I am originally a classically trained pianist and play several other instruments.
Music really is my life; I don't need nor want to take a break from it, for I love every day
that I'm able to create the new sounds I hear in my head.
Blues was part of my growing up, along with jazz, reggae, rock, swing and I began writing at
a very early age. However, it took me a long time to have the knowledge to be able to competently
convert what I heard in my head into recorded sound that satisfied me.
My first album In The Making followed on the track Can't Leave You Alone being released in October 2008
as my first venture into the world and this one single track rewarded me by going straight to #7 on the
Reverbnation blues chart and staying there for 15 weeks. Subsequent releases and lots of wonderful
fans and friends have kept me at #1 nationally for New Zealand ever since on that site.
I write in many genres, and I think my style is difficult to tie down. I describe most of my blues as 'soul blues'
for want of a better term; my songs simply ARE - they exist in their own right without labels or affinities.
Each one comes to me as a complete song - I hear the words, the music, the arrangement, the instruments
all at once and am in a fever to write it all down.
Then I play it on the piano and proceed to record it. I usually only do one vocal - very rarely overdub or tweak in
any way and the piano is the same - if I get it wrong when I record it, then I start again and do it over. It has to
be right all the way through. After all, I regard myself as a musician and in live performances, would expect to
get it right all the way through.
I have a catalog of around 250 songs now, most of which have not yet been released but plan a new double album
in 2011 if I can just decide on the content!!
I also do spoken word which you can find at http://www.tommietalking.com and LOVE doing this which is of course
entirely different from songs. Sometimes quite demanding in fitting the track to the words and getting the right mood.
And.........I also have my own radio shows based around my Womens Radio series Tommie Talks Music where I interview
people who inspire me with the passions in their lives. Not always musicians by any means! These shows are syndicated
through 7 radio networks in the USA/UK/NZ and I also have a daily show weekdays on The Zeus Radio Network.
As I said before, music really is my life ........................
Read more...