Tom Dimock grew up as the middle child of five in a household where music was always an important element. His mom sang in the church choir and played piano and was probably the single largest musical influence in his childhood years. In fourth grade, he started violin lessons, because the school ran out of available clarinets, and the rest as they say is history. Aside from his mother's constant reminders of his Irish heritage, his first exposure to Irish music was an Irish Rovers record, worn out long ago, and St. Patrick's Day performances by a group from Ireland every year at O'Brien's Inn in Waverly NY.  While in the eighth grade, his Dad received a banjo for Christmas and this factor, coupled with the recent release of the "Dueling Banjos" album fired up Tom's resolve to learn to play the banjo.

Tom's two brothers Mike and Andy also learned to play guitar and violin and the boys cut their musical teeth on a variety of bluegrass, folk and country rock groups from the 70's including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, America, CSNY, and Gordon Lightfoot to name a few.   During college, Tom's parents continued to provide encouragement to his musical pursuits, driving miles to attend every one of his performances in the college's Pub!  

While attending graduate school, Tom was re-introduced to Irish music, playing fiddle, guitar and banjo in a regularly performing folk trio named "Dooneen."  During this period, the depth of his Irish repertoire grew rapidly. Shortly thereafter he met Jim Hull who was performing as a solo act in a local Irish pub. Together, the two formed the nucleus of the band "Friends", a very popular acoustic, rock and folk band.  Tom met keyboardist Tim Emmons in the early 90's while on hiatus from the band, and the two performed together in the "Out Of Hand Acoustic Band".  Their musical partnership continued when both re-joined Friends with Jim and followed the band's evolution from acoustic to country to rock and roll.  

Today, Tom, Jim and Tim perform as "Old Friends", a name well suited for the band, reflecting the relationship and history of its members and the return to its music roots. 

The Circle is indeed Unbroken