Tom Gee at New Crawdaddy Blues Club, Essex. February 2015.

So, 2014 disappeared fairly quietly for Tom Gee Band.
After a whirlwind year that included our debut album coming in at No. 4 in the iTunes Blues Chart, a British Blues Awards nomination and touring all over the UK & Ireland, we all had a well-earned rest before getting started on 2015.

2015.
I can remember being 11 years old in 2000 and hearing people talk about football World Cups being held in 2010, people preparing bids for the 2012 Olympics and thinking how far away that sounded. A lot has happened since then so I decided to take a little bit of time to think about what we are going to do next.
It’s not easy – sometimes finding the motivation to keep going is hard as the industry changes, as people buck against the revolution of roots music and as “new music” sounds less new and less like music with each passing day.
2015 will mark my 26th birthday. In all the daydreams and fantasies of roaring success in the music business I had as a teenager, I had “made it” by now.

As that sentence finds its way to the page from my fingers via my keyboard I allow myself a wry smile; what constitutes having made it?
Having a debut album in the Top 5 on an iTunes chart?
Coming up to 10 years of gigging from pubs to clubs to theatres and arenas with some of the most talented musicians I’ve come across?
Some might say that I’d have to be very greedy to want more than that. There’s an interesting sense of melancholy that seeps in when I look back. I’m satisfied with what we’ve achieved so far.

We had a rehearsal in January.  Locked in a small soundproofed room with Tolu, Jim, Dave, Matt and Joe for 4 hours might sound to some like a chore. For me it was therapy. Getting back into the swing of things. We walked out of that rehearsal with 2 new songs and 2 old songs totally reworked.
So, when it’s hard to find my get up and go, where do I find the motivation to keep going?
This band.

2015 is a big year from a personal point of view. I’m getting married and delighted to say that our long time drummer and friend David is also tying the knot.
You would be forgiven for thinking we might be distracted from our music but that certainly isn’t the case.
We plan to gig, write and towards the end of the year start recording our difficult 2nd album.
Excited? Yes.
Motivated? Totally.
Having been lucky enough to play a few gigs already this year with Jo Harman I’m hopeful of securing a few more support dates later this year. We’ve had lots of great feedback from our gigs so far and we’re looking forward to continuing to play throughout the country.

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It occurs to me that several rather significant things have occurred since July.  Whether it’s an independence referendum in Scotland, the startling rise to prominence of IS or the passing of Ian Paisley, it seems to me that the world is ever changing and constantly moving on to something new.

It’s strange to think that when such huge and significant changes are happening on a global and personal scale – I’m so totally and utterly captivated by music. You can discuss the ins and outs of politics and I’ll more than likely offer you an opinion but nothing came as natural to me as the vilification I had reserved for my friends and family that asked me what I thought of U2 and, more specifically, U2’s ‘free’ album.

First of all, it’s not free.  Apple paid them each a huge lump sum for the rights to distribute that album for diddly.  Do I blame U2 for releasing an album for free?  Of course I do.  I’m not U2 so naturally I’m incredibly jealous of the (rumoured) $25m that they received.  Each.  If Apple offered me that amount of money to distribute an album for free would I say yes?

Don’t. Be. Ridiculous.

Of course I’d say yes.

But have Apple offered me such a deal?  No.  So therefore I’m pretty annoyed.

Next time I’m at a gig I can guarantee when I try to sell our album (11 tracks of blood, sweat, tears and pure unadulterated promiscuity) somebody is going to point out that he can get U2’s for free, and I will have to contend with that.  Now granted, nobody is shelling my home or invading my homeland or asking me whether or not I want to live in a completely independent nation, but still, it’s pretty annoying.  I’m not in a position where I can afford/negotiate a deal to release an album for free so why would you compare me and my band to U2?

I mean for starters I don’t wear sunglasses when I’m inside.  I don’t want to look like a gigantic fly.  But following on from this point I fully understand why U2 have done what they’ve done.  It doesn’t mean that it’s right or that I like it.  I happen to think that it’s wrong and I definitely don’t like it.  But as I wind myself up into a frenzy of anti-Bono rhetoric I think that it’s worth remembering that I actually quite like U2’s music.  I’d also very much like to see them live one day, but moves like this by big guns in the music business do not help people at the bottom of the ladder, like us.

Speaking of the bottom of the ladder that’s where I felt like I was looking up from, at the magnificent Nimmo Brothers after my solo support set for them last month. What a show and a thoroughly nice bunch of blokes as well. If you haven’t already then I recommend that you check them out.

Our Can’t Get Enough video came out as well which has been well received and we’re already working on a video for Dead In the Morning!

Keep a look out for more gig announcements over the next while!  We’re doing another bit of travelling this week with Northampton and Cheltenham as our next stops – hope to see you there!

