MY GOD…..Thom is in this show?!

M is for his miles and miles of heart.

Alright….now that my quest to be funny is over… almost….I would like to talk about my friend Thom…I was so glad when the task was given to me … then I was daunted….there is so much I could say about him and none of it would be enough to convey all that is Thom.

When I first met him when he was 17….yes… 17 at a rehearsal space in Winnipeg I knew this was someone who was very special. He had a big afro, big Elaine Stritch glasses and bermuda shorts. He was so quick to have a laugh and such a lovely person to talk with, which would have been enough to call him friend….. but then…. he sang….I mean really. I looked up from my score at him and thought…..Who is this kid?I wanna be his best friend. (Even though I was 20….17 sounds SOOO much younger.) And now here we are many years later… and he has grown into a man to be reckoned with… I have had the pleasure of working with him alot and watching him work an audience, and from the stage it is amazing to watch the peoples faces as they discover for the first time that watching Thom is a singular experience to be mulled over for days after. There mouths are usually hanging open. He can hold a song lightly in his hands and heart like a thin piece of glass or he can throw it into the air and render it limb from limb. All with results to not be believed. He is one of Canada’s best entertainers. He just is. And he can do film, TV, stage….whatever…he is as well rounded as a performer can be.

And people…. what you may not know…. he can bake like Martha Stewart wishes she could bake… if you have not had the pleasure of having a birthday whilst doing a show with him…. you are missing out, huge. Pinapple-upside-down cake …..strawberry gonna-make-you-pass-out cake….. he cannot spread the love around enough… but he tries… and in a business where it is all ‘me me me’… he wakes up and wonders who he will make cookies for that day. Could there be anyone better?And when I have a crap… and I mean TRULY crap day….he is the person that will tell me “You are way too pretty to get that part… they clearly wanted ugly, untalented people…. sweetie… they want their show to be bad!” I just love him. Who doesn’t?

See Thom Allison perform live at: SING OUT, LOUISE!: Monday, March 9th, 8pm. $25.00. Buddies in Bad Times.