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Tom Brier

Tom Brier
Tom Brier in 2013
Tom Brier in 2013
Background information
Born (1971-10-03) October 3, 1971 (age 54)
Oakdale, California, U.S.
GenresRagtime
OccupationsMusician, composer
InstrumentPiano
LabelsStomp Off, BaySounds Records
Websitetombriermusic.com

Tom Brier (born October 3, 1971) is an American ragtime composer and pianist.

Early life and career

Tom Brier was born in Oakdale, California on October 3, 1971.[1][2] Recognized as a child prodigy,[3][1] Brier began picking out tunes on the family player piano at age 5.[1] By the age of 11, he had written the scores to nearly two dozen ragtime compositions; his first serious piece being "Pine Cone Rag" (1982).[2][4] At 14, Brier was performing at ragtime societies and festivals in the Sacramento area.[4][1] After High School, Brier studied computer science at California State University in Turlock, California, graduating in 1993 with a bachelor's degree. He then went on to work for the county of Sacramento as a programmer and analyst. From age 14 until 2016, Brier performed regularly at ragtime festivals, including the West Coast Ragtime Festival, Santa Cruz Ragtime Festival, the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri, Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival, among others.[5] Having written over 200 piano compositions, Brier's most popular and well-known work is "Razor Blades".[6][2]

Recordings of "Borneo Rag" and "Indian Summer", performed by Nan Bostick and Tom Brier, were featured in the 2005 biographical documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson by filmmaker Ken Burns.[7] He is listed as a musical influence on soundtrack for the 2017 videogame Cuphead.[8] In 2023, Brier received the Ragtime Outstanding Achievement Award from the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation.[9] The Tom Brier Scholarship is awarded annually at the Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival in his honor.[10]

YouTube

In the late 2000s, Brier gained fame on YouTube and within the gaming community for his sight-reading performances and "Brier-ized" cover versions of well-known video game themes posted by "online ragtime enthusiast" Ron O'Dell.[4][better source needed] Brier's ragtime versions of popular songs from video game soundtracks such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda garnered a fan base following and millions of views.[11][better source needed]

Car accident

On August 6, 2016, Brier was involved in a car accident that left him severely injured. Suffering from a brain injury that caused paralysis from the neck down,[4][12] Brier was unable to "write, walk, speak or play the piano."[2] After being in a coma for over two months,[4] he spent several years in neuro & physical therapy and lives, as of 2023, with his parents in Oakdale, California.[9][2][4] In the years following his accident, biographical videos documenting Brier's career were posted on video sharing platforms with updates on his condition and music.[13][14][15][16] Brier has slowly been regaining the ability to write, when he signed items for the 2023 Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival.[14]

Selected compositions

Source: [17][2][18]

  • Blackberry Fox Trot (2004)
  • Blue Lampshade (2003)
  • Blue Sahara (2009)
  • Breadline Blues (2001)
  • Brier Patch Rag (1991)
  • Carmine (2010)
  • Corn Chowder (2009)
  • Cookie-Cutter Rag (2008)
  • Delphinium Rag (2011)
  • Elephant Tracks (2004)
  • Esmeralda (Fox Trot) (2009)
  • Front Porch Rag (2000)
  • Fumble Fingers (2001)
  • Goldeneye Rag (1999)
  • Hardscrabble – Two Step (2013)
  • Humming Bird Rag (1988)
  • Imperial Fox Trot (2001)
  • Juniper Rag (1991)
  • Just Peachy (1992)
  • Lucky Me (1997)
  • Millennium Rag (1994)
  • New Wave Rag (1995)
  • No Foolin' (2006)
  • Old Hickory (2000)
  • One Too Many (1996)
  • Over The Top (1994)
  • Partytime Rag(1987)
  • Parallelograms (2006)
  • Peril in Pantomime (2008)
  • Pratfalls (1998)
  • Ragging To Sacramento (1987)
  • Razor Blades (1994)
  • Redneck Rag (2008)
  • Rhythmodik (2004)
  • Rubber Band Rag – It's a Snap! (1991)
  • Skipping Along (1998)
  • Skunk Hollow Rag (2001)
  • Spasmodic (2005)
  • Squish It (Fox Trot) (1997)
  • Step It Up (2006)
  • Sunlight and Shadow (1998)
  • Tarnation (2015)
  • The Oakdale Tickler (1988)
  • Thorns and Thistles – A Sharp Rag (1992)
  • Vim and Vigor (2016)
  • Watch Your Step (2012)
  • Wellington Rag (1991)
  • Y-Knot (2005)
  • You Said It (2006)

Discography

  • Rising Star (1994)
  • Generic (1997)
  • Pianola (2000)
  • Dualing at the McCoys (with Nan Bostick, 2003)
  • Skeletons (2003)
  • Rewind (2006)
  • Missing You at the McCoys (with Nan Bostick, 2006)
  • Blue Sahara (2009)
  • Constellations (2012)
  • Tom Brier – Live in Concert (2015)

+ with other artists

  • Raspberries To Crow About (2009)
  • Ragtime Wizardry (Various Artists, Tom Brier, 2014)
  • Raspberries in the Briar Patch (2015)
  • Ragtime Wizardry: Volume 2 (Various Artists, Tom Brier, 2019)

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Tom Brier Receives 2023 Award". Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation. January 12, 2024. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Swearingen, Corte. "Tom Brier". American Piano Music. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  3. ^ Gloor, Peter A. (2022). Happimetrics: Leveraging AI to Untangle the Surprising Link Between Ethics, Happiness and Business Success. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 9781803924021. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Hon, Dan (November 3, 2023). "Tom Brier: The Story and Tragic Ending of a Piano Prodigy". DanHon Music. Substack. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  5. ^ Tarby, Russ (June 1, 2016). "The Festival Roundup June 2016". The Syncopated Times. Retrieved March 28, 2026.
  6. ^ Byrne, Brandon (August 31, 2025). "Appreciating Tom Brier". The Syncopated Times. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  7. ^ Burns, Ken. "Film Credits – Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson". PBS. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  8. ^ Maddigan, Kristofer. "Cuphead - Original Soundtrack". StudioMDHR. Bandcamp.
  9. ^ a b Melton, Larry (August 30, 2023). "Tom Brier Receives Outstanding Achievement Award from SJIRF". The Syncopated Times. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  10. ^ "Ragtime Musician Scholarships". Historic Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival. Retrieved March 27, 2026.
  11. ^ Daniel T. Gaming (April 18, 2023). Tom Brier: YouTube's Forgotten Gaming Pianist (Video). Retrieved March 28, 2026 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Melton, Larry (July 17, 2019). "Michael Chisholm's Labors of Love". The Syncopated Times. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  13. ^ Lorelock (December 16, 2024). Youtube's Forgotten Music Legend (Video). Retrieved March 28, 2026 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ a b Jester Jones (December 10, 2020). Tom Brier, From Ragtime God To Struggling Paraplegic (Video). Retrieved March 28, 2026 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ Keeper1st (September 25, 2025). Tom Brier's legacy and other ramblings about Tom (Video). Retrieved March 28, 2026 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ True Tone Coaching (August 31, 2025). The Unheard Genius: The Tom Brier Story (Video). Retrieved March 28, 2026 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ "The Entire Tom Brier". Tom Brier Music. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  18. ^ Keeper1st (December 27, 2025). Tom Brier's last (latest?) composition, "Tarnation!". Retrieved July 7, 2026 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

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