Thommy Berlin is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter who has been a staple of Jacksonville, Florida’s punk and alternative music scene since the 1980s. He is best known for his stint as lead guitarist in Stevie Stiletto and the Switchblades during the mid-1980s – a period widely regarded as that band’s heyday ​folioweekly.com. Over the decades, Berlin went on to perform in a number of influential local bands (punk and otherwise), and he contributed to several underground albums and songs that became cult favorites. Below is a comprehensive look at his bands, recordings, notable songs, and side projects, organized roughly by era, with dates and references for verification.

Mid-1980s: Stevie Stiletto and the Switchblades

• Stevie Stiletto and the Switchblades (Guitarist, 1985–1988): In 1985 Thommy Berlin joined this notorious Jacksonville punk outfit, led by singer Ray “Stevie Stiletto” McKelvey ​folioweekly.com. Berlin’s arrival helped propel the band into its most productive period. During his tenure, they released the EP It’s a Bogus Life (1985) and the full-length album Food for Flies (1986) ​folioweekly.com. These records featured high-energy punk anthems – “Party Dog” and “Let’s Blow This Taco Stand,” for example, appear on It’s a Bogus Life ​discogs.com – all credited collectively to the band (meaning Berlin was a co-writer)​discogs.com. The It’s a Bogus Life EP even earned a spot in Billboard’s Top 30 independent releases of its year, according to McKelvey ​folioweekly.com. With Berlin on guitar, Stevie Stiletto toured nationally, opening for punk legends like The Ramones and Dead Kennedys, and developed a rowdy reputation in the punk underground ​folioweekly.com​folioweekly.com. Berlin remained with the Switchblades until about 1988, when that classic lineup eventually fractured​folioweekly.com. (Many fans consider the 1985–’88 lineup – heard on It’s a Bogus Life and Food for Flies – to be the band’s finest era ​folioweekly.com.)

Notable songs from this era: The title track “Food for Flies” (from the 1986 LP) became a defining song for Stevie Stiletto ​folioweekly.com. Also, “A.O.T.” (short for “Assholes of Tomorrow”) and “Party Dog” – both from the It’s a Bogus Life EP – were popular at live shows, showcasing the band’s mix of sarcastic humor and raw punk energy. Berlin’s guitar work and songwriting contributions are integral to all these tracks ​discogs.com.

Late 1980s–1990s: New Bands and Side Projects

After exiting Stevie Stiletto, Thommy Berlin remained a driving force in Jacksonville’s music scene by forming or joining several bands across the late ’80s and ’90s:

• Radio Berlin: One of Berlin’s own post-Stiletto bands, Radio Berlin continued in a punk/alternative vein. Thommy Berlin was a founding member on guitar and vocals. (This group is mentioned among Berlin’s roster of bands in retrospective articles ​folioweekly.com, though detailed dates are scant. It was active by the late 1980s and into the early ’90s in the Jacksonville club circuit.)

• Velvet Elvis (aka “Big Velvet Elvis”): A later project of Berlin’s that veered into alternative rock. Velvet Elvis (sometimes referred to as Big Velvet Elvis) was another Jacksonville band in which Berlin played guitar ​folioweekly.com​discogs.com. They were active around the early 1990s. The name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the kitschy Elvis Presley paintings; appropriately, the band’s style mixed punk attitude with rockabilly and classic rock influences. (While not much is published about Velvet Elvis’s discography, Berlin’s involvement is confirmed in multiple sources ​folioweekly.com​discogs.com.)

• Evil Maracas: An eclectic punk/garage-rock band that Berlin formed with drummer Steve “Crash” Bauknecht in the early 1990s. Berlin handled guitar and vocals. Evil Maracas played high-octane rock with a sense of humor – for example, they covered Bo Diddley’s “Pills” in their set. This band is listed among Thommy’s notable projects ​folioweekly.com and remained a fixture in local clubs for a few years.

• Thommy Berlin and His Big Head: A side project (circa early 1990s) that allowed Berlin to step into the frontman role. With a rotating lineup, “…His Big Head” was essentially Berlin’s solo vehicle backed by a band – the name itself pokes fun at ego, indicating Berlin’s self-deprecating humor. They performed original songs penned by Thommy. This project is explicitly cited as one of Berlin’s bands​folioweekly.com. Though more short-lived than others, it gave him an outlet for material outside the constraints of his other groups.

Throughout this period, Berlin’s prolific songwriting and guitar style – loud, fast, but with melodic touches – remained consistent. He continued to craft memorable punk tunes in each band. For instance, “Running People Over” (a darkly comic song Berlin wrote during the late ’80s) became a fan favorite at local shows. Each project added to his legacy as “Jacksonville’s godfather of punk,” a title he earned after so many years on the scene ​theradiopoets.com.

1990s–2000s: Powerball and Punk Rock Persistence

• Powerball (Guitarist, ~1995–2008): In the mid-’90s, Thommy Berlin co-founded the punk band Powerball, based in Orange Park, FL (a Jacksonville suburb). He served as lead guitarist for 13 years in Powerball ​reverbnation.com. This band embraced a classic punk rock style with a Southern twist. Powerball’s lineup featured Berlin on guitar alongside vocalist Mitch Gerganous, bassist Josh Knight, and drummer Neal “Crash” Karrer ​discogs.com. They gigged heavily through the late ’90s and 2000s, becoming known for raucous live sets. Songs like “Funhouse” and “Opposing Furies” were staples of Powerball’s repertoire, and Berlin’s guitar riffs drove their sound. While primarily a live draw, Powerball did record demo tracks and appeared on local punk compilations. (Berlin’s long involvement with Powerball is well documented in scene reports​reverbnation.com. A ReverbNation profile from the era notes “Thommy Berlin – 13 years in PowerBall” proudly ​reverbnation.com.) This commitment underscored his dedication to keeping punk alive in Jacksonville through the 2000s.

