Tommy started his quest at age 2 doing the twist to his sister Linda's Beatles and Chubby Checker records. At age 5 he began singing along with his parents' Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole records. Encouraged by his Mother, he accurately mimicked the popular songs of the era, and began playing guitar at age 8. Tutored by his older half brother Bobby, he learned very quickly, and began rivaling his mentor's skills within a few years. With his Sears cassette recorder and his Silver tone guitar and amp in case always in hand he would practice singing and playing for endless hours, until his parents made him go to bed. While in grammar school, he excelled in the arts. Drawing, painting, creative writing, singing in choir, playing clarinet and saxophone at school functions, he won many awards. At age 15 he began pursuing the guitar with a mad passion. He was influenced at first by John Denver, Jim Croce, and Elton John and then later by bands like Aerosmith, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Rush, and The Stones. With the warm tube tones, and screaming vocals of the 70's at hand, he was star stricken and vowed that music would be his life. His younger brother David was also a gifted student, and made good grades, especially in metal shop and auto-mechanics.

In 1978 His Father Robert Roeck, a Veteran of WW2, hailing from Chicago, and a Journeyman Maintenance Machinist of 30 years, with Bethlehem Steel Corporation, retired and moved his family to the resort community of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Because he loved lake living and his wife Mildred's family the Hunter's and the Hamilton's were from nearby Sheridan.

He passed away unexpectedly in September of 1980, leaving the love of his life Mildred Louise to carry the load. After much grief, Tommy and his brother David experimented with music and bands. Tommy had been playing guitar and began to sing lead, David began playing bass and singing backing vocals, and yes they harmonized like brothers. Michael Stacey played drums with them most of the time, and Mike Lovelady filled in occasionally. They began playing small venues such as, The Club Car, Jessie Ville Summer Music, and competed in several battle of the bands, of which they won three. There were not many places to play in Hot Springs, so they played a lot of parties. Their Mother was so cool, and loved her sons so much, she just wanted them to be happy. She knew they were missing all their friends in Southern California. And besides she thought they sounded great and were really talented.

She allowed them to have jam parties almost every weekend at their home on Rock Creek Road. She knew this would help them make new friends quickly, and have a safe place for them to play from 1981 and into 1982. She supervised all the kids who came, and made sure everyone was safe all the time. She would sway back and forth in her rocking chair to the beat of her boys playing rhythm and blues and rock & roll. while always watching, listening, laughing, talking, smiling and sometimes scolding the kids who came in and out of the parties. And if a fight broke out, you could hear her voice over the thunder of Mike Stacey's drums, John Allen! As he was the self appointed bouncer and the older, stronger half brother. And he would gladly break it up, and kick some butt if he had to! Yes he was tough! He had to be, growing up in Buena Park, southeast of Los Angeles, right next to Anaheim; constantly fighting with Southern California gangs of the 1970's; for his lunch money, and sometimes his life. This open door policy of hers went on until the county got wind of things, and required it to cease and desist in late '82.

Mildred still allowed them to rehearse there in Tommy's bedroom, a 22 x 18 space that his Dad had designed to be a game room, when he built the house in 1978. This helped Tommy further develop his ear and musical talent until 1983. He had many jam sessions with people like Joe Glaeser, Robert Trimune, Dave Harvey, Robert Howell, Doug Hobby, Laurie Lloyd, Dennis & Rick Goss, Geoff Elaison, Tommy Kemp, Bill Harper, Doug Harper, and Mark Mason to name a few. He then had an opportunity to relocate to Detroit "The Rock City" with his buddies Michael & Richard Stacey. They wanted to reunite with their Father Richard Stacey Sr. whom they had not seen in over ten years because of their Mother's coddling. At age 23 Tommy Roeck left home, and the three of them made their move in October of that year. Brother Dave stayed, no matter how much he might have wanted to go with them. Dave took a job at Jordan Oldsmobile, made top mechanic, got married to Traci, formally adopted Tracies son Joshua and looked after his Dear Mother, Traci, & Josh.

