Tom Davies Tribute – Nebula Bassist (1975-2023)

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · September 5, 2024

Today is the one year anniversary of the passing of Tom Davies. He was the bassist for stoner rock legends Nebula since 2004. He also played with The Freeks and was a guitar technician for Orange Goblin, if I’m not mistaken. He played on all of Nebula’s recordings since 2006’s Apollo, including 2009’s Heavy Psych, 2019’s Holy Shit, and 2022’s Transmissions From Mothership Earth. He sang lead vocals on the song “I Got So High” also. Unfortunately, Transmissions was his last studio recording with Nebula.

He was diagnosed with leukemia, which was made public last March. He battled the disease hard and unfortunately succumbed to it on September 5th,2023.

I remember being in shock when I first heard about the leukemia diagnosis. I was a big fan of Nebula and his bass playing abilities. I met him once when Nebula played a show in Worcester, Massachusetts at the now defunct Lucky Dog with my buddies band, Birch Hill Dam. It was just before Heavy Psych came out, I believe. He was a very cool guy and I remember telling him how much I admired his playing skills (I was also a bassist at that time.) He was very nice and I have never heard anyone say anything bad about him upon interacting with him. Last year, I purchased the Nebula Ripples compilation from Ripple Music, to donate to Tom’s cause. The songs on the compilation were hand picked by Davies, showcasing the Ripple bands he admired and enjoyed playing with.

Finally, the news broke that he had lost his battle with the disease and that he had passed away. I felt gutted about hearing that. I had this pit in my throat and stomach and I just felt terrible. I realize I didn’t know Tom Davies like so many others in the rock community did but I was and still am a huge fan of his work. I wanted to pay a little tribute to the extraordinary bassist and musician that he was and also the person who was nice enough to interact with me, even for a short moment. I sympathize with all of his friends and family.

I included some of my favorite work that Tom Davies is featured on with this collage as well. I will be listening to Nebula today in his honor and my thoughts and prayers are with Tom’s family and friends. R.I.P.