Also. Red Wine.  I’m a big fan.

TG

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We were stood waiting to head on to the stage at the A C Painswick Festival surrounded by the many people who had been enjoying the amazing variety of things to see – from fashion exhibits to local culinary stands and craft stores.  Now it was nearly time for the music, the main stage was bang in the middle of the village, a quiet little village that had been transformed into a vibrant hub of colour and creativity.

The main stage was also in the middle of a graveyard.

I can’t honestly say that I was expecting Alec to say those words in that order last Sunday, but say them he did and it got me thinking; have we ever done a gig in a more surreal setting than this?  I had flashbacks to a gig in a barn with birds flying around our heads and one gig we did outside in the snow.  It’s pretty hard to top a graveyard though.

“I’ve done a few gigs that felt like they were in graveyards.”  Those are the words of Mr Tolu Ajayi, apparently a veteran of numerous gigs in the company of those less than alive.  I cast my mind back and it’s unnervingly easier to recall those gigs that felt like they were in graveyards than those in surreal surroundings.

I guess this is just part and parcel of life as a musician; new venues, traditional venues, big crowds, smaller crowds, lively crowds and those not so lively.  Nothing wrong with a bit of variation and with what we do you have to be prepared for almost every eventuality.

I’m glad to report that the crowd were excellent and funnily enough it didn’t feel like we were playing in a graveyard.  We’re off to Essex next to play at the New Crawdaddy Blues Club.  Should be a cracker, we’ll see you there.

Tom

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Within days of the EP coming out, it had climbed to No.2 in the iTunes Blues Chart alongside the likes of Hugh Laurie and Joe Bonamassa. Six months down the line, we were named Jason Elliott’s ‘Young Act of the Year’ and the title track from the EP was named one of Dave Watkins’ Top Singles of 2013. I’m sure I speak for the rest of the band when I say that the support we have received has been fantastic and it’s all fed into the current crop of songs we’re working on, which are coming along very nicely.

In December we went into the studio with Dan Mizen to do some rough recordings of the songs we were thinking about putting on our first full-length album, which is set to be released this spring. I’m listening to those rough recordings as I write, and I’m even less sure than I was with the EP as to what type of music this is. We’re all bringing a wide range of influences to the table as we did with the writing of the EP, but it feels like we’re all more comfortable in doing so this time around and are taking a few more chances.

One track in particular, which has a working title of ‘Grim’, is decidedly funkier and – dare I say it – hip-hop…ier (?) than anything else we’ve written. It’s definitely our favourite to play at the moment and I think we’re all looking forward to seeing how it’s received. Another of the tracks, ‘Thinking About You’ is on the opposite end of the spectrum and has already suggested itself to us as a closing number for the album that should leave your head bobbing and a smile on your face.

As for the rest of the songs, I’ve been listening to them on repeat for a couple of days now, trying to define them for the purposes of this blog and giving you an idea of what to expect. I think all I can say is this: expect the unexpected. That’s generally been my guideline so far for working with this lovely bunch of people.

If you want to get an idea of what the album is going to sound like, we’ll be recording a live EP with Ont Sofa at the Corn Exchange in Leeds this Saturday at 7.45pm. Entrance is completely free thanks to the lovely people at the Corn Exchange, so there’s no excuse not to come!

Keep your eye on our Twitter and Facebook accounts for further updates, especially around mid-February when I expect one of us will give you an update from the studio!

N.B. When I say ‘expect the unexpected’, I don’t mean Death Metal. Or a goose for that matter.

The post Matthew’s Blog: Better Things to Come appeared first on Tom Gee Band.

A little over a year ago Tom brought two new songs to the table. In lieu of proper names and various other terribly mundane reasons we dubbed them ‘Bluesy Song’ and ‘Monkey Song’, names that have stuck in spite of having actual, proper, serious, grown-up names for them now. What followed was our compositional process of playing, recording our thoughts, listening to the recordings in between rehearsals, and repeating until we had something that felt good, and concrete (in this time we actually observed the same process fora song that I wrote, which was recorded in our first bout of studio time, but that was left out of the Better Things to Do mixes. It’s at this point that I am contractually obliged to say that the reason for this has definitely NOTHING TO DO with Tom feeling threatened by my songwriting prowess, and I am IN NO WAY bitter about any of the decisions that we have ever made collectively as a band, so just let it go, please).

I actually took a series of these rough recordings with me when I went on holiday last summer and, in a mildly obsessive way, listened to them near enough everyday, composing (or reworking) some of my parts whilst away and completing them on my return.