Traci became pregnant and Dylan Robert Roeck was born in December of '92. Mildred was beside herself with joy, in December '93 along came Paul Hunter Roeck. Once again Mama was ecstatic! In 1998 Dave & Traci realized his father's dream of owning and operating a machine shop. He named it American Eagle Machine Shop and Metal Fabricating Inc. Things were tough at first for the rock and roll brothers in the North, sleeping in cars and the very welcomed couch touring at Richard Seniors and Bob Cibulka's houses, but Tommy was determined to be a success. A friend named Tony "Paquido Man" Genoa got all 3 of them jobs at a restaurant called Shenanigans and that's when the fun began! Tommy began Starving himself, lost over 100 lbs, and became bulimic and thin. Completely determined to make it or die trying.

Somewhere along the way Richard junior decided the party was over, and came home to his Mother Diane Williams. While Mike and Tommy stayed in the frigid north, sometimes it could get 60 below and you had to bundle up so you could go out in the dark frozen morning, take off your air cleaner, and spray starting fluid into your carburetor to start your car an hour before you even could leave. This meant that there was plenty of time to warm up in the shower and dry off, and put on two extra pairs of long johns before hustling out to the car without slipping down in some ice, and getting into that warm car. Mike got into a blues band and was playing backyard summer events while Tommy was going to the gym and working out regularly. He investigated all kinds of hot prospects, musically and spiritually. The Out of Hand Band was the first stepping stone on Rock's road to Motor City stardom, with virtuoso youngster Matt Mansour on bass and Dave "Mongo" Lyons on drums they were a formidable force.

Playing tons of Led Zeppelin covers accurately, they could draw an awesome crowd. There were many nights in 1985 when Roeck could look out off the stage and witness a virtual sea of bic lighters, literally hundreds of them. It seemed that the fans brought a pocket full of them as they always seemed to be burning brightly. Performing first at indoor / outdoor keg parties, and then larger clubs, like Joe Sgroi's "The Main Act" and "New York New York" with "Out of Hand". It was like a dream come true for the trio, Roeck was now being called "Rock" as the fans made this decision by adoring his talents and demeanor. As the hype grew, the fans got wilder and even the road crew got too crazy. One night they got stone drunk and demolished a dressing room at the Main Act, smashing tables, glasses, mirrors and a television monitor, and got the group barred. They worked in a second guitarist named Paul Wright there towards the end of the Out of Hand days, played a few more summer toga parties, and In mid 1986 "The Main Act" changed it's name to The Ritz.

The early to mid 80's were a lot different than it is today, there were no cell phones, Aids was not a public scare, compact discs were just going into production, there was no internet, and only the big cities had cable. MTV had just launched and video was killing the radio star, and live music ruled supreme. The fans wanted to go out all the time. And the groupies were the best of all time! oh man! Rock was just happy he lived through it all unscathed! Now that Tommy knew The Out of Hand Band was permanently barred from the Sgroi domain, and the limitations of singing and playing all the time became more relevant. Tommy decided he needed to become the singing car salesman. So he could connect with the audience and the women in greater detail.

He joined Rockdog as the Singer/ Front man, with Gary Pitts on guitar, Chris Scaglione on drums, and Donny Yacos on bass, they made a big stir as they rocked their asses off in full drag like Poison. Well, just imagine testosterone flying in full drag, spandex pants, and armadillos in their trousers? Tommy may have accidentally slept with most or all of his Rockdog band members so called girl friends and they hated him for it. The girls came after Rock, and there was a long line. He only did what any other young studly, Sammy Hagar/ Robert Plant look alike lead singer would do in the prime of his life, he worked out and took vitamins! Tommy learned that the freedom of not wielding an axe improved his vocal range and sex appeal. which helped sharpen his abilities to a fine edge. No longer was he thinking about chord changes, rather he was thinking what can I do to grab their/ her attention and keep it? After much success and notoriety he was fired from the band and replaced in late 1986, and they did not even get an honorable mention at Motor City Rock Dot Com.

