AUGUST 2007
Tom Heyman Interview
Tom Heyman is a folk
singer with a past, a session man with credits on a slew
of critical releases including Alejandro Escovedo, Chuck
Prophet, John Vanderslice, The Court and Spark, Kathleen
Haskard and Paula Frazier. He has gone on and made two
solo albums, to add to the many with previous bands he
has made. Deliver Me, his latest album, has contributions
from members of American Music Club, Motherhips and
Wilco, as well as the Fender Blender, Chuck Prophet. Tom
and I chatted about his past, present and all things in
between. We got first class tickets for the sonic town of
Geeksville and returned intact, wiser and smiling.
Hows things?
Pretty good, can't complain...actually I could,
but I'm not going to.
So Tom, where did your interest in music
start?
There was always music in my house as a child.
Always jazz or classical or folk music playing on the
stereo and radio, so I would have to say that really came
from my parents.
Who did you listen to when you were young?
My parents were both pretty active politically
when I was young, lifelong Democrats involved in civil
rights etc and so there was a lot of folk music around
the house. Woody Guthrie records, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul
and Mary and Judy Collins records, traditional Irish
music like the Clancy Brothers and that type of stuff.
They also listened to a lot of classical music and my Dad
is a major jazz fan who has a lot of vinyl. He was
particularly into pianists like Thelonius Monk, Art
Tatum, Errol Garner stuff like that.
He was also really into jazz guitarists like Tal
Farlow and Joe Pass, which is probably why I have never
learned a lick of jazz.
My Dad played me Tal Farlowe and got me into Bud
Powell and Fats Navarro...
My folks were also into a certain type of
pop-folk music like Gordon Lightfoot and also there were
a couple of Harry Nilsson records around the house. As
for music, I got into on my own, the first record of my
own that I remember is Sgt. Pepper, but more importantly
I got my own AM transistor radio when I was about 8 or 9
years old, and this was when AM radio was still kind of
cool, and the Top 40 stations could be really kind of
cool too, so you could hear stuff like Long Cool Woman
by The Hollies right next to stuff like Backstabbers
by the O'Jays, right next to Heart of Gold on the
same station. I think the first album that I really got
into as a kid was Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot.
I recall the name Tom ........
There is something sort of weirdly dissipated
and melancholy about Gordon Lightfoot's songs and his
voice that just work really well. Even though his records
are really pristine in terms of the way he sings and the
way the records sound, there is just this sort of really
subtle darkness to them, and even as a kid I think I
could tell that this was a dude who had lived kind
of hard. I've been a fan of all sorts of folk music ever
since. I think when people get into certain types
of folk music later on in their lives there is this
hipster thing to be attracted to a certain sort of Gothic
Americana, like murder ballads and stuff like that, and I
understand the attraction to that, but I think that the
thing with Lightfoot is that he wrapped up all this
darkness, and sentimentality and everything else in these
wonderfully beautiful melodies, sung in this
conventionally pretty voice with really good diction and
it sort of made the stuff seem sadder and deeper. I think
I just went off on a major tangent.
|
Hey, no way Tom, this is an education
dude...................
Later on when I was in high school, I listened
to the same stuff that everyone listened to like Zep and
Skynyrd and stuff, but I was never all that into it. I
guess I didn't know what I liked. I was also, I am
not ashamed to say, into The Grateful Dead who were a
great conduit to help someone who was interested in music
get deeper into Folk, Blues, Country and R&B. At the
same time I discovered this college radio station that
played nothing but blues, bluegrass, hard core honky tonk
and soul music and that changed everything for me. When I
was about 16 years old I started going into NYC and
seeing blues shows, so I managed to see Muddy Waters
twice before he died, I saw Lightnin' Hopkins in a
tiny bar in the city, and later on saw Cedell Davis
(polio stricken Mississippi Hill Country singer and
guitarist who played slide with a butter knife jammed
into his withered claw-like hand) and Otis Rush in the
same bar.
That is the sort of memory never to be
erased..............
It's really funny to think about doing this
stuff now. I would try to get my friends to go with me,
but they were into Journey and stuff like that so I would
just go alone. My Mom and Dad were pretty cool about it.
I would put on a suit jacket because I thought that would
make me look older so I could get into the bar where
these guys were playing. Looking back, I guess I didn't
realize that it was New York City in the late 70s and
frankly no one gave a shit whether I was 13 or I was 18.
I definitely looked like I was 13.
So, your first band?
I feel another extremely long tangent coming on.
