Teri Tom was born in San Francisco, grew up in the small town of Redlands, California, and graduated summa from UCLA with a degree in communications studies. Time that should have been devoted to those studies, though, was misspent prowling LA's smoky roots and indie rock clubs. Teri has peeled off surfabilly guitar licks on stages that include Antone's in Austin, San Francisco's DNA Lounge, and the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Before hanging up her trademark midnight-blue Gretsch, she acquired the elusive “White Girl” chord from guitar legend Billy Zoom himself and briefly filled in as the hired gun for punk rock icon Exene Cervenka.

She now holds a master's degree in nutritional science and is a registered dietitian specializing in sports nutrition at the ultra posh Sports Club/LA in West Los Angeles. She has published both nutrition and non-nutrition-related articles in glossy magazines.

Teri is also the first female Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do (Bruce' Lee's art) instructor certified by Ted Wong. Her new book, THE STRAIGHT LEAD (Tuttle Publishing), is now available in a bookstore near you!

She may be contacted through this site to discuss cutting edge nutrition, film, the martial arts, and twangy guitars. If you're looking for a fight, though, be warned. She throws a mean right hook.