Tom was born and raised in Northeast Alabama.  His musical education began at a very early age when his father, a semi-professional guitarist gave Tom his first guitar on his 7th birthday.      Tom played in several bands during his high school career, spanning several different styles of music.      After high school, Tom began working for a large local music store and began regional touring with his rock cover band.  This regional performing continued for a couple of years and gradually grew into extensive touring of the Southeast and Southwest US opening for several arena acts      After about six years of non-stop touring, Tom attended Auburn University, where he earned the Bachelor and Master Degrees in Music Education.  After graduation, Tom began playing bass with a regional country band as opening act for large country artist.      In 1995, Tom and Rick formed The Foster Brothers, providing the challenge of improvised music that keeps performances fresh.