As a promising musician, Tom was intrigued with the idea of recording his own music.  He somehow got his hands on a used Tascam Porta-Studio, and the rest is history.  The Porta-Studio is basically a 4-track cassette  recorder that allows you to record a different sound on each track of the tape, and then play them all together at the same time.   By today's standards, the 4-track is a relic, but at the time, it was state of the art.  While listening to the audio clips on this website/CD, please keep in mind that it was created on a machine that has been long extinct.  

Remember, back in the "70's" and early "80's", (when this stuff was recorded), there were no personal computers.  You couldn't search the web for music or a sound effect that you wanted.  Back then, you had to do it all yourself.  As you listen, keep in mind that every single sound you hear was created by Tom Nourse.  And, when I say everything, I mean everything!  All the different voices of the various characters, all the instruments on all the songs, all the sound effects, all the background noises, conversations, everything! 

For example, in the "Bounty Commercial", the sound you hear after Tom shoots himself with Officer O'Malley's gun, was created by Tom actually hurling his body to the floor in front of a live microphone.  When you hear a toilet flush, that isn't "off the shelf" from some sound effects CD, Tom actually took a microphone into the bathroom.  In fact, the sound of a typical flush, wasn't quite right for the "Quick and Penwall" skit, so Tom experimented by turning off the water supply before recording.  The resulting sound had just the right amount of gurgle without being overpowered by the sound of the tank refilling.  It's this kind of fanatical attention to detail, the average listener wouldn't even notice, that I find so fascinating about Tom's work.  

When I first met Tom, he was playing keyboards in a band that played at all the little dive bars in and around the Scranton PA area.  The lifestyle of a full time musician is unlike that of most people.  He slept most of the day, and played in the band till the wee hours of the morning.  This left him with a considerable amount of time to himself while just about everybody else was fast asleep.  For no particular reason, Tom began to create these recordings basically to keep himself amused.  Most of the skits were based on something that someone said or did at one of the "gigs".   Other people might make fun of you by gossiping or talking behind your back, but by the time Tom packed up all his equipment and drove home each night, there was no one to gossip with, so I guess these spoofs were Tom's way of "busting chops".  

I don't think he ever really intended for people to hear this stuff, so, he would "bust" everyone, and everything, including himself.  Nothing was sacred.  It wasn't a matter of like or dislike.  Most of the quirky characters that he insults and belittles in his spoofs are based on actual people, some of which are his closest friends.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he's got a spoof or two about me.   I may never know.

Over the years, Tom has accumulated quite a collection of tapes.  Some of them are based on a "private joke", that you might not find all that amusing.  Some are scripted, elaborate productions complete with theme songs and commercials.  Others are just improvised "off the cuff" madness.  And in several cases, it has been specifically recorded for my benefit. ( The "editorial" and the "listeners warning" in "The PM Zone" are examples of this).          

The first time Tom ever played this stuff for me, I was fascinated by it.  At the time, I didn't know most of the people that he based his characters on, but I had the advantage of being able to make him pause the tape and ask him questions about "what he meant by that" or how he recorded a particular passage.   In some cases, the explanations were more impressive and funny than the actual recording.  Being privy to this inside information has made me appreciate and respect aspects of his work that might have gone otherwise unnoticed.   For example, the background noise that you hear through the entire Bounty Commercial gives the listener the impression that it was taking place in a bustling coffee shop, when in fact, Tom recorded it while he was alone in his living room.  He went on to explain that he would record a single clink of a glass, rewind the tape a little, and then record the sound of someone clearing their throat, then some foot steps.  Since there were only 4 tracks, he would play the three tracks he just made, and record them all onto the empty 4th track, then he would erase the first three tracks and record over them again and again.  It must have taken him a week or more just to do the background noise that nobody even pays attention to.   Like I said before, he had a lot of time on his hands, but I think the final results are in some case nothing less than brilliant.  After hearing it for the first time, I absolutely had to have a copy of some of the stuff he played for me.

The next time I saw him, he handed me a tape that he had made just for me.  He included some of the selections that I had liked the best, and he even included a few custom selections (like the editorial) in which he did all the voices by speeding up the tape for one character, and slowing it down while recording another.  This method allowed him to have three distinct voices without even attempting to modify or disguise his normal talking voice.  Even if you don't think it's funny, or you just plain don't get it, I hope you will be able to appreciate the amount of talent and work that went into the production of a multitrack recording done with the equipment that was available at that time.

Enjoy!

The author of this article has requested to remain anonymous.