(2017) Wisconsin rocker launches solo album of folksy blues and light country. Growing up in a rural area north of Appleton, Wisconsin, Tom Thiel had music in his blood. His mother considered studying opera in college and his grandfather, Roman, had a passion for music and playing concertina. Unable to afford his own instrument in a household where younger brother, Greg, seemed to get an early jump on music from his crib, Thiel made an instrument out of wood and different siz