Rock then joined up with former Out of Hand band mate Matt Mansour, Mattley introduced Tommy to guitarist Jac Glasgow, percussionist Mike Alonso and together they formed Hunky Dory. After the experience and exposure that Rockdog gave him, he, Mike and Jac easily managed to book "The Hunk" all over the Detroit metropolitan area and achieved super bar star status in less than a year. Opening for local superstars Seduce, and Mommies Dearest catapulted them to the top of the heap and they began opening for major national acts such as; Humble Pie, Head East. They were playing the same venues as Robin Trower, Gary Moore, Rough-cut, Femme Fatale, Lita Ford and others, and got into all the shows free, and partied with these visiting national acts. Scott Sacharczyk aka Spots did much of the bands artwork, flyers, roadied, a lot of partying and is still a friend of Rock's today. The Hunk-Ras were having a rough time of dealing with their new found popularity with nicknames going around the scene like Hunky "Fuck Me Hard" Dory, Hunky "Fucked up" Dory, Hunky "Fuck Me Like a Monkey" Dory etc., and they had been headlining some very large outdoor summer festivals, and just getting way too much attention.

Things were about to implode, or get sucked down the Sgroi drain. The fans knew it, either they were gonna blow up, or break up. Everybody was rooting for them, and their popularity skyrocketed, because all the fans thought it might be their last chance for some Hunk-Ra glory. The pressure was building up, and they were bickering over petty crap like Tommy wanting to play some rhythm guitar on a few tunes, and Jac and Mike did not want him to do anything but front, sell the band and connect with the fans. When they were asked to open for Cheap Trick at the State Fair, Jac asserted his executive founder privilege, and declined the invite. All Rock wanted to do is expand his horizons a little, and it seems that if they would have given in, he would always want more. But that's a Leo for ya, a Leo Rising at that. Steve from S.M.A. sound and lighting referred to them as "Rock Gods" every time they graced his presence on stage, and the fans loved them, but their collective egos eventually broke them up in the summer of 1988. Tommy started a band with guitarist Phil Hawley called City Boys. They did a few gigs, but nothing really happened for them except a great friendship was formed. Alonso split to L.A. for a chance to play drums for Flotsam & Jetsam, and then landed a deal with Dave King of Fast way, and recorded an album and 2 videos as "Katmandu" and was on MTV rotation in '89. After being in many other cool national acts, he is now touring the world with "The Electric Six".

The Hunk-Ra boys recruited Mickey St. Claire to play drums for one final farewell show in December of 1988. They all knew the Detroit hay days were over and Los Angeles was their best shot. One year later they were all living in Hollywood, Ca. pursuing different interests, but always remaining friends, and are still in touch on Face book today. Most of the best friends that Tommy had made while in Michigan were at that show, because they knew it was goodbye, Motor City Bar legends, Phil Hawley, Mike "The Snake" Edwards, Cornell Van Wikey, Paul Wright, The Captain, Carol Green and Tina, Ronnie Masters, Dave "Mad Dog" Masterson, J.D. Hogg, Tracey Brown, Spots, Dave Press, Matt Matthews, Angela Edwards, Jesus Everett, Bobby & Tom Hernandez, Mark Lowe, the entire cast of "Sweet Teaze", "Few & Far Between", "Sheer Heart", "Halloween", Heaven's Wish", "Matriarch", "Savage Grace", "Murder City" who later became "Sponge", "The Meanies", "Red Hush", "Back Track", "The Big", "Seduce", "Zeus" and many more that cannot be recalled. All friends who supported each other, and partied together through the mid to late 80's.  Tommy, Snake, & Mad Dog were Roomies. They all worked together at "The Red Lobster" in Warren and they affectionately called their crib on Peoria street "The Snake Pit". Almost every weekend they would throw wild after hours parties,  which only enhanced their legends. Mike "The Snake" Edwards passed in '99 in a car accident. Tommy wept.

