Kala Ambassador

Tommy "Rocks" Anderson is a passionate advocate for the ukulele and a true triple threat on the instrument — a performer, educator, and operator of his own boutique shop! Known for decades as a guitarist and singer, in Arizona he is also regarded as one of the top ukulele players in the state. He is the creator of the innovative Jerome Ukulele Orchestra, who's repertoire includes ukulele standards along with songs by The Clash, Talking Heads, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan and more. In a matter of a few years, they have included nearly 500 songs into their wildly popular shows, and have performed in clubs, parades, festivals and TV shows.

Tommy later formed the Sedona Ukulele Posse in conjunction with the Sedona Arts Center where he taught ukulele for two years. Tommy has performed close to 1,000 shows on ukulele in Arizona, Colorado, California and Hawaii. His main “axes” are the Kala KA-KTGE-C and the Kala KA-SRT-CTG-CE.

Onstage, Tommy is known to “break the rules” on ukulele; using an electronic tanpura as a drone instrument, he cranks up the reverb on his vocals and, using his Kala KA-SRT-CTG-CE as a sitar, performs “Within Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles!