Pumpkin Pie Coffee House Music Series/ Follow, Spin, and Win Contest

Things are revving up for what will be a busy summer of performances. Had a great holiday weekend of music that finished off with a double gig Sunday with The Tony Silvestri Band! First up, we fulfilled our duties as "The Seed-To-Sausage Band" in Tichborne at their annual "Day Of The Pig" celebration, then our caravan headed down Crow Lake Road to Westport (which was an absolutely beautiful drive) to The Cove for a show. Great crowd, as always, with folks coming from Kingston, Belleville, and Perth to take in some Holiday tunes ( and enjoy a fantastic Beef Brisket). Thanks everybody for helping to create the good energy in the room. We appreciate your support!

For those of you who may not know, The Tony Silvestri Band is a band within a band. Bonz, Richard, and I also perform as the Tom Savage Trio on occasion. 

But really, it's a band within a band, within a band, because Tony performs with us as well at shows that focus on my original material. If you have heard Everything Intertwined, you'll know the expert job that Tony did with his keyboard work on that album.

For those of you in and around the Kingston area, this Saturday is a great opportunity to see the band within a band...within a band, in action! We are performing at the Battersea United Church as part of the Pumpkin Pie Coffee House Music Series. This is a great listening room to perform in. The quiet that the audience provides really allows us musicians the freedom to work with the dynamic range of the songs in a way that is sometimes not possible in a barroom setting. Really looking forward to this. AND THERE IS HOMEMADE PIE!!!

  Tickets are $15, available at:

  Ormsbee's Mercantile, Sunbury
  Brian's Record Option, Kingston
                         or
  Reserve by calling 613-353-2889
  email: pumpkin.pie.music@gmail.com

Follow, Spin, and Win

I also wanted to let you know about a contest I'm running to help promote my Spotify page. Over the next couple Fridays, I'll be drawing winners of a Tom Savage - Everything Intertwined T-shirt, CD, and Poster.

All you have to do to be entered in the draw, is to follow me on Spotify, then share this link via facebook, twitter, or instagram. Be sure to tag @tomsavagemusic so I know you've shared. If you've followed me on Spotify already, and want to be entered in the draw again for the following Friday, simply share the link again and I'll put your name in the hat.

Last week's winner was Shelley Bishop, who already had a shirt, so she gave it to Bonz, who quite shockingly, did not have one yet.

See you on the road!

Tom

Everything Intertwined officially released today!

Had a great Canadian tour, bringing the new tunes to new and old friends along the way. Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support by purchasing their hard copy of the new album.

For those of you who do your listening and purchasing on the internet, today ( October 3rd) is the official release of Everything Intertwined. Itunes, CD Baby, Bandcamp, etc. Head over and have a listen. If you dig it, throw your money down.

Have Yourself a Brooding Lo-Fi Christmas

Now available on CD Baby  you can purchase my 2011 Ep, Living Room Session.  This record is what the title indicates : songs recorded in my living room. Me, my guitar, and one microphone recorded live off the floor. Truly lo-fi. I love the simplicity of this recording and may revisit this production style in 2016.  So, if the holiday season gets you down, with its rampant consumerism, credit card debt, and surfacing of deeply-hidden family issues, my record may just cheer you up.

I kid. Actually, I really enjoy Christmas, though I could do without the materialistic aspects of it. Which strikes me as funny as I write this because I am asking you to buy my record! 

But, on that subject, I was reading a post from a friend online the other day, and she said that the best gifts are those made by independent artists. This is so true! Whether it be music or art, or even furniture, supporting those who are making their own way with their craft has a real impact. First, the financial benefit for the artist. Second, the money goes straight back into the local economy. Third, the social message it sends. I support the arts. I support community. I am not a slave to the corporation by giving gifts made of pieces of plastic that have been shipped over from China.

So, swing on by CD Baby and download Living Room Session. Six songs of dark, brooding, lo-fi, anti-folk goodness. What could be more Christmasy than that!