He loved his fellow rockers like family, but he had to go, there was nothing for him there except more "Joe Sgroi Bars", and the freezing winters. Rock smelled adventure and a chance at a real record deal out West. Joe Sgroi was already trying to talk him  into a 5 year contract. They were trying to say that he couldn't go, Detroit needed him, and the even brought up some old flyer bills from the printers, that Jac was suppose to have paid months before. Because he handled all the money, paid the rent for our studio, bought back drops, gave the S.M.A. guys their cut and hired the road crew for every show, of which Tommy never saw a red cent! Jac said the money was spent before he got it, with radio ads, agent fees and all the extras. Glasgow did a great job managing that band, and Bobby and Mark, were the best road crew ever. Roeck did say this, "and I quote" "I never had to move one piece of gear, or do sound check, drank free, never paid a cover, showed up 40 minutes before show time, to get dressed, was treated like royalty, and had the greatest Rock & Roll experience of my life in Detroit, it changed my life and I made life long friends "The Motor City Rocks" (Hell to the Yeah!)" "End Quote"

It was during that last year in Detroit that Rock had struck up a friendship with the singer from "Madame X" Sebastian Bach. The two of them supported one another by going to each others shows, drinking, and devouring groupies together. If Rock was out performing with the Hunk, Bach was up in front of the 6 ft. stage at the Ritz or Harpos, screaming and Tommy would hand him the microphone and vice versa. If Bach was on the Madame X bus or was backstage in the dressing room, Rock would be there sooner or later and vice versa. Sebastian had to go home suddenly because his mother Catherine Bach aka "Daisy Duke" was in a near fatal car accident. That was the last time Tommy Rock ever saw his friend Sebastian Bach in person. Rock went home to Arkansas see his own people and regroup before he went on to Los Angeles. The next time Rock saw Sebastian was on the cover of "Hit Parade" as the singer for "Skid Row". His exact words were "That MOTHER FREAKER!  MADE IT! and Rock's X-GF Stacey said "what?" It was the Spring of '89, and he was in love. He couldn't say he wasn't glad to be home again! No more cold Detroit winters, and family and friends, and he had found a really nice young GF who was smart and sweet! His Mom liked her and they got along great! If he would have stayed in the South he would probably still be with her. But the music was in his blood, really bad. He wanted his shot. He promised his Mother that if he didn't make it,  he would be home in a few years. She was growing older, and he was worried about it! This was it! Make or break! He stayed around long enough to treat Mildred like a Queen, cooking specialty dishes like; Veal Marsalis, Sautéed Lamb Chops, and many more. Stacey pitched in and helped get the house cleaned up completely spotless. Now married, Rath is a great lady. Tommy should have treated her better.            

Roeck was home just long enough to get bored, He took a job as an ice cream truck driver for a while. The truck had a P.A. and he would drive around cranking Van Halen, you know the song. He was too full of life to stick around Hot Springs very long, but many players sought him out to jam, he ended up forming a Rock-n-Roll/ Blues band called Baby & the Blues Boys featuring Erica Jones on Lead Vocals, Dave Harvey on Guitar, Chris O'Rourke on Guitar, Mike Stacey on Drums, and he was playing a Stein Berger Bass. There was also a sound guy named Gregg Dodd, he had the P.A. and he sort of formed the group because of a St. Patties Day Party at the Saugatuck Bar (Oyster Bay) on Lake Hamilton and the owner was paying real good money and hired them. Rock figured what the heck I can jam with my friends and make some extra cash! The gig went stupendously and the memories made have lasted a lifetime, plus it was one heck of a party! after saying his goodbyes he hooked up with his main squeeze Stacey, and convinced her that L.A. was the place to go, and not Dallas, like she had planned. She consented and off they went, California or bust! Tommy never realized how much he would miss all of his Detroit and Arkansas friends, but little did he know, in less than a year most of them would be out in Hollywood together! It was like a mass migration of jacked up, and talented longhairs! I'll never forget Ralph's supermarket, or Denny's. You could go in either place, any hour of the day, and all you saw was brethren baby! Long hair, tattoos, leather bike jackets, bandannas, and hot bleach blonde, scantily dressed women! We were home! at least it felt like it