In between late August and December 2012 we continued to rehearse and gig regularly, testing these tunes alongside the tunes already in our repertoire, tweeking any bits that didn’t work so well in the live setting.We were fortunate enough to play some absolutely fantastic gigs during this time, including our second appearance at the infamous 100 Club in London, and the Exchange in Sturminster Newton where we supported the fantastic Jo Harman and her utterly ridiculous band.

Our first recording session for the EP began the weekend before Christmas 2012, at Active Audio Recording Studios, in Harrogate. Accompanied by the hilarious and equally talented sound engineer, Dan Mizen, we embarked on a long weekend of recording the various parts for the three tunes we had been rehearsing. For those of you who’ve been in the studio, especially when you’ve been there with a group of your best mates, you will know how easy it is for tempers to become frayed. It’s a real testament to the bizarre, and grotesquely calming influence of Dan, and I suppose to how much we all really loved the tunes, that whilst we were all shattered by the end of the recording process not once did we have any Take That-esque bust ups, which was lovely.

Having 2 songs in the bag (I think that I may have mentioned that we chose to discard one, which is absolutely fine, no qualms there) and after relocating to a new rehearsal space, we began writing again. This was actually a very productive period where we were in the position to choose from 3 or 4 new tunes to flesh out. We eventually decided on 2 of the new songs, one of which is still to this day affectionately known as ‘Sweaty Slutty Summer Song’ (the exact name is a little ruder), in conjunction with a revamped tune of Tom’s that he composed back when he was still a wee lad of just 17 years.

Back to Dan we went in late March 2013 to record these three new tracks. We all worked really diligently over the four days we were there,actually finishing the instrumental parts well ahead of schedule. In between songs Dan played us excerpts of artists whose production style he was going to try to emulate on our tracks- Dr. John, Finley Quaye, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Marvin Gaye…

I can honestly say that I have never been more exhausted than I was at the end of each day in that studio, and I’ve run (and completed) “fun” runs in the past. And part of the worry is that because these songs are things that you obsess over, and I really mean obsess insomuch as it’s all you think about and listen to for extended periods of time, you lose your objectivity over them and you have to put your faith completely in everybody involved in the writing and recording process. Whilst we’ve not played the recordings to anybody else yet,we did play the new songs in our recent set at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and the response from the crowd was just incredible; I’ve never bought into the notion of describing an atmosphere as electric, but that’s exactly what it was like- just phenomenal. It was just so rewarding to know that our hard work over the last year hadn’t been in vain.

The purpose of this little note is not self-aggrandisement,rather it’s an attempt at trying to convey just how much time and effort TGB have put into these tunes. This gig at HiFi on 14 June is a really big deal for us, not just because HiFi is a club that we all really admire, but because it’s our first home gig in ages and it’s a chance for us to show off our new tunes to our friends. The reason I’m making such a song and dance about the whole thing is that I have too much respect for my band to let us play to an empty room after the amount of work that has gone into creating this EP. As such, we would all really appreciate your help in packing out the club, and give us the chance to play our tunes to a room full of beautiful people (feel free to come if you’re not beautiful, we’re pro-equality in all walks of life).

If you book the tickets online from (http://www.tomgeemusic.com/eplaunch/) then you can get into HiFi for the meagre sum of £3. That £3 gets you entry to HiFi where you will see three bands, with TGB headlining those acts, and you then get FREE entry in FunkSoulNation which, if you’ve not been before, is the BEST funk and soul night this side of the Atlantic.

If you like what you’ve read and you want to show a little bit more support then feel free to ‘like’ the status accompanying this note, or go the whole hog and share this note if you think other people would be interested in reading it.

Thank you very much for your time.

Love,
Jamie

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On a barmy, summery, Saturday night the Keighley Cougars venue was lit up with some of Yorkshire’s best unsigned talent. The band headlined on a night which saw support acts ‘The Capo Amnesty’ and ‘Cotton Club’ impress the audience.

It was perhaps the perfect end to a perfectly beautiful day. Scorching temperatures gave way to soulful tunes as all three acts hit-the-spot for the discerning Keighley crowd. At the end of the night it was clear the crowd was ready for the headliners as they lapped up the band’s distinct and original tracks.

The night was sold out however those who couldn’t make it didn’t miss out. The set was streamed live to faithful fans via Ustream.

The increasingly popular ‘Superman Song’ [fast racking-up Youtube plays] brought the evening to a close and the crowd to their feet.

Next the band journey to the south of the county and bring soul back to Sheffield.

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Well, it’s afternoon technically but I don’t really care. I’m very pleased to announce that we are Tom Gee Band and we are 8 beautiful people strong; David Sudall, Jim Jamm, Gavin Stevenson, Joe Roughton, Matt Newby, Laura Popperwell and Bridie Burkinshaw. And me, but yeah. Sort of goes without saying doesn’t it?

