Tom Bukovac
With more than 700 albums to his credit – including his Dean DeLeo project, Trip The Witch – Nashville session ace Tom Bukovac is one of the world’s busiest guitarists. Here he shares some of the guitars behind Music Row’s biggest records
Since arriving in Nashville in the early 90s, guitarist Tom Bukovac has performed on more than 700 albums by a veritable who’s who of the music industry’s upper elite. Just a cursory glance at his credits reveals names such as Taylor Swift, Stevie Nicks, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton. And that doesn’t even take into account the numerous jingles, TV and film projects and various other projects he’s performed on.
“It kind of boggles my mind,” Bukovac admits. “The sessions I get called for are so wide-ranging. In a two-day period, I could go from playing heavy rock to 70s LA studio jazz. I love the variety of the music that’s coming out of this town. One minute I’m playing some nasty gut-bucket blues, and then I’m doing something crazy and spacey. For a guy like me who loves to play lots of different genres of music, it’s a never-ending source of inspiration.”
For five years straight, from 2005 to 2009, Bukovac won MusicRow magazine’s Session Guitarist of the Year Award, and he’s been the recipient of multiple Top Guitarist nominations from the Academy of Country Music, winning three times. Asked if he can point to one reason for his success, he lets out a laugh. “I wish I knew,” he offers. “Maybe it’s because I don’t have just one card to play.” Which is another way of saying he’s no one-trick pony. Rather, he’s a complete guitarist, able to suss out in minutes just what a track needs to shine. Ask him to burn a free-form rock solo, and he’ll turn in a stone-cold, melodic gem bursting with hooks, heart and individuality. But he’s just as comfortable laying back and luxuriating in a rhythm pocket, like he’s just another member of the band.
“I’m the first to admit that I’m no expert on anything,” Bukovac says, “but I can fake it. Most of the session players around here are like that. You have to be that versatile to get lots of gigs. I’m not a hardcore jazzer, but I can make you think that I am. I’m not a legit countryand-western swing guy, but I can give you feeling and evoke the right emotion. If you’re a schooled player, you can connect spiritually to what’s in front of you and get the message across.” He pauses, then adds: “As long as you have your muse.”
For Bukovac, that last line is no cast-off stray thought. Recalling his “hot period” between 2009 and 2015, he says, “I think I played on every record that came out of Nashville during those years. I was working six, seven days a week, 13 hours a day. It