Tommy searched the vast Southern California music scene for the right combination of people to produce a viable product. Rooting around at huge rehearsal where houses in silicon valley he knocked on many doors, where he actually got to jam with people like Jimmy Swann, Andre Troxx, Izzy Stradlin, & Duff Mckagan as they were trying to reform "Hollywood Rose", because G-N-R was breaking up as User Illusion was being released. Chris Holmes & Blackie Lawless introduced Rock to Freddie Katzman a rich Jewish producer who was backing the new "Wasp" record, (Roeck actually got to do some backing vocals with Lawless, but never got a copy), Tommy partied with Vivian Campbell of then "The River Dogs" and soon to be in "Def Leppard" at The Rainbow and the Whiskey on several occasions, and Mick Sweda & Mark Torein of "The Bulletboys" were friends he made through Dog town, to name a few.. After many experimental ventures such as; Dog town, Z-Boys, Jimmy Steiger's Ways-n-Means, and many others, he struck what seemed to be gold with Beggar's Day in late 1989.

Raul Campos and Erick Onofrio were a killer bassist/ drummer team and the trio auditioned guitarists until they settled on two compatible players, Ozzy Stricklund & Russ McCabe. They began writing songs and playing all over Hollywood. The Whiskey, The Anti-Club, The Troubadour, & Exposure 54,  were all favorite venues they performed at regularly. The group recorded a demo in early 1990 and began shopping it around. Duff used to come and sit in with them, but he was usually too drunk to play. Chris Holmes had a Rehearsal space 5 doors away from theirs, and they used to crank up all 10 of his marshall full stacks, open the door and piss off the entire where-house, after they were considerably wasted on Tequila and Vodka. As Beggar's Day, they were so anti - poser that the big record companies said their music wasn't radio worthy, and after much frustration Ozzy left the band. He said he was going back home to Wisconsin where he could be a big fish in a small pond. They tried to carry on, but without that gutsy riffing of Ozzy's Les Paul Custom & his grinding Marshall, there was a spot too naked to fill and Tommy called it quits. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots had exploded onto the scene, Grunge was in and Hard Rock was out, as were many of the true Rock and Roll bands of that era. Campos, McCabe, and Onofrio continued on for awhile with Raul on the Beggar's Day vocals, and after a 7 year hiatus, they are now back writing, rocking, and jamming again with Rock's old buddy Matt Mansour on bass. Tommy has recently spoken with all of them and actually pointed Mattley in their direction.

Hollywood is a drowning pool, full of broken dreams and expensive living. With this in mind, Tommy elected to give the bright lights in Las Vegas a try, with the urgings of his GF Stacey. Right off he joined an established metal band named Xavier, performed several gigs with them around Vegas which opened a lot of doors. Club Rock, Eddies, Shark's were all regular haunts. X and Myca were hard to work with, very lax, and constantly late. Tommy hit a brick wall esthetically and left the group due to artistic differences. He hooked up with Greek Guitarist Georgios Bartsillianos and the two hit a groove. After much trial & error, the duo finally found a drummer and bassist team in Kenny Ardiaz and Mike Schdicks. While consuming a bottle of Jack Daniels at rehearsal one night, they stumbled across the name Old Number Seven and the band was christened. They did it up! The Vegas scene was no match for their impressive songwriting skills, or charisma. They played every venue they could manage and received much respect from local rock patrons. Mike was replaced by Bobby Gallagher for tardiness, and D.J. Freddie Woods loved the band and helped them immensely, They Headlined The Hurricane Club and blew it away! but the party never stops in the town that never sleeps, and it took it's toll on the boys. Tommy couldn't take the crank heads anymore, and moved back home to Hot Springs in 1994, though he keeps in touch with the boys via e-mail and the occasional phone call. Kenny is still in Vegas, along with Gallagher. Bartsillianos is currently in Dallas Fort Worth Area, and Schdicks is touring in several different bands.

