Guitar World (August 1996)

Doubting Thomas

Like many guitarists who first answered the call in the early Eighties, No Doubt's Tom Dumont, 28, was initially drawn to the musician's life by the made-for-adolescence battle cry of heavy metal.

"Ever since I got my first Kiss record, I wanted to be a guy in a rock band," Dumont recalls. "But the heavy metal scene was so terrible in Orange County, California. It was really competitive, and the music wasn't what was important. Joining No Doubt, a ska band, was a big change, but it was immediately way more fun - the music was a whole new world to me.

On Tragic Kingdom (Trauma/Interscope), No Doubt's third album, ska is but one world in a vast musical universe. Punk, reggae, new wave, country, pop, blues and disco (with, of course, a few flakes of metal) are all explored with equal vigor and aplomb.

According to Dumont, his knack for style-surfing belies a less-than-diligent practice ethic. "I'm a very lazy player as far as that stuff goes - I'll kind of listen to stuff and think about it, but I'll never take the time to figure it out," says the guitarist. "I mean, I played the flamenco-style solo on 'Don't Speak' with a pick, which just completely ignores the number one rule of that style of guitar playing!"

With the recent departure of No Doubt founding keyboardist/songwriter Eric Stefani (brother of the band's vocalist, Gwen), Dumont has stepped up to assume a bigger share of the songwriting chores. In fact, he penned the music to "Just A Girl," Tragic Kingdom's decidedly Eighties-flavored breakthrough single. "I consciously wanted to make a weird, jerky riff that sounded Devo- or B-52's-like," he says. "The single surprised the hell out of me. I mean, I always thought the song was cool, but I never expected it to fly like it has."