Boo Lee Crosser: New-Found Dedication
Music has played a large role in the life of twenty-four year old singer song writer Tom Vasey. Originally from Chagrin Falls, OH Tom first began playing guitar and singing at age sixteen with it soon becoming one of his favorite hobbies. For the past six years Vasey has been performing live music under stage name Boo Lee Crosser. During that time Vasey has become a great Guitar/Mandolin player and songwriter. Vasey credits high school creative writing classes with nurturing his lyricism and the Roots Music Club at BGSU for encouraging his song writing and performing. As an education major Roots Music Club ended up being an important medium for the continuation of his musical career.
Roots Music Club, an organization focusing on American Roots music like Folk and Bluegrass, is a great opportunity for students to stay engaged with music. The club records a yearly compilation record at Stone Soup Studios featuring songs written and performed by club members. It was through this project that Tom was able to record some of his first songs and be discovered as an artist by sound engineers Travis Geiman and Eric Sills. Sills the founder of Stone Soup Studios and record label Marmite Records took a liking to Boo Lee Crosser's sound. "Eric came up to me and said "I'd like to do an album with you free of charge"" Tom recalls, "It was a very very cool opportunity, we met up, hashed out a plan and got it going". The album, New Bedford, turned out great. The songs recorded are amazing and it is cool to hear Boo Lee in small ensemble form performing with a plethora of talented local session musicians. Most of the songs have folk and blues roots but there is a distinctly dirty/soulful sound.
Recording New Bedford changed things for Boo Lee Crosser. Before the album Vasey described music as being a hobby, something he would like to do for fun while working as a teacher. However as time went on and the album neared its completion Tom began to feel so passionate about music that he couldn't see himself doing anything else. "It was a weird time in my life I'm not gonna lie" Vasey explains "I was doing student teaching and the whole album experience made it (music) not a hobby and I decided to forgo getting my teaching license and make this a living". The album New Bedford is out now and can be streamed just about anywhere online and is also available for purchase on CD. One musical philosophy Tom was telling me about is to have "no absolutes". Vasey is open to exploration of different genres, sounds, and other musicians. He doesn't try to force things, rule out any ideas, or be something he isn't which makes him a great and versatile artist. Boo Lee Crosser already has plans for a new album of music that draws more from his punk and emo influences. Currently Boo Lee is performing with local musicians Flannery Murnen, Devonte Stovall, JP Stebal, and Kathleen Schnerer in a group called Freight Street. Both Boo Lee Crosser and Freight Street will be playing a lot over the next few months so be sure to check them out on Facebook and catch a show!
We have a live Plug Profile for Boo Lee Crosser, go check it out and familiarize yourself with this great musician!
https://www.musiplug.com/boo-lee-crosser