A friend told Tommy that Van Halen was staying at the Sahara and were gambling in the casino. He had just seen them at The UNLV Arena in late 1993 and had to go see, hell it's Vegas anything is possible. He casually walked around and spotted Alex sitting at the dollar slots, pulled up a seat next to him, dropped a few coins, and pulled a few arms and said "hey Alex Van Halen you freaking rock my world man!", Alex looked at him and smiled, and said "thanks man! geese you look just like Sammy!" Tommy said "I get that a lot, I'm a singer too, especially in the San Diego/ Riverside area". "Will you sign my cassette sleeve, and where is everyone else?" Alex gave him his signature and said "Sammy and Mikey are out with their wives, but Eddie is over there playing blackjack, you want to meet him? Let's go freak him out!" Roeck said "Okay!" So they walked over to where Eddie was playing blackjack and Alex says "look who I found!" Eddie kind a glanced up and said "I thought you went with Mike and your old lady to the MGM?"

Tommy said "Hey dude I got a bone to pick with you!" Eddies eyes popped open, took a good look and said "You ain't freaking Sammy! WTF?" Alex said laughingly "He sure looks like him doesn't he bro?" Eddie says "kind a, so do you play or sing?" Roeck says "yeah! for about 20 yrs now! but y-you're my favorite!" So Eddie Van Halen gets up and says "I'm tired of this shit! You want to go upstairs and jam for a little while?" Tommy says "Oh yes! Oh my god" Eddie said "calm down and put on your sunglasses, pull your hair down around your face, and act like you belong, and if security doesn't stop you, you're in!" But if they ask you for your I.D. you got to go!" Well security didn't even give a second look and needless to say they were some of the most treasured minutes of Rock's entire life! EVH showed him a bunch of his signature licks, and they had a blast jamming and partying until Ed said "I got to get you out of here before the real Sammy does come back or my road manager Bob will have my ass! He's such a little Dick he said, he spells his name frontward and backwards, nya! nya! he'll slap a fine on me for not going through proper channels!" Tommy got him to sign his cassette sleeve and Eddie walked him out to the elevator, shook his hand, gave him a pick and said "see ya man, keep on rockin'  Tommy was high on cloud 9 for over a week!

Upon returning to his Arkansas home, with much celebrating and rejoicing by his family, Roeck formed Misbehavin' with old high school buddy Richard "The Duck" Stacey and local tattooist/drummer Red beard. They rehearsed in Beard's studio for months until they landed house gigs at the Ohio Club & Brew skies. Between Red beard's tattoo clientele and Tommy and Duck's wild antics onstage they developed a rather large following of fans. They started the hard rock movement in Hot Springs, said John Talley, a local singer/ songwriter and then owner of Brewskies. "This town needs an enema" was the band's credo as they performed covers by Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, & Metallica. Red beard met Angie and the two fell in love. They married and opened The Living Canvas Tattoo Studio in 1996 which left Beard no choice but to pursue his life's ambition and build a thriving business. With Angie's help they now have one of the most popular and busy tattoo shops in the states. Kudos to them! Tommy then called local percussionist Shannon Summit and the group continued to play. After some time they were the talk of the town and hard rock fans came out of the woodwork to see their favorite local band. The Ohio Club changed hands and musical formats, & Brewskies burned down which left the group disheartened and they disbanded.

Then Tommy received a phone call from old partner in crime Dave Harvey, asking him to join his group Second Nature with Vocalist John Wolfe, & Drummer Gary Rauss in the summer of 1996. Roeck agreed and soon they were once again setting new trends in the musical world of Hot Springs, but with a new name, Area 51. They performed in Little Rock a lot and the surrounding areas, but could always pack the house at Johnny's (Odie's) in their hometown and had quite the following. Gary got married and moved to Oklahoma, which left the door open for Shannon Summit to come on board for awhile. Dave found God and left to pursue a Christian influenced project 3:16, Shannon lost interest, and John just gave up and started drinking. Which left Tommy no band and several gigs left on the books to fulfill. He scrambled together what would soon be the new incarnation of Area 51, featuring Ben Thompson on vocals, Jerry Beasley on drums and Scott Bowes on bass. This package was raw, but awesome in it's own right.

Area 51 became one of the most popular acts the sleepy town of Hot Springs had ever seen. Performing regularly at Player's throughout Race meet they could always pack the house and set new attendance sales records for the bar. With Darryl Larson running sound for them, Ben's propeller style and screaming vocals, Tommy's guitar flipping and harmonies, and Jerry and Scott's awesome backbone, they set the mark for hard rock in the region. Often imitated but never duplicated, their set list showed up at more than one band's table for the next few years. They wrote and recorded a demo, entitled "First Contact" and released it locally. After it was all said and done, Area 51 is still remembered.

