SkidMcSkidder:
Hi Tom, many thanks for being last month's FAOTM and it's great to finally
get to talk to you online!
Tom
Kerswill:
Heheh, yeah it's been a bit of a mission this month, hasn't it!
SkidMcSkidder:
You can say that again - I never had as much trouble pinning down a FAOTM
- I've been busy and you've been busier! - tell us about the trip to Slovakia
you've just returned from - how'd you get that gig??
Tom Kerswill:
Well, believe it or not, the enquiry came from my website... the wedding
couple just dropped me a line using the feedback form
Tom
Kerswill:
.... and of course at first I was a bit sceptical. But I gave them my
number, and when they called back I realised it was totally genuine...
they fixed up a flight to Bratislava, and a train to get me to the airport,
and I was on my way...
SkidMcSkidder:
Wow!!
Tom Kerswill:
Yeah, that's pretty much what I said!
Tom
Kerswill:
They'd asked Lamb and Seafood to play, plus David Kitt, who's an Irish
singer-songwriter. But they'd been let down at the 11th hour... so they
gave my stuff a listen and decided to book me!
SkidMcSkidder:
how'd it go?
Tom Kerswill:
Ah... it was a real experience!
Tom
Kerswill:
I met loads of cool people, right from the moment I stepped off the plane
Tom Kerswill:
... We spent the first night in Bratislava. Beer in Slovakia is about
40-50p a pint...
SkidMcSkidder:
nice!
Tom
Kerswill:
and the place is full of bars.... and I 've never seen so many beautiful
women in my life ;-)
SkidMcSkidder:
heh heh - I hope you didn't abuse your celebrity status! (Laughs Out Loud)
Tom
Kerswill:
Oh no, of course not... very professional ;-)
Tom
Kerswill:
So yeah, then we headed out to a smaller town called Trencin - and that's
where I played, in a big castle.
SkidMcSkidder:
a castle??
Tom
Kerswill:
Yeah - the happy couple had booked this massive castle on top of the hill,
overlooking the town. It's the first thing you see when you arrive on
the train - very imposing! There were about 80 people at the wedding I
think - and a big bus took us to the church. The first thing that happened
when we got on the bus was there was some guy handing out shots of slivovich,
which we had to drink! And then after the ceremony we all walked up to
the castle.
tomkerswill: It was a nice place to play! The only problem was that the
guys providing the PA system neglected to bring a mic stand so I ended
up singing into a hatstand instead!
SkidMcSkidder:
Like it! (Laughs Out Loud)
SkidMcSkidder:
I guess after a few of those shots you could've played lying down!
Tom
Kerswill:
Yeah... I had to keep refusing after that (to drink that is, rather than
to play!) They
took a bit of persuading to stop offering me the shots though..
SkidMcSkidder:
So Slovakia's a world away from Totnes, Devon - how'd you end up there
(Totnes) - are you native to that part of England?
Tom
Kerswill:
Well, sort of - I was brought up in Somerset. Then I was studying up at
Cambridge for 3 years before finally moving down here..... because of
a girl :-)
SkidMcSkidder:
Cool! So what did you study at Cambridge?
Tom
Kerswill:
"Natural Sciences", which basically means a mixup of lots of
different subjects. I ended up specialising in physics in the second year...
before completely changing tack and doing History and Philosophy of Science
in the final year. That's what I like about Cambridge - they don't seem
to mind if you mix and match a bit!
Tom
Kerswill:
Funnily enough, not many of my mates are using their science degrees...
although I think I'm the most unusual, persuing a career in music!
SkidMcSkidder:
Blimey! That's a fair range of subjects - Physics to Philosophy! Which
degree(s) did you get??
Tom
Kerswill:
Heheh - yeah that's right. Philosophy was cool though... more laid back.
You know, I'm not entirely sure to this day what degree I got!! It's a
2:1 in something... but Cambridge certificates don't actually say much
at all... they don't even tell you what class degree you got! I usually
say HPS though... coz after all that's what I did my final exams in!
SkidMcSkidder:
That's why I'm asking - do you use any letters after your name like BSc
(hons), etc? You should have gone on to MSc & Phd - you could of ended
up as DOCTOR MUSIC! (Laughs Out Loud)
SkidMcSkidder:
Crap
joke! Sorry!! So how did you get into full time music?
