Chat with Tom Thacker Recap
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 9:53 pm
Thanks to Tom and everyone who joined the chat. Below is a condensed recap of the questions asked, Tom's answers are in italics
Gob
How did you hook up with New Damage Records for the release of Apt. 13? A friend, Bill Crook from the band Living with Lions recommended New Damage, I hadn't heard of the label at the time but I had Dine alone on my list of labels to contact. New Damage is basically an arm of Dine Alone, so 2 in one! I reached out to a bunch of labels. New Damage was the best fit so we went with them.
After hearing the album competed and playing some of the new songs live, which song jumps out to you as the highlight of the record? Hard to say which is a highlight, It always changes. I think Walking Alone and Radio Hell are definite contenders but I really love some of the other tracks like Same as it ever was and New York. Some are pretty personal so it kind of hits me in the gut to hear em
Back in 2012, you said the new album was an artistic improvement over Muertos Vivos and had better writing, what elements of Apt. 13 give it the edge? I'm really proud of what we did on Muertos Vivos so it's hard to say that the writing has improved for this record, I think both are great. This record has a more eclectic mix of songs though, I think the songs we chose for this record take more chances so in that way I feel it's stronger. Like putting a song like Keep you standing there on a record with Walking alone is kind of a ballsy move. they are quite different.
This album took a while to complete, what would you say was the final piece of the puzzle that made it all come together? There wasn't necessarily a final piece of the puzzle, it just took a long time to organize everything especially since we self-produced and Theo and I live in different cities. We couldn't just get together whenever we wanted , I had to finish recording at home and email tracks and throughout that time I was touring a whole bunch w Sum
skand: there are more guitar solos on gobs new album? There are quite a few guitar solos on the new gob record. I always try to limit the amount of solos but they somehow wind up in almost every song haha
blinksumnofx: if I were going to introduce a friend to Gob, what album/song should I start with that perfectly encompasses the band's overal sound? hard to say which gob record. i would say the new one apt 13. world according to gob is a favorite for a lot of people. i love all our records but i like looking forward, not back
raptor_536: how's this album going to sound? is it punk or alternative? the new record is punk/pop punk- there are some new wave sounding songs, kind of a bit of everything
blinksumnofx: why did Theo stop singing on the records after TWATG? theo just started writing less after that, he has been writing more lately do maybe you'll hear more theo soon
bizzykill: Have you favorites Gob songs to play in live ? prescription, b flat, beauville, self appointed leader
Sum41
skand: Why dont you guys make a song toghether (sum41 and Gob)? haha, that's kind of what happens when Deryck and I collab but might be cool to get everyone involved! I'll mention it to all the dudes
Dan: tom! how are u? dave lately said that he will come back to sum 41 if he was asked to, will you want it? how it will feel for you for him to comeback? hard to say how that would work, I guess it could, it isn't something that we have discussed tho
NicoDone: Hi Tom how are u? I would like to know which of the sum 41 songs you have not played live yet you'd like to play more. tough question, i think we tried a lot of the songs live with sum 41, some don't go over as well in a live setting, I always liked the jester though
Tisu: Hey Tom! Are you guys planning to make the new Sum 41 record heavier or a bit softer like Underclass Hero? we def plan on going in the direction of SBM with the new release. I think all the old records are great but with SBM, deryck kind of tapped into a more original sound for the band, we want to kind of run with that. honestly, I think we should meet half way between SBM and the more stripped down sound of DTLI
Ozymander: Did you see Deryck, lately? i haven't seen deryck but spoke to him a few days ago. he sounds like he's doing great so that's awesome
LulaWhibley: Have you written a few song for Sum41 new album? How would you like the sound of the new album? I have some song ideas in mind, I'll let Deryck hear them when we get into writing mode
Scott: What is your personal favourite Sum 41 album and why, Tom? my fave sum album is SBM, i was part of it from start to finish so it means more to me. i like all the other records for certain reasons as well but SBM hits closer to home
Scott: Hey Tom, 2014 is the 10 year anniversary of Chuck. Is there no plans to do a 10th anniversary tour for the album like you guys did in 2012 with Does This Look Infected? as far as i know there are no plans to do a chuck reunion, i think deryck is more focused on doing a new record
teenager17: do you know if there is any chance that Dave could have a guest performance on the new Sum 41 album, or co-write a song? it's great that d and dave are talking. not sure what the future holds but a guest performance could be cool
Touring
taurusgirl: Do you plan to do any U.S. tour dates? At this point we only have Canadian dates booked for gob but we def plan to tour everywhere we can.
