3 months sounds like a long time to be working on a 5 minute video, but that’s nothing compared to the amount of time and effort Tom Gee Band have put into their debut album, ‘Swapping Stories’. I’d first heard of blues artists Tom Gee Band a while before their EP ‘Better Things To Do’ was released last year and I was excited to be asked to come along to film some behind the scenes of the new recording.  I caught up with them in the studio at the start of February when they already had a large portion of the hard work done, and even without vocals, brass or a finished guitar track it already sounded like the best work they’d written yet.  I really enjoyed the couple of days I spent there, trying to stay out of the way and be as invisible as possible with my camera so I’d catch the real atmosphere and creativity of the process.  David Sudall the drummer, who was first to lay down his parts for the album, didn’t let that stop him from coming back into the studio regularly to help make decisions and did a great job at capturing even more footage of those memorable moments. After the long days in the studio came the organisation of the album launch party.  The HiFi Club in Leeds is a great venue and suited the occasion perfectly.  Tom Gee Band’s set that night was probably one of the best I’ve ever had the chance to record.  The crowd was loving it, the band were clearly enjoying themselves, and it was so great to hear the songs I’d heard be changed and played a million times over in the studio finally be revealed to the public.

Since the album launch the band have been busy travelling the country, playing their new material for hundreds of people.  Having been to Cheltenham Jazz Festival before I knew I had to bring my camera along to capture the completing footage for my trailer.  The afternoon acoustic set they played in the Woods drew quite the crowd, but their set that evening was really what they had been looking forward to.  The audience loved the new material, even providing the band with a standing ovation at the end.  Seeing this really made me understand why they put so many months of long days and late nights into recording the album.  The hard work certainly paid off and I’m glad the album is getting the recognition it deserves. After all those weeks of getting in the way with my camera, sitting down to create the Swapping Stories video trailer proved tricky as I had so much to work with it was hard to know where to start. I wanted to showcase the talent and variation the album contains to make people want to hear more, but also show the personalities of the band and make it enjoyable to watch. Between trying to choose mere clips from 11 tracks of catchy riffs and runs (Matt’s saxophone solo was a tricky one to cut short but I just had to use as much of it as I could) and sifting through the hours of footage I’d managed to gather up over the months, keeping this video short was not easy! One thing I did notice in this edit (apart from the abundance of hidden dancing talent the band should really bring to the stage) was just how tight they are as a band, especially considering there are eight of them.  As I was syncing live footage to tracks from the album recordings I really wasn’t expecting it to fit as well as it did, but there were some clips that just landed perfectly in time – couldn’t have planned it if I’d tried! I’m really happy with how it turned out and I think it shows the relaxed nature of the band and their blues artists talent as well as giving you a taster of what the album has in store!

Now onto the next big project… which single needs a music video?

Buy ‘Swapping Stories’ from our online shop.

More Tom Gee Band videos can be found on our official YouTube channel here.

See more of Clarissa’s work on her YouTube channel here.

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Expectations are low and press coverage, for once, is understated. Yet there seems to be a growing wave of tempered optimism amongst the fans. Phrases such as steady, compact, organised and workman-like abound.

Maybe after 46 years the England Euro 2012 song should have no lions in the verses. How’s this for a lyric? – “I’m not waiting anymore.”

So in quiet optimism why not play the Tom Gee Band – ‘Waiting’?

Come on England – “Put your money where your mouth is…”

The post Waiting – Should this be the new England Euro 2012 song? appeared first on Tom Gee Band.

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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What I love about the Tom Gee Band is that we’re not interested in making a quick pound or two, being minor celebrities for a week and never heard of again. We want to create good quality music that makes you feel glorious. There’s a sense of longevity in that sentiment that no amount of fortune or celebrity can get you.

Last Friday saw the revamped Tom Gee Band in action at the Library, Leeds as part of the 360 Club night.  The feedback that we have received from it, from both the audience and other bands, has made all our hard work over the last few months completely worth it.  This was and still is a huge relief as the whole show was filmed as part of the BBC Introducing programme (which will be broadcast in a few weeks- we’ll let you know). From a personal standpoint, the one thing that has been evident right from the beginning of this new band is the incredible sense of energy that we all convey when we get together and play. Listening back to the recordings of last Friday’s gig that same energy, excitement and enthusiasm is still there. It feels great to be part of such a wonderful project with such a varied bunch of brilliant and creative young musicians.

The next gig we have is at the infamous Adelphi club in the sunny climates of Hull on the 16^th of February. If you’re about and want to listen to some good music, or want to try and prove me wrong (you won’t), then definitely come down for listen. Sounds good to me.

The post Jim Jamm: Revolutionary extraordinaire. . . . or not. appeared first on Tom Gee Band.

Then the phone rings, it’s 2:15am, it’s Jamie, he loves the mixes. That’s a pleasant surprise thought I was the only one awake. It’s pretty grim I’ve got to be up in 5 hours. Then I get a text from Smokes, he loves it as well. Everyone except Dave then… My phone vibrates, 1 new email. It’s Dave, he’s happy, except he’s convinced his kick drum could be phatter. (Yes, phatter.)

When we did the Live and Unsigned area final at Dewsbury we met James Grover, he contacted me afterwards, said he rated the band and told us about his studio in Bradford. And so began the strong working relationship with Peak Studios; top man Roni spreads his time between the Chicago and Bradford studios and when we agreed he would do the mixing it worked out that he would be in the States whilst working on our new EP Roots. Had a few e-mails during the week with his ideas and with the feedback form the band he’s done a fantastic job. We received the final final mixes in the early hours of this morning and we’re all very pleased.

EP is nearly ready for launch next Friday at the 360 club in Leeds, just finalising the mastering and artwork. The launch is going to be awesome. There’s a facebook event and everything [Visit Facebook Event] . You can still get tickets just click [Get Tickets Now].

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