Maybe less a tangent than a rambling online monologue
that only record collecting geeks like myself will be
able to appreciate.
Hang on Tom, let me roll a cigarette and
pour me a large soda and lime?........ Ok, take me on a
journey, my man...
The first real band I was in was a very straight
ahead Bluegrass band. This was when I was in my first
year of college, I was about 18 years old. We were
called the OK Corral Boys or something like that. I
played guitar and we had a 5 string banjo player, a
mandolin player, an upright bassist and a fiddle player.
We played very traditional stuff like Bill Monroe and
such. All the other dudes in the band were older, in fact
the banjo player had served a 5 year stint in the US Navy
before getting out and going to college, so he must have
been the ripe old age of 25 or 26 at the time. After that
I played in an acoustic blues duo with a harmonica player
and we played Reverend Gary Davis, Robert Johnson and
Mississippi John Hurt type stuff. I sang in both of these
bands, and then did not sing again (if you can call it
that) until my first solo album Boarding House Rules
came out in 2001.
And then.....
After that I played in a band called the
Optimist Club that tried to do a sort of Post Punk take
on Rockabilly and Link Wray type stuff. I frankly didn't
know what the fuck I was doing. I studied English at the
University of Reading, in Reading, England after that.
This was around 1983- 84. Mostly I didn't study anything
but taking crystal meth and trying to learn how to play
guitar. A lot of people think of the '80s as a
wasteland for music but in point of fact there was some
supremely good stuff happening in the US and England at
the time. There was a sort of roots rock scare around
Camden in London as well as the great bands that were
coming from the Medway area like Thee Milkshakes and The
Prisoners and this scene was parralleled by all
sorts of similar stuff flying under the radar in the US
at the same time.
Yeah, Thee Milkshakes, that brings back
memories...........I do think Billy Childish has genius
like qualities
When
I returned to the states I joined a fairly straight ahead
blues band and this was the first time that I felt like I
was a approaching the point of being a professional
musician in as much as I got paid in cold hard cash every
time I played. We played songs by Little Milton, Magic
Sam, Albert King, Professor Longhair etc. The leader of
the band was named Doug Wainoris and was an absolutely
brilliant guitarist and musician and a real mentor to me.
He had played fairly often with Otis Rush and had played
at the New Orleans Heritage Festival and knew his shit
inside out. I learned everything I know about playing in
bars from that guy. He made it seem possible to go out
and start your own band and work and make money.
After that me and a bunch of friends started a
band called Go To Blazes. We were based in Philadelphia
and we recorded 5 full length cds and a bunch of
singles and two different collections of covers. We
recorded for a number of labels most notably East Side
Digital, which was a subsidiary of Rykodisc and
Glitterhouse which was our European label. We toured the
states extensively and the European continent a number of
times. It was great fun and I am proud of the work we
did. We also drank a herculean amount, did every drug
that was ever put in front of us, believed our own
bullshit and at times acted like assholes. That said, we
played in a lot of bars, had an enormous repertoire,
and when we good we were great and when we were bad we
were only mediocre. After I moved to San Francisco from
Philadelphia in 1998 I played with a great band called
The Court and Spark. I played mostly pedal steel guitar
and a little bit of mandolin and acoustic guitar with
that band. Another great group of guys. I have been very
lucky that way.
You have carved yourself a reputation as a
hired guitar-slinger of high calibre, tell me about
stages you have shared and late night studio sessions you
have done with other bands and musicians?
I have toured and recorded with a pretty
disparate set of musicians over the years including
Aljejandro Escovedo, John Vanderslice, Sleepy LaBeef,
Chuck Prophet, Paula Frazier, David Dondero and Mark
Eitzel. I think Chuck Prophet summed it up best when he
said something to the effect of "you might not
consider yourself a studio musician, but that doesn't
mean you haven't been on a bunch of records". In
other words, people ask me to do something and more often
than not I say yes, because I am flattered that they
asked in the first place and because I love music and I
figure I might be able to learn something.
One of the most grueling things I ever did was
back up the great Rockabilly singer and guitarist Sleepy
LaBeef back in the mid 90s. I had seen him play before
and I knew what his act was like. Basically you get on
stage and play for about an hour and a half non-stop in a
weird sort of medley where one song runs into the next
without any warning. You go from Frankie Ford to Hank
Williams to John Lee Hooker to Cowboy Copas without
stopping. Go To Blazes backed him up and after the first
set of music I felt like I had been whipped with a bag of
nickels. Then we had to do another set. At the end Sleepy
said something to the effect of " Shit, after the
last bunch of assholes that backed me, you guys were like
a goddamned studio band". I decided to take it as a
compliment.
