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| | Tom Ugly
| Artist Profile
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| | ARTIST
INTERVIEW
| Access All Areas.net.au:
Are you getting used to balancing school with working on your music?
Tom:
Yeah I?m pretty used to it, it?s almost over now. November is when I finish. Now I just have the HSC exams. I just finished the trials and I?ve got my HSC music exams, with performances. I?ve been doing it like this pretty much for two years so I?m getting used to it. ?Cause at my school, we sort of do HSC for over two years.
Access All Areas.net.au:
How did you first discover your love for music?
Tom:
I originally had a burning desire to play drums. I just played it eventually when I was about seven or eight because I was always taking out all the tupperware and spoons and stuff so my parents eventually bought me a baby kit until I moved on to a new kit. And then there?s an acoustic guitar that I had lying around the house so, eventually just started writing riffs and stuff and vocal melodies in my head, put bands together when I was in primary school and got other people to sing ?cause I was a bit shy to sing back then. And just evolved from there I guess.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Does any of your family members play music as well?
Tom:
Nah?not really anyone.
Access All Areas.net.au:
When did you first realise music was what you wanted to do as a career?
Tom:
I guess I was doing it for fun the majority of my early life or most of it anyway. Because it wasn?t really until I was about fourteen and I?m eighteen now, I think it was about fourteen or thirteen that I realise ? I think it was when the lyrics came in and the vocals. That?s when I realise I like sort of putting a whole another element to it that?s more personal and could become something of a career or something like that.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Do you remember the first song you?ve written?
Tom:
Yeah the first song I ever wrote was when I was about ten, and it as called ?Superstar? (laugh). I wrote the lyrics for it and I gave it to a kid at my school to sing it and I played the drums for it and showed the other kids what to play on ? guitar, keyboard and stuff.
Access All Areas.net.au:
How often did you write songs?
Tom:
Probably since the HSC has begun, probably much less. But I?m always constantly writing riffs or things come to my mind and record. Even if it?s just like a melody, I?ll need to record it on crappy, rough version of it just so I never forget it. So I do that all the time and sometimes songs get written from that. Like I might just record it as a demo, not to forget and then I?ll build upon it just because I?m already there. And I feel like how something might sound with it. It?s kind of experimental because I wanna let the song go wherever it wants to go.
Access All Areas.net.au:
You?ve been leading songwriting workshops. Songwriters say that a good song is usually written with a lot of honesty, and not being afraid to bare your soul. How do you know when a song is complete or at its best?
Tom:
From a songwriting perspective, it?s just a matter of a good melody with chords or a musical melody and then the lyrics are a major part of it too. I guess when you?re thinking about it from the song itself and the core, backbone of it, I guess you can feel it and you know and then of course, understanding and associating your music with pop song structure whether it?s like Intro-Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus whetever. I guess that helps but I don?t really think about that too much. Then there?s another side of it, which is the production side and the recording, whether it sounds thick enough and you have to think about the high frequencies, balancing with the mid frequencies and bass frequencies and all that kind of stuff. But the thing is I sort of eventually from this process of writing and recording at the same time, joined the two jobs together and found a way of writing it like that. It kind of saves time but at the same time because it is not with other people, it evens out. The only downfall of it is just the diversity of songs, which is not really a downfall from a listener?s perspective I don?t think. It is when you think about it from the perspective of business where people or business and labels, which is why we have stayed independent and gone with Billabong to sponsor the EP, ended up going to do a video clip with us. I think we?re doing some signings at some of their retailer stores. So they?re basically doing the same thing as what a (major) label might do but a bit differently.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Do you have a concept for the video already?
Tom:
Yeah I?ve got a concept, it?s just a matter of making it work with one of the songs ?cause the songs I wanna do it from at the moment is the last song on the EP which is ?Fantasy?, and the EP came out about a week ago on August 21st and the ranks came in yesterday on the (ARIA) charts.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Yeah I read about that. It was at 23rd.
Tom:
It came 23rd on the physical release and it came 3rd in the AIR charts and 13th on the AIR label charts.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Did you go out and celebrate?
