Born and raised in Detroit Michigan, Tony “Strat” Thomas started out playing a six-string razor in high school.
After Thomas’ mother saw his talent she bought him a Stratocaster Guitar. The rest is history.
Early on while landing small gigs, Thomas joined the legendary reggae band Onyx and other rock ‘n roll bands around town. A true artist, Thomas’ psychedelic sound was one-of-a-kind. Thomas has been compared to his music mentors Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Hazel.
In 1978, George Clinton gave Thomas a shot to play in the studio with the Sterling Silver Starship. As Thomas continued to work with Clinton as a studio musician, Clinton gave Thomas his big break.
Thomas joined George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Eddie Hazel, Garry Shider, Mike Hampton, Bernie Worrel, Bobby Womack, David “Chong” Spradley and Margua Booker to record and perform with The Parliament Funkadelic’s for over 20 years.
“The Agony of Defeet” was Tony’s first guitar solo. He has played on various P-Funk projects such as the first P-Funk Allstars album songs such as Catcher Keeper, Hydraulic Pump, and Pumpin it Up.
Thomas’ favorite project was Computer Games, featuring Atomic Dawg, and Loopzilla. That’s Thomas on the guitar loop!
A seasoned recording artist, Thomas has shared both the stage and studio with Sly Stone, Ike Turner, Rick James, The Dramatics, Ron Banks, L.J. Reynolds, Don Davis, Robin Trower, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kid Rock, Sebastian Bach, Skid Row, Steve Marriott-Humble Pie, Quincy Jones, Wayne Shorter, Glenn Goins, Ron Ford, Treylewd, Cameo, The Dazz Band, Parlet, Gabe Gonzalez, Mike “Clip” Payne, P-Nut Johnson, Lige Curry, Blackbyrd, Dennis Chambers, Rodney Skeet Curtis, The Ali Brothers (Jerome and Jimi), Mudbone, Razor Sharp, Donnie Sterling, Kiddo, My Baby Belita Woods, The Brides of Funkenstein, Malia Franklin, Leslie “Blonda” Vocino, Jocaine and many more!
Tony is currently working on his new CD as well as writing and producing Funk and Rock Music. Marley Beverage’s marketing team also chose Thomas to play at many of their sponsored events throughout the midwest.
He founded the Tony Strat Thomas Funk Mob, and co-founded the P-Funk Outlawz. Both bands include original Parliament Funkadelic members and other world-class musicians from The Motor City!
Thomas is recording new music with Maruga Booker and the Cosmic Hoedown Band. He will be featured on Maruga’s future projects.