Yeah, so would I! Singer/songwriter Kathleen
Haskard speaks very highly of you and your solo work Tom,
how did you meet up with her?
I met kathleen in London on tour with Chuck in
2005. She was handling a bunch of Chuck's radio stuff and
actually loaned Chuck and myself a couple of really
nice acoustic guitars for a BBC Radio thing.
 Singer, songwriter, political activist and all round task manager Kathleen Haskard has her new album Don`t tell out on July 23rd, on her own Howlin` Hound label. A sussed and culturally aware musician who passionately believes in the healing capacity of music, people power and that the personal is most definetly political. P.Hawkins |
Oh man, I taped some of those acoustic
shows..........yeah, those guitars sounded
sweet............
I then wound up playing pedal steel on a track
on Kathleen's new record. which Chuck produced. It was
recorded at the legendary Hyde St. Studios in the heart
of San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. One of the
few neighborhoods in the US where you should not be
surprised to be walking down the street and see someone
shooting heroin into a vein in their neck. That said,
Kathleen cut her record in what used to be Room C, also
known as Cosmos Factory, the same Cosmos Factory
that Creedence cut their best album in, and it is also
the same room where The Grateful Dead cut parts of American
Beauty and Working Man's Dead. When I cut my
steel parts for Kathleen, Chuck went out and got a
sandwich. I think this was in an attempt to not vibe me
out. I am really glad I got to be a part of what is a
really terrific record.
Does Chuck Prophet get unsettled by
anything?
Chuck is a sensitive dude with a tough exterior.
I have never seen him show anybody that anything phases
him. He is also one of the best people I have ever
traveled in close quarters with. Just way too much fun.
There is always an upside to even the most dire
situations. Chuck is also one of those guys who doesn't
get heart attacks, he gives them.
What do you understand by the `Americana`
tag that is often used when describing the genre of music
you are most associated with? Does it mean anything these
days?
Americana is used as a catch-all by industry
people to refer to some amalgam of music that seems to be
indigenous to North America like country, blues, folk,
etc. Hip-Hop is also indigenous to North America and has
its roots in the blues tradition, shouldn't that also
fall under the umbrella of Americana?
Maybe.............When Snoop calls me next,
I`ll put it to him and get back to you...................
I understand why people quantify things that
way, and I don't particularly mind being quantified that
way, but it doesn't mean that much to me. I just sort of
see myself as a folk singer.
What`s a challenging studio session for you?
The most challenging, nightmare situation in the
studio is always the situation where you don't feel like
your are getting the music, or you don't feel like you
can wrap what you do around someone else's stuff. This
occurs when the person who you are working for cannot
articulate what they want, or when the music is just not
very good. I have had situations where what I did in the
studio seemed really difficult and not a lot of fun, but
where the end result was something to be proud of. I have
also done stuff that seemed to be really easy, and then
wound up not being on the record because it wasn't very
good or didn't fit. Everybody gets moody in the studio.
The kind of atmosphere you can pour lighter
fuel on and have a fireworks party?
It is often times a tense environment where you
are working under stressful time and financial
restrictions. I was touring with an English Rockabilly
singer and upright bassist named Lloyd Tripp in 2003.
Some of your older English readers might know Lloyd from
a band that he had in London in the 80s called The
Blubberry Hellbellies (everyone in the band was over 250
pounds).
I remember them........................
We were in Germany and in the middle of a tour
we went into a studio to cut a record. We had 2 days.
Lloyd records live to 2-track, with absolutely no
overdubs and was writing the songs in the studio so me
and the drummer didn't know the material. We would just
learn it on the fly and cut it. There were equipment
problems, a language barrier with the German engineers
and a bunch of other problems. It got pretty tense, but
part of our job as a side guy is to assure the person
that you are working with that you are on their side. I
did this with Lloyd, and we got through it and the end
result, which is a record called Who's The Fool
really knocked me out. I couldn't believe how live and
kinetic it sounded, and I didn't realize that I could
still play guitar like that.
Who would be the person who influenced you
most out of that bunch of musicians you have mentioned
Tom?
I
try and take something away from everyone that I have
worked with. Eric Ambel, who was the original guitarist
in Joan Jett and the Blackhearts as well as Steve Earle's
guitarist for 5 years, produced a handful of Go To Blazes
albums and I learned a lot from him. The few things that
I have recorded with Chuck were real learning experiences
about how to organize things musically as well as trying
to experiment with things at the same time. Both of those
guys place an emphasis on how the rhythm section works in
the studio that is absolutely uncompromising. Sean
Coleman who recorded my last record and works closely
with Kelley Stoltz is also a guy who I learned a lot from
in terms of listening to stuff, and organizing thing
sonically.
