Tag: Tom West

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Tom West’s New Single “Gimme What You Got” Worth the Wait

Like so many of us, Adelaide singer-songwriter Tom West received a few curveballs in 2020. He was based in Brooklyn and ready to take the world by storm when the pandemic hit and encouraged Tom to rethink his plans. He returned home and decided to hire out an old farmhouse in Mount Crawford to work on the songs he began conceiving in late 2015 and early 2016.

“Some friends and I moved all the furniture out of the living room and set up a makeshift studio and spent a week recording the batch of songs with a band over a week,” he said.

That spontaneous, honest energy comes through in Tom’s latest single “Gimme What You Got,” which comes from his forthcoming album I’m Livin’. It’s been some time getting to us, but that’s because of another curveball. The day after packing up his temporary studio, Tom got word that his father had motor neurone disease and only a short time to live. The songs he’d been working on didn’t feel right at that moment, so he shelved them to work on his 2020 release, Antarctica.

“In some ways I’m Livin’ is a bit of a prequel to that album,” Tom explained.

2020 hit Tom West harder than most, but he’s determined that 2021 will be brighter. Look out for I’m Livin’ and a whole stack of shows from this talented singer-songwriter this year.

Image used with permission from Footstomp Music

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Tom West Unleashes First Single From New Album

Tom West has gone back to the vault for his latest single “All My Friends are Scientists.”

“This is an older song that has lingered around the edges of my repertoire for ages without ever settling into a place,” he explained. “As I was writing the music for the new album, ‘Scientists’ seemed to fit amongst the newer tracks and it began to take on a new life as all the arrangements developed.”

I’m thrilled he went back to the track, because it’s stunning. I love its ominous driving rhythm and darkly poetic lyrics.

“All My Friends are Scientists” is the first track lifted from Tom’s forthcoming album, which should get released in the middle of 2017. It was recording in an ad-hoc cottage studio in the Adelaide Hills, which sounds like a pretty fabulous place to lay some songs down.

Tom West has big plans for this album, which shows planned in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, and here at home.

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

See Tom West Record Live Albums This January

Adelaide’s singer-songwriter extraordinaire Tom West is planning to record two live albums in January, and he wants you to be a part of it. He’ll play two shows – one in Adelaide and the other in Melbourne – and release the performances later in the year as an album called Golden Fleeces.

“I’ve felt for a while that shows are really the truest form of my music, and where I connect best with people,” he explained. “When the idea came up to do some live recording it seemed to make perfect sense. To be able to involve the girls and guys who have been coming out to my shows in the formation of this album is a dream.”

It makes a lot of sense to me. When I heard the single version of his song “Easy Love” I liked it, but when I watched this live video recorded in Toronto I got it completely. There’s just something about the spontaneous energy that comes from a live performance that makes a good musician truly great.

The shows will feature new material as well as some old favourites. If there’s anything you’d like to hear, make sure you email in your requests to hello@pokeintheeye.com.au.

Tom West will play his live album shows at the following venues. He understands people are strapped for cash post-Christmas, so tickets cost just $15 plus booking fee through Oztix.

28 January 2016 – The Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide
31 January 2016 – The Workers Club, Melbourne

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Tom West Launches Debut Album with Aussie Shows

I became enamoured with Tom West when I heard his first single “Jonathan’s Farm” in May. Back then I said his album was sure to be something special. We get to find out when Tom tours his first-long player A Spark in the Dark around the country.

That song, and the follow-up “Malecón” unfold slowly, taking their time to draw us in. Perhaps that’s not surprising, as the album took some time to come together too. Tom spent a year travelling and writing songs before heading in to the studio with fellow Adelaide musicians Alister Douglas and Todd Sibbin. I use the term studio loosely, but really the trio worked together in a shed equipped with two microphones and a laptop. That gives these tracks a really raw, organic quality which is so appealing.

Tom’s been playing solo shows locally and around North America for the first half of the year, but he thought it only fitting that he take Alister and Todd on the road with him for the A Spark in the Dark shows.

21 August 2013 – Folk Club @ The Soda Factory, Sydney
22 August 2013 –The Great Northern, Newcastle
23 August 2013 –The Aztec, Forster
24 August 2013 –The Hideaway, Brisbane
25 August 2013 –The Evelyn, Melbourne
30 August 2013 –The Hotel Metro, Adelaide

Posted on by Lauren Katulka

Tom West Tours “Jonathan’s Farm”

Allow yourself to be charmed by the simplicity of Tom West’s debut single “Jonathan’s Farm.” Head over to Triple J’s Unearthed page where you can stream it, and download a free copy.

This is music as it should be, with expert fingerpicking of an acoustic guitar and lyrics that set such a vivid scene. If this single’s any indication, Tom’s album A Spark in the Dark will be a real treat when it hits stores in August.

Fans can get a sneak peek of some of the songs when Tom tours the single around the country. That launch tour kicks off for his hometown fans in Adelaide this Sunday night.

19 May 2013 – Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide
5 June 2013 – The Front Bar, Canberra
6 June 2013 – Dowse Bar, Brisbane
7 June 2013 – The Newsagency, Sydney
8 June 2013 – The Grace Darling Hotel, Melbourne
4 July 2013 – Ya Ya’s, Perth

Image source: Tom West website