Tom:
Not yet ?cause of school (laugh). The worst thing is trying to find time to wind down or celebrate.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Do you have a favourite song from the EP?
Tom:
I reckon it?s probably ?Bad With Love? because it?s probably the most personal song. I don?t know if it?s my favourite song but I think I like people liking that song the best. I think it?s the most rewarding feeling when people like that song the most, usually because it?s the relation they could feel with the lyrics or the tone of it. When you perform the songs live for example, you can see the way people react to it and I think the way people react to ?Bad With Love? when they understand what the song is about, it?s the most rewarding feeling.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Did it take you a long time to write that song?
Tom:
I wrote most of it during the Christmas holidays of last year. The EP music has been finished for a while. It?s just a matter of getting all the other stuff ready for it. That?s taken a while and making it come out at the right time. I?m not sure it has come out at a right time or whatever but I don?t really deal with that stuff as much.
Access All Areas.net.au:
So do you see a new album coming out soon next year?
Tom:
I?m not sure if it?ll be next year. Probably most definitely at least be late next year or early the year after in 2011. The main reason for that is just because I?ve been interested in either doing an EP, another one or a mini-EP or something or a mini album. But I?m sort of excited about the idea of releasing the songs on the Internet for free, taking advantage of what the Internet can do. Because I?m excited with the songs I?ve been writing at the moment and recording lately, which are sort of going down a more electronic angle, with how the EP starts with ?Cult Romance? and stuff but there?ll be an album soon. I?m not quite sure when.
Access All Areas.net.au:
?All I Wanna Know? and ?Fantasy? were previously unreleased until now. Can you tell us more about these two songs?
Tom:
?Fantasy? was written around the same time as ?Bad With Love?. I started writing bit before ?Bad With Love? but I went onto ?Bad With Love? and then finish ?Fantasy?. The first verse of ?Fantasy? is probably my favourite lyrics from the album. I think the lyrics are kind of self-explanatory in terms of what they?re about ? third person story about what?s happening in first person, for me anyway. ?All I Wanna Know? is about directly to the spokesperson for a superficial type of person; it?s all about people following other people. It?s bit cynical, probably the most cynical song on the EP from the lyrics perspective anyway.
Access All Areas.net.au:
It is remarkable that you are already producing and engineering your own tracks. Do you think it will be harder to maintain the creative freedom you have in the future? Are you worried about that?
Tom:
At the moment I have 100 per cent freedom because of our choice with Billabong. I guess if I keep going down that road and keep playing it that way, then it?ll be cool and I?ll be able to be free forever. But I guess it just depends if labels end up being the best possible choice. Because at this point in time labels aren?t totally necessary but I guess when you look at it from that whole next level where it?s almost impossible not to do it without a label that has the same kind of effect then they may be necessary. But at this point I?m just thinking about stuff on this level and just figuring out the best kind of plan to implement for next year when I finish my school this year.
Speaking of the EP, the promotion we?ve done hasn?t ? because we don?t have a label. It?s just a matter of getting played on the radio and through the Internet?
Access All Areas.net.au:
And touring?
Tom:
Yeah touring and we?re doing a tour to do an EP launch on the East Coast
Access All Areas.net.au:
So what was it like touring and playing live across the country for the first time?
Tom:
It was good, it was kind of a big distraction from school but it was good for the music. Am looking forward to it again, especially looking forward to next year?s so that I can do it constantly. And we can do it as a band constantly. I can tell you the shows that are coming up as well:
SYDNEY
Saturday 19 September
Spectrum
w/ special guests
BRISBANE
Friday 25 September
The Troubadour
w/ special guests
CANBERRA
Thursday 1 October
Transit Bar
w/ special guests
MELBOURNE
Saturday 3 October
The Toff In Town
w/ special guests
Access All Areas.net.au:
So has there been some funny, memorable moments?