1. The Less You Seem To Know -  a psychotic breakdown in a big box store 3000 miles from home
2. Par For The Course - about getting old ( the title is in tribute to my late grandmother. Par For The Course was one of her favourite sayings)
3. A God I Can Call My Own -  an agnostic gospel song
4. Bleed That Pig -  raping the planet is just no good
5. Lonesome Highway - a dark secret, a hidden past, a fork in the road between calamity and redemption
6. Never Been Seen -  quite possibly the saddest song I've ever written about what else, mortality 

Podcast : Lew Has A Beer With Songwriter Tom Savage

I sat down for a chat and a beer with one of my #1 fans, Lewis MacDonald. We talked about the new album, life on the road, songwriting, hot tubs with record players and sandwich presses, scented CD covers, and more. Check it out and please share!

Crowdfunding Campaign up to 82 %!

The new record is now up to 82% funded on Sellaband! This is a good thing because we are halfway finished recording the new album already, and are going to need to pay for it!

Thanks everyone who has put their money down and shown me that they believe in what I'm doing. It means a lot. If you haven't contributed yet, there is still time. The deadline for contributing is July 21st, so pre-purchase your copy of the new record today! A bunch of other cool stuff you can pick up on the site as well.

2014 : The Year Of Creative Possibility

Incredibly excited about this next calendar year, for it will be filled with a multitude of creative projects for me. Since the creative surge that produced a string of albums, Never Shed No Tears (2006), TST's The County Line ( 2008), and Live @ The Acoustic Grill (2009), I have definitely dropped off in my frequency of releasing albums, with the Internet-only EP Living Room Session (2011), and the limited edition release of TST's Overdrive Express (2012). The latter two albums were very much less involved projects. They were experiments, in a way, of alternative methods of recording and releasing albums.

I think 2014 is the time to get back on that horse. I'm looking at the possibility of releasing three different albums with three different groups. In fact, the process has already begun, with our recording of the Foley Mountain Playboys last month. A great session that sounds really promising.  Also, we've had tracks for the Aldous Huxters record down for over a year. Will 2014 be the year when this project sees the light of day? I certainly hope so. A great collection of songs there that deserve to be heard. 

Last but not least, 2014 will also the release of my first (studio) solo record since 2006's Never Shed No Tears.

More on this project in the weeks to come.

Add my live show schedule to all of these projects, and one might think I've got too much on my plate, but I say, "Bring it on!!".

Currently fundraising for my solo album on Sellaband. From now until the end of December, I will personally match any contribution towards this project. i want to wrap this up so I can concentrate on the music.

Surprise gig at The Acoustic Grill Tonight!

Doing the last minute fill-in thing tonight at The Acoustic Grill in Picton, ON. Well, not quite last minute, we've known for a couple of days, but still it is news to all of you. Come on down and enjoy the music and food in one of the best venues in Ontario. We get underway at 7:00 PM.  Duo show with Kevin Davidson on fiddle and backing vocals.

And if you can't make it, you can always purchase the live album, and feel like you were there!

Story Behind The Song : Train Keeps A Rollin'

Many of you, who come out to see me play live, will undoubtedly be familiar with the song, "Train Keeps A Rollin". I'd say it has become one of my most popular songs over the past couple of years. It actually just filled the dance floor the other night at The Red Lion in Belleville. Good beat? Check. Sing along? Check. Jam-ability? Check.

It is interesting how this song came to be. In fall 2011, I booked a show at an old train station in southern Ontario. One condition of the gig was that I had to perform a train song. Now I could've performed "Freight Train" by Fred Eaglesmith, or "Mystery Train", or any other number of train songs, but I decided it was an opportunity for a songwriting exercise. 'Train Keeps..." predates the 2012 Song-A-Week Challenge by a couple of months (not sure of the exact date, somewhere around Oct. or Nov. 2011) but it was approached with the same spirit as the challenge.

I was pretty excited when I wrote the song, and really stoked to perform it at the train station gig the following Spring. About a week before I was scheduled to perform, I get a call saying they are going to have to cancel, due to lack of interest in their concert series, and low attendance at the previous few concerts. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed. After all, I wrote the damn song specifically for this show! That feeling didn't last long though because I realized that, if I hadn't booked the show, I would never have written what turned out to be, one of my most popular songs.

Consequently, that train station show goes down as the most important gig I never played!

Pick up your copy of "Train Keeps A Rollin" here.

Tom Savage Trio Taking A Break From The Road

It's been a good run over these past seven years, but now it's time for TST to take a break from the road. We've been working hard to bring our brand of dirt road rock and roll to music fans all over Canada, and we appreciate everyone who have come out to shows over the years, and bought merchandise, and given us food and drink, and helped us promote the shows, and given us couches and floors to crash on, and written articles about us in their local paper, and have interviewed us, or had us play live on their radio shows, and helped our record chart on Canadian campus radio, and so on, and so on.

