A blog of month what's on guides, music features, gig reviews, artist interviews and CD reviews from independent Brighton-based music journalist Tom Sayer
Just a quick update as to my whereabouts this week. I have returned to my university city of Bangor for the week to do some recording with my good friend Will Roberts in Bodffordd, of some very old material: I mean songs from up to 8-9 years ago, re-recorded, arranged and mastered into a brand new album/EP.
Day One: Worked out the track list and laid down the vocals and guitar for some of the tracks. In the evening I hosted the Open Mic at The Belle Vue in Bangor, my regular haunt from my uni days. The place was packed from start to finish and I saw some great new acts perform as well as some familiar favourites, who had all developed a lot since I'd last seen them perform.
Day Two: Finished off the guitar, piano and vocal tracks for all of the songs. Started a rough drum track for the first song, the wind, and I'm excited for how it's sounding! Here is me hard at work:
Tomorrow, we'll be working on some of the arrangements after stopping by at Treffos School on Anglesey in the morning to give a talk on music journalism to the year 6 class.
More to follow tomorrow. :)
Check out my interview with guitar legend Jon Gomm before his gig at Sticky Mike's Frog Bar last night, where he talks about crowdsourcing, his banjo pegs, his jazz education and much more.
He was a very lovely chap, even with his poor habit of feeding chips to the seagull on the seafront. His gig in the evening was a brilliant showcase of his guitar and vocal abilities, including a lesson for how to play drums on guitar and an insight into his background, playing in the working men's clubs of Blackpool ("The city Brighton could have been" he quipped in response to a heckler) to particularly unreceptive audiences of "confused Glaswegian pensioners on holiday" prompting him to bring out one of his trademark showpieces, his instrumental arrangement of Chaka Khan's 'Ain't Nobody'. For the rest of his tour dates and more information go to www.jongomm.com or @jongomm
After catching the end of a very
soothing soundcheck at The Hope in Brighton, I met up with Tom Hickox in a pub
around the corner to talk his music, merchandise and alternative career paths.
Did your parents’
background in classical music have any effect on your album? Are there any
particular records that you remember being played as a child?
Not specifically, no. I think that when you grow up
everything will have an influence on you, but any classical influences on my
album were not consciously made. I was not looking to make anything classical,
but with my background I guess you could say it’s an innate training, the music
is in my blood. I’m really grateful to have had that kind of upbringing.
In terms of
songwriting and orchestration, do you see these as separate things or do they
happen simultaneously?
I definitely keep the songwriting separate. I like to focus
on the key elements: the lyrics, melody and harmony first, to get the core of
the song down. Then I’ll think about the right ensemble to play it. I do the
majority of the orchestration and arranging myself but I think that it is
important not to get ahead of yourself: if you don’t give the song strong
foundations then it can never stand tall.
A lot of comparisons
are made between your voice and that of Leonard Cohen. How do you feel about
that? I personally think you more resemble Guy Garvey (Elbow) and Matt
Berninger (The National). Are you a fan of either of those?
I’m a big fan of Leonard Cohen. He has definitely been an
influence to me. You can tell within a millisecond if a song is his and that is
such a great thing. I think for artists it is so hard to find your voice, both
in the abstract and sonic senses but I am thrilled to be compared to such great
company. I really like Elbow and The National. They write beautifully crafted
music and have a lot to say. Recently one of my songs was played on Guy
Garvey’s radio show and he was very complimentary about it. It is so humbling
and surreal to have someone who you really admire become aware of your work and
become an advocate for it.
In terms of the album
artwork, it appears that you are having a conversation with yourself. Was that your
intention?
The main thing that I wanted the cover to convey was that I
was not just speaking from my point of view on the album; I was inhabiting
other people’s voices and telling their stories. I think that it is important to get the right
look for a record, taking care and effort to package it in the best way
possible. If the cover is symbiotic with the meaning of the record then it
really speaks to the people and transmits well.
You have quite an
interesting array of merchandise, including signed lyric handkerchiefs and
pocket mirrors? Are you aiming yourself at the middle-class or is it more a
style thing?
Not at all. I think I’m not the sort of musician whose
supporters would want a t-shirt of. I just don’t think that it suits my style
of music. The lyric handkerchief is something I really like because I think it
hasn’t ever been done before. And the idea behind the pocket mirror is owner is
looking back on themselves through it. Also, from a boring practical point of
view, both are light items which are easy to travel around with when on tour.
They seem to be selling really well though. We only have about 10 handkerchiefs
left (prior to the gig).
How has the tour been
going so far? Do you enjoy playing all across the country?
It’s been fantastic. I am always surprised by how different
the crowds are in different cities. The venues vary each night too. Some of the
shows were sell outs which is great. Others were pretty close to capacity and a
couple were a little more chilled but we’ve had a great reception so far. We’re
finishing the tour with a full band show in London in a few days. It’s always
nice to end with a home show. I could walk home afterwards if I didn’t have my
keyboard!
Besides music, do you
have any other big interests/hobbies?
I’m interested in art and culture; films, books, pictures,
anything that I can get ideas from for songs really. I also spend far too much
time watching football on TV, but that’s not been much use for writing a song
just yet!
And finally, if you
couldn’t make music, what would your dream job be?
I’d be up front with Suarez, banging in the goals! That has
always been a dream of mine since I was little, to be a striker for Liverpool.
I enjoyed football from a young age but was never particularly sporty. But I am
so happy to be able to do what I love by making music. If I can keep making
more records with more amazing musicians, writing and recording music that I
really believe in and playing it to crowds who really appreciate it, then I
will be very happy indeed.
His stunning debut album War Peace and Diplomacy is out now.
