INTERVIEW: Tom Baxter
- Posted on December 28, 2007 8:41 AM
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Interview by Katie Spain
"I feel successful whenever I have written a really good song. When people start tapping you on the back, it’s a bit weird." - Tom Baxter
Chances are you've heard of Tom Baxter... or at least of his music. His new single 'Better' (relesed December 3rd) was featured on David Schwimmer's flick 'Run Fat Boy Run' and his soon to be released album 'Skybound' looks to be keeper. After three sold out London shows and a sold out tour of Ireland – Tom is circulating the gig-curcuit like a pirhanna with an appetite.
We caught up with the London based singer-songwriter ahead of his Shepherds Bush Empire gig on the 31st January. He was eager to chat about all things music, about love and about stray cats. Read on and you'll get the drift...
Your sister Vashti is also in to music and supports you on tour; will she be supporting you at the Shepherds Bush gig in January?
I don’t know; it is quite possible though. She did the tour before and it was really nice, for her as well. On the first album, I had my little brother and on this album we had her on backing vocals. I am really trying to encourage her that if you have a dream then you can get it; I think that she is realizing that now. I am hoping that she will be able to do that on the night and that she will sing a few tunes.
You must have one hell of a Christmas when you get together? It must be quite noisy?
Did you used to do the whole Christmas performance in the lounge?
We don’t really; I think that because we all do it so much. When we get together, we do talk about music but I think maybe we are more excited to actually be a family otherwise it becomes one continuous stage.
Let’s talk albums. Your second album is out in early January. Was it a long time in the making?
The main playing was done by the five of us. We went in the studio and did about two tracks a day so we did ten tracks in five days. After that, we went off for Christmas and then we came back and got the strings down. It took a while to finish off because we had to re-touch things but the general playing was done quickly which I was really happy about. That was the most important thing; it’s like the bulk of the filming of a film if you like. You get all the acting and all the good bits and then you have to put it all together.
You funded it yourself too didn’t you through your own label?
Oh yeah. I put it out on my label and that was great because it was a really exciting time for me as I didn’t have anyone trying to tell me what they thought I should do. It is still that way and that is the way that I am committed to maintaining. I think that it is important as an artist to have ownership over what you are putting out to the public arena. I like it that way and it means that I can get involved with all sorts of different projects; films, artwork and the music of course.
I loved reading about the art work side of things as well. You created a canvas for each of the songs didn’t you? Were there any disasters that didn’t make the final cut?
Well there was a few actually. I had all these ideas and when I put them down, there was only really one that worked. I scraped a load of them but kept the same visual idea but expanded on it. Some of the tracks, I had images in my head of what I wanted but I couldn’t transfer it into a canvas. The one that I liked was a figurative one of the first track, Night Like This, and made all the other ones decorative. They are all figurative of the emotional thing that is in the song. There is a track about a guy in the First World War who gets hit in the heart and he is lying there bleeding; it is kind of an analogy for love. For that track, I did the canvas as a guy being shot in the heart, bleeding; it all relates to the words.
I think it is such a personal thing to do; not every artist can do their own artwork.
I love all that sort of stuff; I think it makes it all so much more interactive. Sometimes you buy and record when you could have just downloaded it, with a plastic case and just a few squiggles. What is the point of that? It makes it far more interesting.
You have ten songs on the album in all. The first release is 'Better'; that’s a love song isn’t it? What is the story behind that one?
Well, it is a track that I actually wrote with a friend of mine. It was spurned with the fact that he called me on Christmas day – he had proposed to his girlfriend – and he had called me up to tell me. He is my best mate and we had been trying to get together to write for ages. I had just bought a place with my girlfriend, so when we were talking about what we were going to write about, we thought it was the perfect way of saying what we felt. It is probably quite a male way of saying that things are going really well you know! We had a lot of fun doing it and we knew what we wanted to write. I played the song at his wedding so it was really special for me. He did a lovely speech at his wedding and then I did the song for him, so I think it is really nice that it is being put out as a single.
Has anyone ever written a love song for you Tom?
No they haven’t actually,
The song was used on Simon Pegg’s 'Run Fat Boy Run'. We interviewed Simon Pegg earlier this year. Did you get to meet him?
He was one of the people that I didn’t get to meet actually. I went to the rap party but I go there late and he was just leaving as I was going in. He is meant to be a really lovely chap.
Yes and a very funny man as well. Your live shows are talked about a lot; I haven’t seen you guys yet but what can fans expect?
Well, I better not set your expectations too high. I hope they are gigs that you walk in to and don’t know what to expect; the ones that take you on kind of a journey. The style of music that I do is not one particular genre; it is always going to jump about. It is emotionally driven though. I hope that you will come away and feel energized from it. I want it to make you think about your own relationships and your own life and that the performance will have touched you.
What is the best gig or concert that you have ever been to as a crowd member?
The most memorable gig that I went to was one of the first big concerts. I was really in to Rockabilly and early Elvis. My friend introduced me to a band called The Stray Cats. I went to see them play live and I was right up at the front. It was just one of the best experiences; so much energy. There was a really simple set up; double bass, symbol and snare. It was just magnetic. That got me onto loads of other bands too.
Have you seen Tom Baxter live? Tell us all about it in the comments section.
Related links:
Official website - www.tombaxter.co.uk/
Tom Baxter MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/tombaxter
Gig tickets -
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