The Fredericksburg music community was dealt a painful blow this week with the death of longtime musician, instrument repairman, soundman, and open-mic host Thom Schiff.
Schiff grew up in Fredericksburg, the son of Mary Washington professor Moe Schiff. It was just three months ago, on December 7, that his life partner and musical collaborator Kathy Douberly died. Schiff had suffered a bout with sepsis shortly after that, but had been hosting the open mic at Colonial Tavern and seen around town supporting friends’ gigs in the last few weeks.
“It was broken heart syndrome,” said Colonial Tavern bar manager Leanna Paolucci. “He even said it. He kept saying, ‘you know, it’s hard.’ He just started singing again two Mondays ago without her. So that was making it hard. Two days ago it was three months since Kathy died, so almost to the day. I was here for Kathy’s open night after she died and it broke me.”
Schiff was a welcoming host for the Monday night open mic at the Colonial Tavern. Many local musicians got their first taste of playing in public there, dating back to the 90s when the restaurant was called Orbits.
“Thom offered a platform on Monday nights for anybody who was curious about playing or is an established player,” said Jen Dodge, a close friend who often played at the open mic. “Regardless of your experience in music, if you had an interest he had a platform for you to come and either observe other musicians, interact with other musicians, or play yourself. He opened it to everybody regardless of age.”
“He provided an environment for local artists, professionals, and aspiring musicians,” said local singer/songwriter Ralph Gordon. “A whole bunch of people first time playing an open mic was at Thom’s. I can’t even name all of them. If it was a new person they would try to get them up there and let them have an opportunity. It’s going to be hard to replace that. I would say it was the people’s open mic the way he set it up.”
(Photo by Jennifer Dodge)
Friends and musicians packed the Colonial Tavern Monday night to bid Schiff farewell and share music, as he would want to be remembered.
Everyone who worked with or knew Schiff described him as a giving person. His expertise with sound systems was often called on when someone needed help.
“Kathy would tell me stories about how he would get a call at night about somebody playing at Colonial Tavern having issues with sound and he would go over there and help them,” said Dodge. “He would drop everything and do it and he didn’t expect anything in return. He was that person that tried to make you successful and bring out the best in you.”
“On top of that, especially when we were stupid kids, we were like, ‘Oh, we got a gig. We need a sound system,’ said Keith McConnell, who played with Schiff in the band Ask Fred. “So maybe we would rent something from Apple and show up and not know how to run it. Inevitably, Thom would get called. I doubt we ever paid him; he would just show up and run sound for us. Half the time, he would bring his sound system. He was definitely a giver.”
Another role Schiff was widely known for was being an expert at stringed instrument repair. Nearly every musician in the area has had their instrument in his shop on Airport Road. It was a running joke that he wasn’t always timely in getting your guitar back to you, but when he did, it always worked better than ever.
“When I got my jazz bass I met him hanging out at Hyperion,” McConnell said. “I was telling somebody I was having problems with my bass and he said, ‘You need to meet my friend Thom.’ I called him up and he came down and looked at the bass and said you need this and this and this. All of a sudden I had the best bass in the world. Where are we gonna go now? I don’t trust anybody else.”
(Photo by Marissa Othon)
“My wife who passed away 20 years ago was going to a yard sale and there was a brown paper bag with a broken guitar in it,” said Gordon. “The neck and top was all crushed in and she got it for three bucks knowing that I can fix everything. I looked at that and at that point I said, ‘Let me ask Thom’. It was a 1950s Epiphone archtop. The archtop with the f-holes was crushed in, the neck was broken off, the top where the keys were… it was a mess. Thom got it and had it for a month or two, which was pretty fast-tracking for Thom. He put that thing together. He fabricated pieces for the archtop to make it work and put a clear coat on it. For 90 bucks he put this thing together.”