Tom
Kerswill:
I've always been into it... but I think at Cam I didn't really have the
time to do it - which got frustrating. That made me realise that what
I really wanted to do was write songs.
SkidMcSkidder:
I know that feeling!
Tom
Kerswill:
... So when I moved down to Totnes, I realised that it would be the perfect
opportunity to have a go at it.
Tom
Kerswill:
Yeah --- always good to act on feelings like that I think... even if it
seems like it might be a bad idea! I
realised that if I just got a 9-5 job I wouldn't have the chance to do
it again
SkidMcSkidder:
the question is how to make a LIVING out of it...
Tom
Kerswill:
Right... yeah that's a tricky one that!
Tom
Kerswill:
I think the answer from my point of view is to start with you can't. I'm
a website designer too - so that's ideal. It gives me the flexibility
to do music when I want to, and do the web work to get enough cash to
live
Tom
Kerswill:
And I specialise in doing websites for bands - so that's another way to
make contacts with people. I think with the new CD out, that's my first
chance really to recoup a bit of money...
SkidMcSkidder:
and do you do many band sites?
Tom
Kerswill:
Ermm... not all that many really! I've got quite a few on the go at the
moment. I also run a server so I host a few that people have designed
themselves.
Tom
Kerswill:
I specialise in doing sites that people can update themselves, using a
content management system, which people seem to like. It's good to be
able to update gigs, etc.
SkidMcSkidder:
Ahh.. Cool - that's probably worth a few bob. So you must be moving in
the right musical circles because if I remember rightly - you played the
world stage @ Glastonbury last yeat right?
Tom
Kerswill:
Almost... the Small World stage :-)
Tom
Kerswill:
Which is a lovely lovely venue - solar and wind powered
Tom
Kerswill:
I also played at their festivals last year, and am hoping to go back for
the summer one (though sadly the spring one clashed with slovakia)
SkidMcSkidder:
So you play many festivals then?
Tom
Kerswill:
Last year I did quite a few, including playing a pedal-powered stage at
the Permaculture festival in Brazier's park
Tom
Kerswill:
This year it's looking good - I'm doing one tomorrow actually!
SkidMcSkidder:
Yeah?
Tom
Kerswill:
Just a small one in Freedom Park, Plymouth
SkidMcSkidder:
Very cool!
Tom
Kerswill:
But this year I have a five-piece band behind me --- so it's going to
be good fun. Heheh... dunno what it's going to be like yet! Should be
a laugh though
SkidMcSkidder:
Did any of these guys work on your new CD?
Tom
Kerswill:
Actually yes - Peter Farrie, the keyboard player, also produced the Mind's
Eye EP. We've known each other for a year - he's been a really good person
to work with.
SkidMcSkidder:
Is this your first CD release then?
Tom
Kerswill:
I suppose it's the first one that we're really pushing... I did a kind
of demo EP release last year, with three songs on it... sold a few of
those but not too many!
Tom
Kerswill:
But we're really pleased with the look of this one... it's a card "digipack"
format, and we got a really good artist - Tom Stephens - to come up with
the design (I swapped it for a website actually ;-) )
SkidMcSkidder:
Haha - That's what I do! (swap sites for favours!!)
Tom
Kerswill:
Bartering, it's great!
Tom
Kerswill:
Doesn't get you any money though ;-)
SkidMcSkidder:
True - I currently have one cash earner - www.the-tpa.org.uk - and that's
only a measly £350 a year!! The others are percentages of online
sales 8-(. Looking forward to introducing a range of merchandise onto
SkidMark in the near future though!
Tom
Kerswill:
Heheh... ah well, a few of those sites and you'll be minted ;-)
SkidMcSkidder:
How do you feel the internet has helped you promote your music scene?
SkidMcSkidder:
(apart from travelling to Slovakia! (Laughs Out Loud))
Tom
Kerswill:
Ah, it's helped loads.... It means you can get a lot further without having
to court the record companies. Definitely more power to the artist now.
I like the fact that someone in the States can hear my music as easily
as somebody next door.
Tom
Kerswill:
And actually as a listener I've found it's great. I can't really be bothered
to download signed music so much now (though I do listen to the radio
a lot). I'd rather listen to something obscure :-) And there are a lot
of great local bands whose music I first discovered on the Net!
