Places That Are Gone

With a given name suitable for a pop star, Tommy Keene played classical piano as a child in Bethesda before picking up drums and guitar and writing the hit "Places That Are Gone"

As he began his attempt to become a professional musician, Keene was a fan of WHFS Radio.

"There was a DJ named Milo, who was amazing. I listened to his show every night. He played really great music and introduced me to a lot of really cool bands. There was no playlist."

Keene joined The Razz, as its guitarist, after the band had already established itself as perhaps the most popular new wave band in our area in the late 1970s.

"We played a live show at the University of Maryland, opening for Rockpile. We ended up putting four of those songs out on an e.p. (extended play release)," says Keene.

Razz's "Airtime" release got some air time on local radio stations, but soon after Tommy Keene formed his own band, singing his own songs, hoping to write that one hit that would get him played often on the WHFS.

"That was the song "Back To Zero Now" -- that was the one that 'HFS started playing a lot."

For most musicians in the area in the early 1980s, getting played on the alternative radio station WHFS was a big deal. The station was located in Bethesda, across Cordell Avenue from the Psychedelly. DJs at the time were known by one name only -- Weasel, Damian and Bob.

"I do remember hearing that for the first time," Keene says. "We were bowling at River Bowl on River Road. The people next to us had a radio boombox. That was actually pretty exciting."

With its melodic hooks and driving guitar, "Back To Zero Now" provided Keene with his big break.

"My manager at the time, Seth Hurwitz, placed a copy on Robert Christgau's desk at The Village Voice. He loved it, and wrote about it, gave it an A. We were off and running."

With Christgau's imprimatur, Keene went back to the recording studio, and created the hit that earned him extensive play on college radio stations, and ultimately a major record deal.

""Places That Are Gone" is about thinking you're not really where you want to be. Then, you look back at that time, five years later, and think 'Boy, what a great time we were having then.'"

With the success of "Places..." Keene was attaining his goal of regular radio airplay.

"There's probably nothing like driving down the road and all of a sudden your song comes on. It's too good to be true."

Keene now lives in Los Angeles, where he continues to record. WHFS went of the air in 2005.