Michael Thomas Roe

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Michael Thomas Roe began playing drums at the age of 12. He played drums through out his high school years, settling in to Athens, Georgia in 1982 for a degree in Telecommunication Arts.

Roe continued playing drums in various outfits (“White House China” and “Subject to Change”), catching a glimmer of the then bourgeoning Athens music scene (B-52's, REM, etc.). He discovered synthesizers (“Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy” by Brian Eno being a huge influence) early in college and began to piece together strange and personal compositions. He also scored music for local Athens radio commemorating the University of Georgia’s Bicentennial (1984).

Upon his eventual return to Atlanta in 1985, Roe continued his keyboard playing thanks to the encouragement of other musicians he had met in Athens. He did dance performance accompaniment and free jazz with a band called “100th Monkey”. Other Athens connections bore fruit. He did music scores for, among others, the independent film “Call Waiting” (1991) with cinematographer/director friend Jim Hunter. Other associations led to music projects with Atlanta’s The Center for Puppetry Arts, “Xperimental Theatre” being one of them, which led to a collaboration with local singer Barry Suttle. The band “CIN” was born but lasted only two years.

A postioning in the “new age” market in the early 1990’s led to a recording and publishing contract with Atlanta label Rising Star Records. Three CD’s were produced which featured Michael: “Forest Cathedrals” (1993), “Seashore Solitude” (1993) and “Lake Infinity” (1996).

A period of relative inactivity in the late 1990’s was highlighted by contributions to two “tribute” CD’s to Greek synthesizer king Vangelis, “Threads 1” (1997) and “Threads 2” (1997), and another “tribute” CD to English singer/guitarist/synthesist Bill Nelson, “Confessions of Young Moderns” (2000).

Also, in 1999, Roe completed an original score for a radio drama entitled “The Moonlit Road”.

Michael’s keyboard influences range from the cinematic (Francis Lai, Ennio Morricone) to the experimental electronic (Conrad Schnitzler) to the not so experimental electronic (Hans Joachim Roedelius, Vangelis). He continues to play rock drums. In addition to 12 TouchXtone releases, Michael has recently completed a collaboration with Tangerine Dream/Kluster founding member Conrad Schnitzler entitled Mi.T.-CON 04 and has several solo works recorded including the electronic classical piece “Cathedral” (2003), which he hopes to issue one day.

Jim Combs

Jim Combs is an Oklahoma-born and Texas-raised keyboardist/composer, recording producer/engineer and multimedia artist who began his musical forays in the early ‘70s both playing piano and manipulating tape machines while recording feedback. Synthesizers entered his life in 1974 when he built a PAIA synthesizer kit and heard Rick Wakeman for the first time on a quadraphonic 8-track copy of The Six Wives Of Henry VIII. He has been making noise and music with synthesizers and recording gear ever since.

His love of electronics and creative arts led him to a Bachelors of Arts degree in Journalism: Radio, TV, Film from the University of Oklahoma (with several semesters spent in the School Of Music’s Electronic Music lab) and a Masters in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Along his winding career path, Combs has produced for video, audio, computer-based multimedia, interactive television, and the web. He started his career at CBS Records where he held positions of College Marketing Manager and Single Records Coordinator and got to hang out with just about every late ‘70s/early ‘80s music icon on the road at the time.

Jim produced his first independent record in 1982 with the post-punk/neo-reggae/power pop Dallas band New Jetz, also playing synthesizers and organ. This led to a “Best Unsigned Band” nod from the Dallas Observer.

Jim packed up his keyboards and moved to New York City when a chance arose to learn from famed New York dance producer Boris Midney. Combs engineered sessions for former New Jetz songwriter Kendall Marsh, as well as downtown performers One X One and Steppin’ Razor. He also mixed live sound at venues as diverse as Studio 54 and CBGBs. The remaining 12 years in New York saw independent record productions and keyboard sessions for Laura Toy (1986), Major Minor (1989), John Harvey (1991) and The Martians (1993), all the while continuing to compose and produce over 60 of his own eclectic synthesizer music pieces.

While moving to Atlanta in 1997, Combs had most of his recording studio and instruments stolen out of the moving van by the moving van drivers. Luckily, insurance covered replacement equipment and with the bevy of new high tech gear, he immediately completed an ambient music and spoken word album for new age spiritualist Katheline Curry. In 2001, Jim produced and performed keyboards and electronic percussion for Atlanta alternative rock newcomer Natasha Goddard’s first single.

Most recently, as part of TouchXtone, Combs has returned to his first true musical love, making beautiful noise with synthesizers. He has also collaborated at both the 2004 and 2005 Different Skies electronic music fesitvals, both as an ensemble player and as a member of Phosphene Grid. Jim's contributions to Different Skies 2004 can be heard on the various artists compilation DVD "Arcs And Angels" on the Atomic City label.