Hamilton Loomis

Life and career Loomis was born in Galveston, Texas, United States, to musical parents and he learned to play the drums, piano, guitar and harmonica at an early age. In his teenage years, he was part of a doo-wop singing family group that performed at the Delta Blues Festival. Having broken away from this stricture, Loomis began playing solo and met a number of renowned blues musicians. Loomis also got help and advice from others including Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and Albert Collins. Diddley especially became a friend and mentor to Loomis, later making guest appearances on a couple of Loomis' albums (Hamilton and Ain't Just Temporary), and giving Loomis a red guitar that he still plays.

He later returned to Ham-Bone Records as he felt that Blind Pig, as a blues only outlet, was restricting his output purely along those lines. Give It Back (2013) featured Victor Wooten (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones) on bass and vocals. In the liner notes to the album, Loomis commented that he was hoping to share his knowledge with younger musicians. The title track was a musical tribute to his own mentors, and Loomis stated, "Now that they have passed, it's my duty, not just an obligation, to do the same with this generation's young musicians. That's giving it back, handing it down, passing it on, like the song says." Loomis and his band had an extensive touring schedule in the United States throughout the first eight months of 2016. 2017 has an equally busy tour schedule with performances in a number of Texas and Midwest venues, along with performance dates in the UK throughout July and August.

Family

Hamilton Loomis is married to Sabrina LaField and they have one son, named Bo, after Bo Diddley, one of Loomis' influences.

Discography

Albums Year Title Record label Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart 1994 Hamilton Ham-Bone Records 1996 Just Gimme One Night Ham-Bone Records 2000 All Fired Up Ham-Bone Records 2002 Live: Highlights Ham-Bone Records 2003 Kickin' It Blind Pig Records 2007 Ain't Just Temporary Blind Pig Records No. 7 2009 Live in England Ham-Bone Records 2013 Give It Back Ham-Bone Records 2017 Basics Ham-Bone Records