How important was it for you to make that
first solo album, Boarding
House Rules ?
It was really important to make Boarding
House Rules because I had just come off of the demise
of Go To Blazes where I had played with the same guys for
8 years and and saw myself primarily as a song writing
guitar player who did not sing. My close friend
Ted Warren, the singer and other guitar player in Go To
Blazes is a really gifted singer. He can just open his
mouth and do it. So when I cut Boarding House Rules I was
determined to try and sing my own songs. This was very
daunting on a certain level. I cut the record really
quick, and what I like to say about it is that it was the
best I could do at the time. I've made a sort of
tentative peace with my voice now. I was crushed when
Glitterhouse did not want to put it out.
Who played on that one?
The record was produced by a guy named Chris Von
Sneidern, who has worked extensively with John Wesley
Harding. He is a recording wiz, and a great guitarist and
keyboard player, who has an extensive list of solo
records that are real Power-Pop, Badfinger type stuff.
Teenage Rob Douglas played bass. He went on to play with
Prophet for about 5 years and now lives in Los Angeles
and works with a bunch of cool folks down there. Chuck
and Stephanie Finch also are on the record.
Your second album Deliver
Me has been quietly making a
name for itself, tell me about making that record?
I had a much more specific agenda when I made Deliver
Me . Chuck helped me to organize it in a lot of ways
and served as a sounding board for a lot of the songs as
well as co-writing the title track with me. Sean Coleman
produced it. I used the core rhythm section of Paul
Revelli on drums, Paul Olguin on bass and Danny Eisenberg
on keyboards. We tracked all of the basics really fast in
3 days, and then I went on tour with The Court and Spark,
Lloyd Tripp and later with Chuck, so I was only able to
work on it in fits and starts when I was home, had the
money and when Sean was available, so it seemed to take a
really long time.
When did you get into the pedal steel?
I got a pedal steel in 1994 but did not really
start playing it until about 2 or 3 years later. When I
got to San Francisco, I played with a band called Map of
Wyoming for awhile and since I had a steel I was expected
to play it. Then I played it almost exclusively in The
Court and Spark. I owe a debt of gratitude to both bands
for letting me learn how to play on their stages and
rehearsal spaces. Although I have played and recorded a
lot of steel, I don't really consider myself a steel
player per se. When I was a kid I loved the way it
sounded on Neil Young records and Grateful Dead records,
and I have never really learned how to play in a proper
hardcore honky tonk style. My friend Eric Ambel refers to
this as "hippie steel". I like to say that
"I am as good as Ron Wood"
You have a powerful presence on stage, I
have seen you a number of times, what runs through your
head and guides your vibe when playing?
When I am playing with Chuck I am just trying to
get in there with the rhythm section, play my parts with
authority and help drive the engine. When I play by
myself, I am just trying to remember the words and not
make too many stupid guitar faces.
And what effects do you use?
For guitar I have an effects board that has a
tuner, a couple of distortion/boost pedals a phaser, for
that Waylon Jennings sound and a tremolo pedal. For steel
I usually play with a delay unit and a chorus pedal that
simulates a leslie speaker.
What are your current plans?
I quit drinking for the most part about 7 years
ago so fortunately, or unfortunately I don't have
escapades anymore.
In addition to playing with Chuck, I am
trying to play solo as much as possible and am also
playing guitar and steel with a singer songwriter named
Jesse DeNatale, I also took the first straight day job
that I have had in about 5 years awhile back so that has
changed my life in a number of ways in terms of cutting
back on touring. It is up in the air as to whether I am
going to make Chuck's upcoming European tour, which
saddens me a great deal, but hey, baby needs shoes, as
they say. I also have plans to record another solo disc
sometime this year.
Are we going to see you over here in Europe
sometime soon?
Some solo gigs would be great............. As I
said, I might not make Chuck's upcoming tour because of
job obligations, I would love to come over and do
some solo stuff. I like playing with a band a great deal
but I really love to play solo...no pesky personalities
to deal with other than your own. So I suppose I better
get busy on that front.
Thanks to Ramblin` Tom Heyman (joking Tom, joking...........).
Conducted with a fist full of coppers and a kingsize pack of liquorice papers.
Paul Hawkins
Copywriteand-Deliverme-rightOn