Tommy was working at local music store Banjo Dan's teaching guitar & bass and repairing all types of musical equipment when the call came in from the Spa City Blues Society's then president Roger Menifee. They needed a house guitarist for the weekly Wednesday night blues jam and asked Tommy to fill the position. He agreed and with that he began a love for the blues in many forms. Jamming with Steve Danger on drums, and Rooster Meeks on standup bass, they had a great time performing in front of an always packed house. Tommy met many talented players and soon formed Alias Jones with bassist Jerry Wallis, Drummer Larry Sorter, & Vocalist Raven Cooper. He then left the Jam after 7 months to pursue his new band's endeavors. They performed all over the Arkansas area in many blues venues and were well received. Raven left the band and was replaced by Harp man Wayne Galbavy. They won the Spa City's blues Talent Competition as Tommy Roeck & the Alien Blues Band, went to Memphis, saw Graceland, competed, lost and came home. They said his name is Tommy Rock, not Tommy Blues, and they were right! With Scott Bowes on bass, Jerry Beasley on drums and Wayne Galbavy on harp, they drew quite a crowd playing on Beale street and had a blast, but they were too rock to win at the blues! The band continued on until Tommy met Jody Johannsen in the summer of 1998, and the two were married in July the following year.

During that last year Roeck formed a hard rock quartet, Deep with Larry Sorter, Scott Bowes, and guitarist Chris O'Rourke. Deep was a killer band, they were the first group in the area to perform covers and originals with seven string guitars and five string basses, again the people loved them and flocked to their shows. They recorded a demo "Wrong Side of the Traxx" in that year and started to shop it to major labels around the country. With limited interest and Tommy's time running short having to divide his time between his wife Jody, her children, Wendi, Miranda and Jake, a solo career performing with his acoustic, Alias Jones, Area 51, and Deep, he decided to take a hiatus from music for a few years and concentrate on his new, instant family.

Putting his electronics degree to good use, he sought a career in digital satellite technology and had his own subcontracting and home entertainment business Aero Satellite Home Entertainment with his former wife Jody - He performed occasionally with friends Shannon Summit & Kristen Hunt. He shattered his left ankle in a freak accident working for Directv in the rain in March of '04 and was on Workman's Comp for 7 long and grueling months. In December 04, he formed a new band, Victim of Change with old buddy David Harvey and Drummer Tommy Long and played many local Spa City venues, with a "no Squirrels" attitude that was their battle cry to no avail, as the muck of the limited venues and talent pool of the area got the best of them. He then returned to work, but was never able to move as fast as he once could and was not able make the kind of money he was used to, and had to turn down countless jobs because of his limited mobility.

Directv then laid him off in June of '06. He had left Jody after valiantly trying to make things work for several years, but daddy was never his name. He started living his version of life again - writing, recording, playing gigs - where he met up with Mark Hill at a local music store after playing together on the spot in Spa City Music's acoustic room and doing enough songs - they booked some gigs as Rock-n-Hill. Mark Hill was a flake and after a year or so Tommy knew it would never work out. Hill was constantly late for gigs, until one day he just didn't show up and Rock never heard from him again.

Tommy continued to play with many different 2nd's so to speak until he was forced by 2720 club owner Jeff Jenkins to either get a steady acoustic second or play solo. Well the stars were shining and he was lucky enough to get renowned local guitar guru Bobby Rogers to join the gig. The duo share a musical connection and direction unlike anything either of them had ever experienced before...and an unmatched sound and brotherhood. As long as the gigs keep coming they will be playing together for a long time to come.......at first they called the act Rock & Rogers it was a natural thing, and landed the Thursday night house gig at Lucky's bar for over a year. Just by chance a new name came to unfold and they now are the Acoustic Merlin's and are by far the best sounding working situation either of them has ever been associated with. They plan to be playing together way into their retirement years...

