"Tom is one of the most original new artists I have heard in a long time. With his unique approach to guitar and his vocal interpretations of traditional and his original tunes, he has managed to create music that is all his own".
Woody Mann
"Defining Tom as an Acoustic guitarist is too small to convey the range of moods and styles in his playing. Established slide guitarists such as Debashish Bhattacharya and I are fans of Tom's music, finding it both expressive and refreshingly original".
Bob Brozman
Tom's Latest News - June 2010
Bugger, the Selmer Truvoice Electric Lap guitar with a valve amplifier inside the case remains silent and broke. Rumour has it that they were electrocution machines when the non earthed transformer gave the aspiring musician a good whack if their version of Santo & Johnny’s Sleepwalk wasn’t note perfect. As if the music, women, whiskey and gigs weren’t enough. However, this is what the repair man told me and as dead men don’t talk, I have yet to find any evidence. Being encased in rubber, I’m double insulated, so I haven’t given up just yet. Time will tell!
Sun is in the sky and its hot today. Tonight, I’m doing a gig for Eddy Roberts, an eccentric Cheshire charmer of a bloke; upstairs in a very old and small pub. There might be 40 sardines squeezed in so it will be a warm night. Luckily my old National has holes and grills to let the heat out when I really get to playing hot stuff. Head banging and that
Wednesday next week sees me start a small film project and I’ve been testing microphones and rooms with my camera at home ready to get some video recordings made. Feels an exciting time of year; couple that with Caroline and me looking for a new place to live (I am a romantic old get and yes, it feel great) - with space for her Grand Piano (think shoes/bras/clothes/products), a music room and guitar storage section (can’t wait) and there’s plenty going on.
Great to see folk travelling to my gigs, a couple who see me at Colne each year appeared at Blackpool for my concert there and it’s good to see enthusiasm hasn’t disappeared. The live music scene is struggling at the moment though, we can all sense it, but I think it’s just a blip: we can’t do without it and live music is deeply embedded in our culture. Maybe house concerts will begin to develop here, as they do in Europe and the USA.
My gigs in London were a lot of fun, both the teaching at the Institute of Contemporary Music and the especially warm welcome I received from Tony & Ann at Brooks Blues Bar in Putney. Plus, I got to stay with my old friend Steven Bradshaw, in Islington: Steve’s a true gentleman in every sense of the word.
Plans for the web site are under foot, but slow on account of me being a technophobe, but I can smell change in the air. A page devoted to video and a direct link to my new and improved bottleneck invention are two ideas that will move forward soon, in the meantime, I’m off outside to spank a guitar in the sunshine!
So thanks for putting your head around my door so to speak - and enjoy the visit. T’internet eats the distances but face to face is what life is really about, keep it real.
Tom