During the Powerball years, however, Thommy Berlin was also privately battling personal demons. He had struggled with heroin addiction since the Stevie Stiletto days ​folioweekly.com. By his own admission, for many years he “chose dope over music” ​folioweekly.com, which derailed some of his musical momentum. Berlin has candidly recalled how his addiction nearly destroyed him even as he kept playing punk rock ​folioweekly.com. By the late 2000s, he largely stepped back from performing to get his life back on track.

2010s–Present: Comeback and Current Work

After a period of recovery, Thommy Berlin staged a personal and musical comeback in the 2010s. By 2013, local media noted that he had returned to writing songs and playing live after overcoming his drug struggles (a journey chronicled in a Florida Times-Union profile titled “Jacksonville punk rocker comes back to the music after drug struggles” ​jacksonville.com). Clean and reinvigorated, Berlin once again lent his talent to new projects:

• XGeezer: Around the early 2010s, Berlin was briefly involved in a project humorously named XGeezer (or Ex-Geezer) – a nod to aging punks. This may have been a short-lived jam band or recording project; it’s mentioned in his discography credits ​discogs.com. (The details on XGeezer are sparse, suggesting it was a minor endeavor or a playful alias used by Berlin and friends.)

• Radio Poets (Guitarist/Vocalist, 2020s): In recent years, Thommy Berlin has been actively performing with The Radio Poets, a Jacksonville rock band that blends punk with classic rock and experimental influences. Berlin is the elder statesman of the group – they’ve jokingly called him “Jacksonville’s godfather of punk” – and he handles lead guitar, vocals, and much of the songwriting​theradiopoets.com. The Radio Poets formed in the late 2010s, and by the early 2020s they were gigging regularly. The lineup includes Berlin (drawing on his Radio Berlin and Stevie Stiletto pedigree) alongside younger musicians on keys, bass, and drums ​theradiopoets.com​theradiopoets.com. The band’s sound is eclectic, described as “thunderous yet melodic,” and Berlin’s presence ensures a direct lineage back to the 80s punk ethos ​theradiopoets.com. This project shows that even into his 60s, Thommy Berlin remains a creative force onstage, cranking out new songs and mentoring the next generation.

• Ongoing Songwriting and Side Projects: Outside of his main bands, Berlin continues to write and record music on his own time. He has collaborated with former bandmate Steve Bauknecht on a home-recording project called The Philters, and a lo-fi rock outfit Rock Hell Victory – these are experimental side projects where Berlin explores songwriting in different styles (as noted by associates in recent interviews) ​podcasts.apple.com. In 2014, he even contributed to a retrospective re-release of Stevie Stiletto material on Rat Town Records (helping preserve the legacy of the music he made in the ’80s). To this day, Berlin occasionally posts new demos or plays one-off reunion gigs, proving his passion for music is as strong as ever.

Legacy and References

Thommy Berlin’s multi-band career paints a picture of a musician who has lived the full rock’n’roll ride – from the reckless punk days of the 1980s, through personal trials, to a hard-won resurgence as a local elder statesman of rock. His fingerprints are on dozens of recordings and songs that Jacksonville punk aficionados still swap and celebrate. Former bandmates and journalists often speak of Berlin with respect: “Such praise doesn’t come easy from Berlin, who made his mark on the Jacksonville music scene in the decade he performed with Stiletto as well as with his own bands, Radio Berlin, Velvet Elvis, Evil Maracas, and Thommy Berlin and His Big Head.” ​folioweekly.com Indeed, his impact is cemented by the sheer list of bands he’s led or been part of – Stevie Stiletto, Radio Berlin, Velvet Elvis, Evil Maracas, Thommy Berlin & His Big Head, Powerball, and more ​discogs.com – spanning over four decades.

For those interested in learning more about Thommy Berlin, there are several interviews and articles that provide firsthand insight. A 2005 Folio Weekly cover story on Stevie Stiletto features extensive quotes from Berlin reminiscing about the wild punk scene ​folioweekly.com​folioweekly.com. In 2014, the Rock and Roll Geek Show podcast (episode 552) hosted “A Trip Down Memory Lane with Thommy Berlin,” where he discussed his history with Stevie Stiletto and beyond. More recently, the Jax Punk History Project’s Poppcast interviewed him in 2024, confirming all the bands and chapters of his career (from Stevie Stiletto to Radio Poets) and highlighting his enduring love for music ​music.amazon.com​music.amazon.com. These sources – along with local press pieces from The Florida Times-Union – collectively verify the details of Berlin’s musical journey and contributions.

Sources:

• Folio Weekly – “A Story from the Vault: Stevie Stiletto Is Dead” (Aug 2005) – historical feature with quotes from Thommy Berlin ​folioweekly.com​folioweekly.com.

• Discogs – Artist credits for Thommy Berlin and associated bands (Stevie Stiletto, Powerball, etc.) ​discogs.com​discogs.com.

• Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville.com) – “Punk rocker comes back to the music after drug struggles” (Matt Soergel, Jan 2013) ​jacksonville.com​discogs.com.

• The JaxPunx History Project – Community archives and Radio Poets band bio confirming Berlin’s band history ​theradiopoets.com.

• Podcast interview descriptions – Poppcast #2: Thommy Berlin (2024)​music.amazon.com.