Hi , I'm Tom Hinson and I've been playing,collecting and loving all kinds of music for most of my life. I grew up listening to Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Stan Getz,The Beatles,James Brown,Wilson Pickett, Jimi Hendrix,Motown and the list goes on and on.   My parents were big jazz lovers.  My father was the leader of a 12 piece jazz,swing band in the 40's, called "The Stardusters", where he played bass and my mother would some times sing with the band.  My older sister plays banjo and guitar and my younger sister plays a mean blues harmonica !  My son is a bass player and enjoys all kinds of music !    I have lived in Hawaii for many years where I had a guitar shop.  I bought, sold, played, traded and rented all kinds of musical instruments and played guitar and bass in many different bands through the years.    This gave me the opportunity to meet many interesting people from all over the world and also some of my favorite guitar players like Barney Kessel,B.B. King, Billy Gibbons,Eric Johnson, Kim Simmonds and Rick Derringer.   One of the bands that I was in got to open up for B.B.King on Maui in November 2003.   It was all a very rewarding experience !

 My band, The Fifth, in 1966 was my first band in Rockville,MD.  The band was named The Fifth because we borrowed the drums, name included, from our drummer's older brother. We would rotate practice (ear torture) sessions at each others parent's houses,garages and basements.  I think we were playing the Van Morrison hit, "Gloria", in this shot.     We were really rockin' until some kid on his bike ran over the orange extension cord (running in through the school window) and unplugged the band !    The picture was taken by the local Rockville, MD. newspaper reporter and the caption read: This band is called the "The Fifth" , actually it's only four but I guess it doesn't really matter.  What The Fifth makes a habit of is turning afternoon playground sessions at West Rockville Elementary School into "Concrete A Go-Go" !  The band, from left to right are :Mike Baker, 13, Vocals - Dave Berry, 12, Drums- Mike Noyes,12, guitar- and Tom Hinson,11,Guitar.   

Before this picture was taken we used tennis rackets for guitars,with cardboard cut out over the guts with knobs,pickups etc..drawn in with string cords plugged into cardbord boxes, labeled VOX, and more boxes (and assorted kitchen items) for drums and percussion as we played along with the Beatles records !    We had a great time !!   For those of you who can relate to this prepubescent desire to ROCK,  I hope this brings back fond memories !  

    I have been a member of the Ebay community since January 2004 and do my best to be fair and honest with everyone and offer free shipping and no reserve price on most of my auctions.   I welcome any fellow ebayers to contact me anytime.  Please read my feedback comments for peace of mind and bid on my auctions with confidence !  All of my auctions have certain guidlines and policies that are in place to make sure that all transactions are positive. I also offer a generous return, refund policy on most of my auctions.    Even if my auctions state: "as-is", I will still do my best to resolve any problems and make sure that we are both satisfied with the transaction and will be able to exchange positive feedback ! When I had my store in Hawaii I made sure that all of my customers were happy and had an enjoyable experience !  I plan to do the same here on Ebay !    I hope to continue making more friends and contacts all over the world ! The picture of Billy G. and me giving the Hawaiian Salute (a.k.a. "shaka" ) was taken in front of my guitar shop in Honolulu, Hawaii in November of 1997 !    That day had to be one of the best times, getting to meet and hang out with one of my favorite guitar players!   Thank you for looking,enjoy and play the blues !!  

I'm currently playing guitar with a few different bands in Hawaii. Dux Delux and Big Dawg. If you're coming to Hawaii, let me know and I can give you our schedule and help guide you to check out the music that you're looking for ! 

 Aloha, Tom Hinson

Thanks for looking :-)