Known both in his own right as a singer/songwriter, as well as for his ability to play a wide variety of different instruments, Tom Crouch is really developing his solo sound alongside his respectable reputation…
We were lucky enough to catch up with the phenomenal talent just after his headline gig at The George Tavern in London.
Hi Tom, thanks for taking time out to answer my questions. A lot of people may be familiar with you for your guitar, keyboard and backing vocals but you are now kick starting your solo stuff and we wanted to get to know more about you as an artist.
What is the most powerful moment you can remember where music has moved you in a positive way?
It was definitely when I first heard Bon Ivers second album ‘Bon Iver; Bon Iver’. I remember being so excited for months about the new release as their first record had really captivated me in a way music had never done before. As soon as I had it on my iPod I decided I wanted to really dedicate the time to it for the first listen through, so I went out on a long walk and listened to it whilst out walking. I walked around all of the fields and country roads that surround the town I live in, and I came back from that walk with the most overwhelmingly deep feeling of peace and serenity. That record moved me on such a deep spiritual level that its inspired me to try to take music to that kind of level every time I go about creating it myself.
You play so many different instruments and I wouldn’t like to even guess how many different songs are stored way in your memory but do you have a particular section of piece of music that you just love playing on a particular instrument?
I love playing loads of different pieces of music on various different instruments. When it comes to guitar I’ll either indulge in the John Mayer back catalogue for a little while, or if I’m on my own at home and no one is listening I’ll turn up any song from the Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction record and pretend I’m Slash. Believe it or not I was actually in a rock band from the age of 9 up until 16, and we played predominately Guns N’ Roses material for quite some years in that band. If I sit down on the piano I like to bash through a rather sketchy version of the jazz standard Autumn Leaves.
In the future you are playing a sold out Wembley Stadium and you invite 3 special guests on to the stage to perform with you…who are those 3 special guests?
Wow, what a question. There are so many guests I’d choose to invite, but off the top of my head I’d go with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Jeff Beck and Jonsi of Sigur Ros. I’d be very very interested to hear how that would sound…
You’ve just given away a fantastic free download of an acoustic version of Drought, does this mean that there is an EP under way?
Most definitely. Its always been a dream of mine to properly put together a body of work to be released into the world, and I feel as though I have songs now that feel ready to be released. So the question isn’t the material, its more how that material is captured. I’m just beginning to turn towards trying to figure out how on earth I’m going to go about capturing these songs in the right way so that the recordings are truthful to myself, raw, honest and crafted.
We are entering the beautiful British festival season, are you going to gracing any of the stages?
There are no plans for me to play my own material at any of the festivals, but I’ll probably pop up every now and then playing for a few other artists over the summer…
Final question: One song, one venue…what would you choose and why?
I’d go with Jeff Buckley’s version of Lilac Wine at Red Rocks in Colorado. Just because his rendition of that song is heart-wrenchingly intimate and passionate and beautiful. And Red Rocks looks like such a special venue to hear music, and I love how its set up as an amphitheatre too.
Tom has released Drought, which can be got on a FREE download here and we would highly recommend that you do! Make sure you go follow him on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date.