SkidMcSkidder:
Sure. There're plenty of indie sites too - what do you look for in a music
web site to want to make you sign up for a listing?
Tom
Kerswill:
Hmm... good question. Usually the sites I listen to are the ones that
feature me!
Tom
Kerswill:
In other words, I'd already have signed up as an artist. But
ones with a chart system are the best, because you know number one is
liked by lots of people.
SkidMcSkidder:
and why did you in the first place?
Tom
Kerswill:
Why did I sign up to a specific music site? Actually it started with garageband.com
- where you can get honest feedback from listeners. That was really useful
to start with, to get an idea of how I was doing with production, etc.
And it's the idea that if everyone likes your music, you could actually
rise to number 1 --- in theory, anyway!
SkidMcSkidder:
Garageband was one of the first sites I used actually - although I listed
myself under the wrong genre!
Tom
Kerswill:
Heheh, doh!
Tom
Kerswill:
Yeah - shame there isn't an equivalent focusing more on UK bands
Tom
Kerswill:
The funniest comment was when somebody said "I like your music, but
what's with the fake English accent"
SkidMcSkidder:
(Laughs Out Loud)
SkidMcSkidder:
So what were your first thoughts about SkidMark when you stumbled across
it (how did you find the site actually?)
Tom
Kerswill:
Oooh... I can't remember really. I think I might have found it from the
Indie Link Exchange. And at the time I thought ah, that's a UK site, and
it features music... so it'll be a good place to be listed!
SkidMcSkidder:
like it - nice noncommittal answer! (Laughs Out Loud)
Tom
Kerswill:
:-)
SkidMcSkidder:
So what's the plans for the rest of the year Tom?
Tom
Kerswill:
Play as many festivals as possible, get radio play for the new EP (hopefully
on BBC 6 music), and record some new songs.
Tom
Kerswill:
Plus do as many gigs as possible - and as big gigs as possible! We're
doing a (very) mini tour next week, with one in the Exeter Phoenix, and
then one in the Actress and Bishop in Birmingham. Playing over a wider
area is definitely something I want to do more of
SkidMcSkidder:
Pity I'm in the isle of Man for the TT races - I'd have liked to come
over to Birmingham and caught the gig
Tom
Kerswill:
Ah that's a shame! Yeah the Birmingham one should be fun
SkidMcSkidder:
What guitar do you play Tom?
Tom
Kerswill:
It's a Yamaha electro-acoustic... had it for a while. Really like it!
SkidMcSkidder:
Yeah, Yamaha make some nice stuff - I was tempted just this morning to
put a bid in on an APX model on Ebay 8-)
Tom
Kerswill:
Mine's an FGX apparently!
Tom
Kerswill:
Ebay's dangerous. Just bought a new stage tuner on their actually - was
ordering it as we've been talking.
SkidMcSkidder:
Ah... dangerous as in addictive! right??
Tom
Kerswill:
Yup!
Tom
Kerswill:
Good way of spending money, but you can pick up some real bargains!
SkidMcSkidder:
I know I've bought LOADS of my music gear including my studio off ebay!!
Tom
Kerswill:
A whole studio! Wow, must have come in a big box ;-)
SkidMcSkidder:
Heh heh T'was a Korg D8 8-track digital studio - not quite that big
Tom
Kerswill:
Eeek... I should be going soon! Might try and catch last orders at the
pub.. And try and flog a few tickets for the Exeter gig!
SkidMcSkidder:
No worries - I've got to fit stainless brake hoses to the bike yet
Tom
Kerswill:
Good luck with that.. .so are you competing or just riding up there?
SkidMcSkidder:
I'm entering the party, party, party 24 hr endurance ! (Laughs Out Loud)
Tom
Kerswill:
Hehehee. Sounds fun!
Tom
Kerswill:
Let me know how it goes
SkidMcSkidder:
I'll be bringing back a full report...
Tom
Kerswill:
:-)
SkidMcSkidder:
Great finally talking to you bruv
Tom
Kerswill:
Yeah! That was fun! Hopefully talk to you soon
SkidMcSkidder:
Many thanks for hanging with me Tom & good luck with the CD
Tom
Kerswill:
Enjoy the TT. Thanks!
SkidMcSkidder:
Will do - enjoy your ale!!
Tom Kerswill:
Talk to ya soon
SkidMcSkidder:
True - later dude
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