It's been a while since we toured the states and we're itching to do some US dates. So yeah, US dates for sure.
Scott: Hey Tom, do you have a favourite city and/or country to play in? And if so, why? shows are kind of the same for us everywhere, the audiences are all awesome. japan is always interesting, you finish a song the audience is screaming then once you start talking everyone goes quiet so they can hear what you say, it's very surreal, everywhere else in the world people constantly scream at you btwn songs
blinksumnofx: What was it like opening for Avril in 2003? I can't find any footage of you guys playing that tour. Was it weird that probably no one in the crowd was expecting an actual punk band? the avril tour was really fun, the crowd seemed to love us it but yeah we must have sounded like slayer to that audience
Music
Heather: Have you bought any new guitars lately? I haven't bought any new guitars lately but I've been thinking about it. The main SG I use for gob has been broken 4 times, snapped at the headstock, I used to play a fender that I used to literally surf onstage. I may start playing a gtr that is more durable, we'll see tho, I still love the sg and the way it sounds
Dan: what is your dream guitar? I don't know if I have a dream guitar, I kind of pick up whatever guitar I have and make it work for me.
bizzykill: What bands do you listen to now? lately i've been listening to the bronx, the flatliners, hollerado, jiffy marker. and some non punk rock stuff like, kanye-yeezus, lcd soundsystem, robyn, future islands
LulaWhibley: You first create songs take inspiration from other bands or do everything in your head? i almost always start a song by getting an idea in my head, usually when i 'm out for a walk, a melody, a riff, a beat, then i'll pick up the gtr and figure out what i hear in my head
blue: What is your fav Guitar? my fave gtr is my cream 1970 les paul. it sounds like a fng monster but it weighs like one too. its too heavy for me to play live
Hentaiman: I remember there was a talk about Cone and Todd doing an Operation MD tour, and there was a talk you might go out play guitar with them, any news about that? todd's pretty busy w the offspring, in the future if they book dates i'll def do em!
Tisu: Who are your favourite guitarists? i like john frusciante, hetfield, doyle from misfits, greg hetson, brian baker, j mascis, elliott smith. i kinda borrow from tons of peops
raptor_536: do you think punk is dead? i think punk as a feeling will always be alive, i think punk as a category was dead as soon as it began
batsy41: Is the lyrics of a song affect of how the music will be like? lyrics don't necessarily affect how the music will turn out but it's def an important part, it's the one part of the song everyone can relate to. once or twice i started w lyrics and wrote music around it. losing face from too late no friends was written lyrics before music
raptor_536: what metal bands you like? i like metallica, maiden, motely crue-"shout at the devil" i like stuff like at the gates as well, i don't listen to a lot of metal these days tho
Mark: What way to you approach writing songs and is there any tips you could give on it? i write all the time and sing or sing and play every idea into a voice recorder, it gives me a ton of ideas to choose from then i can be more critical of the ideas and choose the best to work on
Cvija: how often do you play with your guitar and how much guitars you have? whats your favorite guitar cover song of all time? i honestly, don't know how many guitars i have, 15 maybe? i have 4 that i use at home regularly, a gibson 339, a yamaha acoustic, a fender p bass and a fender jaguar. i play guitar or piano pretty much every day, usually just to hash out song ideas
batsy41: when you write a song in particular so you limite yourself to the subject of what's it's about or some time you just but stuff because you want in it ? not necessarily, i will sometimes write verses that have nothing to do with the general theme of a song, sometimes it works, somtimes no. or sometimes i'll write stream of consciousness for a while and edit it down to a song later
Other
yobrowntom: Hi Tom, what languages do you speak? i speak english, i try to learn a few words in other languages though, i know a couple phrases in mandarin and i've been picking up some spanish, i live in spanish harlem so it could come in handy
Tomi: Do people recognize you on the streets now that you've been featured in the NY Times? haha people havent noticed me in the streets from the NYT article but a lot of people I meet have seen the article, some band dudes have seen it as well, a dude from 88 fingers louie mentioned that he saw it, i guess it was good promo!
