Early Years
Chuck Tomesko’s stage life began at age 5 when his uncle brought him onstage and started him on violin. He studied and performed violin through grade school in Youngstown, Ohio. After the family moved to Lake Milton, Ohio, his high school marching band needed a drummer; a close friend showed him the licks and the switch took. By 1956, at age 15, he co-founded The Pin Stripes and played bass guitar, performing around the Youngstown area through 1962.
Florida Period
After his first marriage and starting a family, Chuck stepped away from professional work until relocating to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1974. He returned as a drummer with “Sparky” Gillan & The Country Swingmasters and other southern rock/country outfits. He formed his own band, Change of Pace (country rock), and worked with the 50s “Sha-Na-Na” style group Time Machine. With Fat Laddy & Rooster he pushed southern rock and blues, toured with country recording artist Dick Quinn, and co-founded The Free Chicken & Beer Band with harmonica player/vocalist “Georgie” Pappas—a marquee magnet wherever they played.
Kaua‘i and Rebuild
Chuck and Deb married on Kaua‘i in May 1989 and moved there in May 1990. Hurricane Iniki (9/11/1992) destroyed all of his gear. In early 1995, guitarist Roger Jacobs (Buffy Sainte-Marie) asked Chuck to play a benefit and loaned him drums, jump-starting a new era. He performed with a Roger-led band, La Strada (Santana-style), Passport, the “almost all-girl” Lips on the Move, and The Tone Pilots. Since 1997 he has drummed for Kaua‘i’s premier blues outfit, Vic & the Victimz. He also appeared with The Lost Pelican Band on KKCR Public Radio in November 1998, taught drums for over a year, and jammed with Rusty & Carolyn Guthrie of The New Riders of the Purple Sage. He reads music and also plays keyboards and saxophone.
The Tongue & Groove Band
Determined to assemble the island’s best players, Chuck founded The Tongue & Groove Band on September 24, 1998. The group has supported countless charities and fundraisers, opened for HAPA and Willie K, was voted Kaua‘i’s #1 Band (Second Annual Reader’s Poll), and opened for B.B. King twice (November 2001 and November 2002) and for Jonny Lang (2001).
Setback and Return
On December 29, 2002, Chuck suffered a heart attack and underwent quintuple coronary artery bypass surgery. The community rallied—his bandmates and local musicians staged a successful benefit with support from island businesses and the Garden Island newspaper. Chuck returned to the stage with Tongue & Groove, Vic & the Victimz, and Hawaiian recording artist Kroon, the premier Kaua‘i dance band.
Compiled by Deb Tomesko, 2003.