Tom:
Yeah there?s always funny stuff. I mentioned it on Triple J the other day?when Mahli-Ann, our bass player and I and Peter, the guitarist went to a Chinese restaurant and they put the hot plate on the table and we?re about to open the pot thing, and told us to take cover underneath the sheets (laugh), we thought that was kind of strange, memorable moment for us. I guess you have to be there.
Access All Areas.net.au:
What kind of artist do you strive to be?
Tom:
I think I?m gonna try and be even more down the line with what I feel totally comfortable doing. But then the ultimate band is what everyone sees as like the Beatles because they do totally what they wanna do. At the same time, they have sort of major songs that appeal to everyone and I guess that?s what everyone sort of battles with ? that line between freedom and appeal. But when you look at the perspective of the Beatles, that?s the way to do it. But I?m not being totally conscious of it, just kind of the way my music becomes finished and that?s the best it usually is when it?s in that kind of state.
Access All Areas.net.au:
When you?re not thinking too much about it?
Tom:
Yeah but I guess we?ll just have to see. There?s been four singles on the EP out of five?yeah the only one was ?Fantasy? and that?s the one we?re considering at the moment for the video which is a strange choice I guess.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Why do you think it?s strange?
Tom:
Because usually videos are for the singles from the album and there are four singles from the EP. The only reason we?re considering of doing ?Fantasy? is cause the clip idea ? the concept of the clip is brought on because of that song and it works best with that song. And it is sort of like the clip is the feature as opposed to the song and then there?s just a background video. It?s different but I guess that?s the benefit of not having a strict label or anything but we?ll see what happens, it?s not totally decided yet.
Access All Areas.net.au:
So lastly, what would you like to say to your fans?
Tom:
I?m not sure really?come for the shows, enjoy the EP. It?s good that there are hardcopies out there I think. I?m glad that there?s at least been one Tom Ugly hardcopy release because the way the music industry is looking is that there aren?t going to be any hardcopies left with the whole digital thing. I?m glad they should probably sort of take a hardcopy before it doesn?t exist anymore. That?s the only thing I could say.
Access All Areas.net.au:
Alright cool, thanks so much Tom. We hope to see you soon.
Tom:
Thanks Sandy.
Interview by Sandy Tan
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| ARTIST
BIOGRAPHY
| Winners of last year?s triple j ?Unearthed High? competition, Sydney whizz kid Tom Ugly (once upon a time known as [is]) is ready to release his anticipated self-titled debut EP.
Featuring polished gems like ?Cult Romance,? ?Roll Again? and ?Bad With Love? as well as new poptastic tracks ?All I Wanna Know? and ?Fantasy,? the Tom Ugly EP comes out August 21st through Shock.
Tom Ugly, in four-piece live format, will launch the titled debut EP in Sydney on Saturday 19 September at Spectrum, Brisbane on Friday 25 September at The Troubadour, Canberra on Thursday 1 October at Transit Bar and Melbourne on Saturday 3 October at the Toff In Town.
The majority of the Tom Ugly EP was recorded and produced by Tom in his ?Batcave? (beloved basement studio). Tom ventured into the light to co-produce tracks with Greg Wales at Vault Studios, but was back in his Batcave by the time Steve Smart started mastering the EP at Studio 301.
Despite valiant attempts to woo him into the major label world, Tom Ugly has decided to keep his independent flag flying by teaming up with iconic Aussie surf label Billabong. Billabong proudly support Tom Ugly?s music by way of artwork, posters, merchandise and a music video for his upcoming single.
Tom Ugly have been busy little bees supporting the likes of Midnight Juggernauts, Grinspoon, The Grates, British India and Children Collide over the past year. The band warmed up with their first national tour in June/July this year, now Tom Ugly are red hot and ready to rock!
Dance up a storm when Tom Ugly hits a stage near you!
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 | Dead Letter Circus
With Rincon and Sydonia live @ The Corner, Melbourne, VIC (Sept 11 2009)
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 | Big Sound 2009
I Heart Hiroshima, Hungry Kids from Hungary, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Rocketsmiths, Bob Evans, Drawn From Bees live @ Big Sound, Brisbane, QLD (Sept 9 - 10 2009)
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Untitled Document
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