Tommy holds a Ph.D. from the University of Salford located outside of Manchester, England. He also holds a M.M. from Cal State LA, a teaching credential from Cal State Northridge and a B.M. from the University of Denver.
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His first book, Van Halen: The Music and the Fans, 1978-1986, is published by Pearson. 
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His second book, Preparing the Commercial Guitarist, is published by Cheeky Chappy Music.  |
Current and completed research projects
Harrison, T. (forthcoming 2010) American History Through Music: Music of the 1980s. New York: Greenwood Press. A contribution to a series that discusses music and its relationship towards specific historical periods.
Harrison, T. (forthcoming 2010) American History Through Music: Music of the 1990s. New York: Greenwood Press. A contribution to a series that discusses music and its relationship towards specific historical periods.
Harrison, T. April, 2010. Butch Vig and the Sound of Grunge in 1991. A discussion on Butch Vig’s role as producer for albums made by prominent alternative rock artists in 1991.
Harrison, T. April, 2009. Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Scholarship. A one–hour lecture and demonstration detailing research into different trends in 1980s hard rock and heavy metal. Formal paper delivered as part of the College of Fine Arts Faculty Symposium Series, Jacksonville University.
Harrison, T. April, 2009. Defending the Faith: Judas Priest’s compositional devices in the early 1980s. A discussion on the group Judas Priest, and the group’s identifying characteristics that established early New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Formal paper delivered at the Faculty Symposium, Jacksonville University.
Harrison, T. March, 2008. Cry Tough: Poison and glam hard rock style in the 1980s A discussion on the group Poison, and the group's identifying characteristics that established glam hard rock style. Formal paper delivered at the Faculty Symposium, Jacksonville University.
Harrison, T. Shake Your Money Maker: Tesla, the Black Crowes and Authenticity in the late 1980s. A discussion on two hard rock groups that differed stylistically from others in the hard rock genre in the late 1980s. Formal paper to be delivered at the 6th Annual International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, HI, January, 2008.
Marraccini, M. (Producer).Videos That Rocked the World: Alanis Morissette's You Outta Know, Initial airing date, 2007, December 6 (Television Broadcast) New York: FUSE Music Television.
Harrison, T. (2007). Decoding Van Halen: Sexual Coding Devices of a Hard Rock Group, 1978-1984, in International Journal on the Humanities, Vol. 5. A discussion on semiotic coding found in songs written by Van Halen with lyrics that focused on sex, and how the writing affected audience perception of two of the band's vocalists.
Harrison, T. (2007). Butch Vig and the Sound of Grunge in 1991. A discussion on Butch Vig's role as producer for albums made by prominent alternative rock artists in 1991.
Harrison, T. July, 2007. Decoding Van Halen: Sexual Coding Devices of a Hard Rock Group, 1978-1984, a discussion on semiotic coding devices found in selected songs recorded by Van Halen, and its reflection on two of the group's vocalists. Formal paper delivered at 5th Annual International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, American University, Paris, France.
Harrison, T. July, 2007: Van Halen: Harmonic Development, 1978-1986, an analysis of changes in the group's writing style. Formal paper delivered at the 18th Congress of the International Musicological Society Zurich, Switzerland.
Harrison, T. June, 2007. A Modern Golden City of Music, an investigation of the musical elements that led to heavy metal and hard rock's popularity and demise in the music industry in Los Angeles of 1980s, and a comparison with 18th and 19th Century Vienna. Formal paper delivered at the bi-annual international meeting of the International Association of Study of Popular Music, Universidad Iberio Americano, Mexico City, Mexico.
Harrison, T. (May 2007). "Empire: Chart Performance of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Groups, 1990-1992," in Popular Music and Society, Vol. 30, No. 2. A discussion on hard rock and heavy metal groups in 1991 and 1992, their chart positions as noted in Billboard magazine, and how a change in chart compliation methods by Soundscan affected groups in the genres.
Harrison, T. March, 2007. Cover songs in the career of an original hard rock group, Van Halen A discussion on how each of the band's vocalists were viewed by fans of the group. Formal paper delivered at the Faculty Symposium, Jacksonville University.
Harrison, T. January, 2007: Mentor to a Hero: Eric Clapton and Van Halen. An discussion on Clapton's impact on Edward Van Halen, and comparison between a similar guitar solo. Formal paper delivered at the 5th Annual International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, HI.
Harrison, T. October 2006. Cover songs in the career of an original hard rock group, Van Halen. A discussion on how each vocalist was viewed by fans of the group. Formal paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Midwest Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Indianapolis, IN.
Harrison, T. September 2006. Jimi Hendrix as Artist/Producer. A discussion on Hendrix's contribution to Electric Ladyland as a record producer. Formal paper delivered at the second Art of Record Production conference, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Harrison, T. April 2006. Hard Rock Music and Identity: Audience perception of two Van Halen vocalists, 1978-1986. A discussion on how each vocalist was viewed by fans of the group. Formal paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Pacific Sociology Association, Hollywood, CA.
Harrison, T. January, 2006. Phil Spector, the Righteous Brothers, and the Wall of Sound in 1965. Analysis of production techniques used by Spector on Righteous Brothers recordings released in 1965. A formal paper delivered at the 4th Annual International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, HI.
Harrison, T. January, 2005: Van Halen: Harmonic Development, 1978-1986. An analysis of changes in the group's writing style. Formal paper delivered at the 3rd Annual International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, HI.
Harrison, T. (2005). Defining Mainstream Rock, 1978-1992. A discussion on sub-genres of mainstream rock of the 1980s.
Harrison, T. December, 2004: The Real Truth About the Music Business. Guest lecture addressing artist royalty, calculation, and production management for Music Business and General Education courses, Elizabeth City State University.
Harrison, T. (2004). Van Halen: Changes in their Stylistic Development and Critical Examination of Audience Reception, 1978-1986. 70,000 word definitive work discussing Van Halen's place in popular music by analyzing stylistic development of compositional styles, guitar technique, and timbre in the context of their popularity. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Salford.
Harrison, T. February 2003. The Hidden Gem: The Music Engineering Technology Program at Elizabeth City State University. Promoted awareness of the local resources and the university, Elizabeth City Rotary Club, NC.
Harrison, T. (1998). Production of a Recording Featuring the Guitar in Commercial Settings. A compact disc showcasing my performances and arrangements of guitar music in a variety of commercial genres, including rock, classical, country, folk and jazz. A 50-page paper discussing procedure was included in the submission. Masters Thesis, California State University, Los Angeles.
Harrison, T. (1995). Incorporating Popular Music into the Secondary School Curriculum. A comprehensive plan promoting the inclusion of popular music as an improvement of the traditional school music program. California State University, Northridge.
Harrison, T. (1995) Assessment of Public School Music Programs. An analysis of the current music programs in the surrounding areas. California State University, Northridge.