We have a gig at the Library with our good friend Richard from the 360 Club. It’s 27th January a Friday night in Leeds. Get down for a chance to be on the Suzie’s Rendez-Vous video! AND our 2 new tracks will be available. AND it’s the first full band gig. AND it’s going to be awesome, fun-filled and groovy. One last plug, please please please like the fan page on facebook if you don’t already. If you do already muchas gracias. The new year looks exciting and hopefully we can make it as good as last year. Not much to follow is it really? UK & Ireland tour, 02 Arena, new EP….just casually. Crack that one out again? You bet. Here is a video of our misdeeds at the O2 last year. Thanks for your support from 2011 and as for 2012? (Cue cool sign off line in Lethal Weapon style) I’m gettin’ too old for this… doesn’t really work does it?

Schmeh (there’s an underrated word, yes it’s word) I’ll leave you with this gem, courtesy of Mr. Jamie Moore. Enjoy and See you soon.

Hasta luego

TG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZpEDKwPUQ0

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We launched the new EP Roots on 26^th June at the 360 Club in Leeds (the EP was mixed by Roni Szpakowski of Peak USA…in Chicago) and then played a load of gigs around the UK over the next two weeks on our “Get Out of Bed” tour.  We then managed to sell over 250 EP’s (which certainly helped the finances…mixed in Chicago) We’ve since sold over 150 songs on itunes and had a couple of tracks played on a Canadian radio show. (Chicago…huh?)

Then, you know, casually, we went to the O2 for the Live & Unsigned Grand Final, didn’t win but had an amazing time.

The next Friday Dave, Jamie and me received our degrees, Jamie from Hull Uni, me and Dave from Leeds College of Music. Had lovely day with our families, not forgetting Dave (Thad), who is probably a better musician than the rest of us, or at least he thinks he is, who is still working towards his forthcoming engineering degree. Multi-talented ba*%&rd.

Starting to book gigs for September once the August holidays are over. So keep your eyes peeled for new songs, new gigs and new band members! That’s all I have for you now.

Love and thanks for all your support. Let’s keep it going.

TG

The post TG: Degrees of EP sales and more appeared first on Tom Gee Band.

So we rocked up on the day of the audition, cranked out What’s She Gonna Say and got told to stop playing half way through. Not the best of starts. We went to wait outside and watched the organisers come out one by one to explain that various bands hadn’t got through offering feedback on their performance, things they can change and improve on. To be fair we were relaxed, didn’t really expect anything to come of it. “Tom Gee?” We all looked up. “Yeah you guys are through well done.”

So 2 months later there we were in the Regional Final on the 27th March at Dewsbury Town Hall. Lots of fans turned up to support us, people were nervous, still practicing before they went on. We were relaxed. Again. It’s not that we didn’t care I guess we just didn’t expect anything to come of it. So you can imagine our surprise when our name was called out saying we were through. I think that’s when it hit me that we were one step from the O2. That was a good feeling.

Sunday 8th May arrives, The Willows in Manchester. Again a huge crowd there to support us. Cracked out a Beyonce cover before the opening track of the new EP Roots called Little Late. Video here! (http://youtu.be/LZ_2s-nlbY4) And the final act going through to the Grand Final of the Live & Unsigned competition 2011 at the O2 Arena is….Tom Gee. Get out. No it’s not. No it really is. Wow.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us along our journey and thanks to those who are coming down on Saturday to see us. For those of you that can’t make it you can still show your support by texting unsigned62 to 84222 or watching the youtube video! http://youtu.be/LZ_2s-nlbY4

It’s Wednesday for God’s sake, the gig is on Saturday and it really hasn’t hit me yet. One thing for certain though; I can not wait.

See you Saturday.

TG

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For some of the guys this was the first time they had been in Ireland – They all now want to come back. The gig was great and the crowd fantastic and a big shout out to Lisa McLaughlin for looking after us so well.
We finished, rushed for a bite to eat and then due to the complete lack of parking near The Mercantile we legged it across to ‘The Sunday Roast’ gig (instruments in hand.)

And the night just got better the crowd were up for the craic, they sang, clapped shouted for more – we absolutely loved it. Thanks John (Brereton) for everything.

We didn’t finish until after midnight – running back across Dublin to the van then a 30 mile journey to Nass, Co. Kildare where we still had to set up tent!

We arrived at the campsite about 1:40am; was the overnight security guard grumpy? – “Aghh no boys yer grand!” He’d reserved a pitch next to a street light to help us with putting the tent up and directly under the CCTV camera because he figured we’d have a lot of equipment in the van. God don’t you just love Ireland? (Jobsworths don’t seem to be allowed in the country)
2:30am big zeds all around! What a day!

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