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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The biggest news we’ve got is that we’re doing a gig in the capital on SATURDAY 5th May!! Its kind of a big deal – we’re being put on by FeedMe Music – who are an agency…so that means – if this gig goes well – then we should get even more gigs out of it!! But…we need a good crowd…

So what’s the deal? How do I get tickets? How much is it? It’s a bit expensive to go all the way to London for a gig!…

Well – we’ve got a coach going down – and we have a couple of spare seats remaining! £10 gets you your ticket into the venue (£7), a free HARD-copy of our latest EP – AND your seat on the coach (in both directions)!! How good is that?!
If you’re already in London – well, your ticket will still be the £7 – but we’ll also be throwing in the free hardcopy of the EP too!

So come drag your friends along – I’m sure you will be in for a very entertaining night!

But what else have we been doing?

Last weekend we gigged at the Old White Horse Inn, Bingley – to a very home crowd. And it was awesome! Seemed to go down a treat – and I’d like to just thank all of you who came down to make it such a good night!

We finally have our CDs of the EP to hand – and we’re passing those out ABSOLUTELY FREE (£0.00) at all of our next few gigs – so come down and get your copy!

Also, I had a fairly important ‘solo’ gig down at Keighley Cougars the other week – pre-match and post-match entertainment in the director’s suite. Unfortunately the whole band couldn’t make it – so I just played acoustic guitar – but nevertheless, it seemed to go down well, handing out over 60 CDs of the EP!

So…that’s about all of the latest news summarised…we’ve just rolled out of a rehearsal, ahead of next week’s gig – and the band are sounding super-tight! Last rehearsal will be on Friday – as a last blast through the set before we travel….CANNOT WAIT!

Get in touch if you’re interested in tickets for the London gig – and we will hope to see many of you there!

In the meantime,

Adios,

TG

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You see, although originally being called just ‘Tom Gee’ was never a contentious issue for any of us in the band, it seemed more of a problem for venues and new listeners to get a grasp of. We were being billed on acoustic sets – thinking Tom Gee was just one person…which although may make perfect sense to the untrained viewer, you don’t see the likes of John Mayer or Bon Jovi needing to add a suffix to their name. However, others do use them – such as Dave Matthews Band or the John Butler Trio. And so, we decided to change to it too.

But more than this, moving to the new band name also represents a progression in the way we work as a unit. Tom, naturally comes up with all of the new songs. They are his lyrics and his ideas. But when he brings them to the table, they get somewhat morphed when put in front of the rest of the band. Take the ‘Superman Song’ for example (which if you haven’t checked it out yet – you should, here! ) This song Tom first showed me on his acoustic guitar. No sooner was he into the first chorus and this piece just screamed gospel to me! We knocked it out in the next full rehearsal, where the horns came up with a stonking line for the chorus, and the girls made their stunning impact known in the middle breakdown section. Not to be over-looked – I should also point out Gav’s subtle but funky keys riffs over Jim Jamm’s swaggering bass line which just locks the whole thing down…Can you tell we like this tune?!

So there you have it – we’re now the Tom Gee BAND, and things are shaping up nicely! We’ve got a string of gig bookings – including one in London on 5th May where anyone who fancies a free trip down to the big smoke should let their voices be known on the facebook page! It would mean a great deal to us if you could lend us a day of your weekend…its quite simply an important gig, as we’re being scouted by an agency down there…

Finally, check out the second track of the Peak Sessions tracks, ‘On My Way’ – its being pre-released TONIGHT to anyone who’s already signed up for the free downloads – and it will be with the rest of you very soon!!

Anyway, m’off – stay sharp, stay cool – and keep listening to the Tom Gee Band

Thad

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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.

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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

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When the bard penned the immortal words ‘All the world’s a stage’ I wonder if he had the White Horse in mind. You see there isn’t one! But that’s fine – we like it like that. One week on a pitch in front of 14,000 people the next at the end of a room with 100 or so in your face.

It was a great atmosphere you really know whether your audience likes you or not when they’re so close you can tell what aftershave they’re wearing. Feedback is fairly instantaneous when people are two feet away.

So it’s somehow all the better when an intimate crowd like you, especially when they’re a Yorkshire crowd. A county renowned for forthright views and demand for value for money echoed in the Yorkshire Mantra you can hear across the county – “How Much??”

The reaction to the new tracks from the ‘Roots’ E.P. was particularly satisfying. When it came to an encore the crowd asked us to play ‘Broken Bridges’ again – so they definitely liked it then.

All-in-all another great local gig at the start of the tour before we venture out of the Shire!

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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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