After Mr. Hill disappeared, Spa City Music store owner Chad Carter approached Tommy about coming in as a partner, and he jumped at the chance. For over 2 great years they made a go of it buying, selling, fixing, trading, doing all the things you do in a music store, and developed a lifelong friendship. The shop is located right next door to McClards, and Joe Perry being a BBQ aficionado actually came into the shop one day after he just had to come get a case of McClards BBQ sauce while "Aerosmith" was on tour in Little Rock in '07. He and Roeck traded a few licks on his '59 DC Reissue Dan electro guitar. It was 5 glorious minutes that Tommy will never forget, the limo was waiting and Joe had a show to do at Alltel Arena. With the slipping economic times making it harder every month to make it, they elected to just close the shop and use it for a recording studio/ rehearsal space. And they are still great friends that would take a bullet for one another. Carter has since has released a C.D. with his group Unseen Eye and is tearing up the local Southern Blues circuit.

In the spring of '07, Tommy formed The Old School Players - with long time bassist friend Scott Bowes and master percussionist Steve Avary on drums. The trio was everything Tommy had been searching for at that time, but again he was limited by being the lead singer and lead guitarist. After he had a bout with laryngitis he called his old front man from Area 51- Ben Thompson to help out. Well this was it they thought, the musical magic was back. With a booming economy, and good pay, a need for a second guitarist arose, they called Chris O'Rourke to come and join the band. Now they really had a great sound. Big and thick, lots of vocals, and tons of charisma and talent. They performed all over the natural state kicking ass and taking names until the economy went south, and the venues couldn't afford a quintet, so they were forced to go their separate ways and form 2 separate groups in order to survive.

During this time Drummer J.D. Beasley was invited to fill in for Avary, as he was busy playing for John Calvin Brewer, and then he and Roeck formed The Ferguson Rock Project with Jim Ferguson and Dona Rankin. This was fun for awhile, and paid the bills, but it didn't last, as Beasley and Roeck are hard rockers, and the Rankin/ Ferguson team prefer the lighter side of rock and country and formed "Midnight Parade". With Bose out gallivanting in "Riff Raff" Chuck Smith was called to play bass. Then Smith, Thompson, Beasley, and Roeck formed "After Eden" in the winter of '09. So far so good, Chuck is a much better match for this group musically and mentally. All is well, the 4 of them are content, and the band is booked all over the state and is getting great reviews. If you get a chance, go see them as you will surely not be disappointed! Please visit After Eden Group

Tommy has been undergoing a lot of soul searching since the passing of his Mother Mildred Roeck on Cinco De Mayo of '09. She gave him a Mother's love, life and everything else including his first guitar. His only wish is to make her proud of him as she watches from heaven, perched there with his Father Robert on angels wings. Now just recently he has launched his own e-zine called Southern Rock Star Magazine influenced by Peter Read, and is working very closely with Arkansas Internet Radio, Little Rock Entertainment, and Night flying the Entertainment Guide in an effort to help improve the Southern Rock Music Scene for all. He has made many new friends in the Little Rock and surrounding areas such as, Wayne Willems, Mary Holt, Chris Maran, Posx, Greg McCuin, Sharpe Dunaway, Darryl Yates, Erick & Diggit Johnson, Franklin Warfe, Tim Bird, Skinny, Jobe Kara, Kenny Tillery, Cami Henderson, The Reedy's, Kramer, Nancy & Steve Harnar, Tony Buck, Rodney Ledbetter, Rena Wren, Teresa Hunt, Blue Zulpo, Cbum Yancey, Aaron Owens, Joe Churchwell, Doc Davis, David & Sherri Hughes, Tonya Hunt, John Dean, Heavy, Sherry Myers, Mike Parker, James Foard, and Danny Milsaps to name a few, and is thankful for their love and support. His only plans are to pray, play, live, eat, drink, sleep, breathe, create, produce, record, dream, journalize, personify, and defecate music, while eek-ing out a living and treating people honestly and fairly, until the good lord decides its time to bring him home. Then he can be with his parents and loved ones. God bless you all!