Tommy Mandel is a NY Rocker with a synth studio. He's played live and/or recorded with Dire Straits, Bryan Adams, Paul Butterfield, Tina Turner, Shannon, and a bunch of other people. His PopOperas are strange. He animated one of them, in Photoshop and Adobe Premiere on his Macintosh computers. He plays piano most every Friday night, in NYC, at The Empire Diner. 212-243-2736. ON THIS CD, Tommy is joined by Marianne Faithful, Joe Cerisano, Jeff Southworth, Fran Eckert, Maria Vidal, Pete Hewlett, Martha Gehman and Zenobia. They all contribute lead vocals to tunes that tell the story of a kid: growing up into the growing pains (and pleasures) of a Life in Rock. John Waite, Marianne Faithful and Charles Telerant also co-wrote tunes. For a full, biography, check out TM's website, www.tommymandel.com.