Many of you know of our legendary (some have compared us to Spinal Tap) turnover in drummers. I'm happy to say that the frequent change in drummers had nothing to do with personality conflicts, and Geoff and myself remain friends with all who played in the band. Thanks to Sandy, Joe, Chris, Jeff, and Gary for being a part of the band. And thanks to all of the other drummers who auditioned, or almost played in the band(which would be every drummer in Kingston I think).

At this point in my career, I find I need time to step back, reevaluate things, and figure out what my next move is, both creatively and professionally. Got some ideas, but for much of 2013 I'll be ruminating over them.

Don't worry folks in Eastern Ontario, you'll still see both Geoff and I playing around this area. We are both rocking out with the Tony Silvestri Band these days, and Geoff is also playing around Kingston with Bent On Soul.

I'll be doing a number of shows with Kevin Davidson on fiddle, playing my own original music, and staying busy on the scene. Who knows? We may play the odd TST show in Kingston. Stay tuned for updates about new projects coming down the line.

And even though we aren't touring Canada for awhile, you can still buy/download our records.

Keep on Rockin'
Tom

Best Of The Song A Week Challenge #4 : Good Friends, Good Times, Good Music

I couldn't have made it through to the end of this challenge without the interest and support of my friends and fans. Knowing that folks were keeping track of this thing certainly motivated me to keep going. This all started with my buddy Ross Neilsen and I joking around about the idea on Facebook. We had never met in person up to that point. We just helped each other out with information about venues, helped set up gigs, etc. When Ross did a show here in Kingston at the RCHA, you know we just had to get a song down for this challenge :





Ross was doing the challenge as well, but only made it to week #15. Still, he got some great tunes out of it, and a couple ended up on his latest record. I'm sure he would say it was a worthwhile creative exercise. You can pick up a copy of his latest record HERE.



Another opportunity that arose from this challenge, prompted mostly by the necessity to continually come up with new material, was co-writing. Tony Silvestri, Geoff Chown, and myself were sitting around, before or after practice one day(can't remember which), and I turned to Tony and said,'I need a song for this week, like today. Let's write one.' So we did just that. I'm still not sure I know how to play this one on guitar. Tony took care of the music. We need to get a studio quality recording of this song(sound quality on this video is pretty rough). It's gonna be a hit, I tell ya!




While TST was on tour out west last fall, we stopped in and visited with our good friend, singer/songwriter JD Edwards, at his home in Winnipeg, MB. As always when we are in Winnipeg, we had an awesome time out on the town, and ended jamming at a local pub by the end of the night. But to start off, we sat around in JD's living room and wrote this tune. Warning: this can be an earworm.

This recording says it all for me, about the experience of doing the song a week challenge, and being creative for creativity's sake, and nothing else. Good friends. Good times. Good music. If you've got that, you're doing alright.

Best Of The Song A Week Challenge #2 : Another Comparison

It was interesting listening back to "49 More To Go" last week, and taking notice of the changes the song went through from the time it was written, to when it was recorded for "Overdrive Express". The first recording is more raw obviously, but you can also hear the newness of the song as well.

This week I thought I'd share with you a couple of more songs of the week that were recorded for "OverDrive Express" along with the first recordings.


 Lunatic Baby 

Sell music on Amazon at ReverbNation.com

We're Older Now

Sell music on Amazon at ReverbNation.com

Best of the Song A Week Challenge #1

I've been going through the songs of the week, and listening to them again. I'll be posting what I think are, the best, most memorable, and/or interesting songs from the challenge over the next few weeks.

Would love to hear your feedback on the blog, or via Facebook or Twitter.

I'd have to say, without a doubt, that this is the song that had the most impact on the live show. It found its way into the live set, basically the week it was written, and never left. Furthermore, it ended up on the latest TST disc, Overdrive Express. It's foot stomping, singalong nature make this a fan favourite. Not bad for week #3.

The song is "49 More To Go"

Here's the version from "Overdrive Express" :



Here's the version I recorded in week 3 of the challenge :

2 for 1 Holiday CD sale

From now until January 2nd, if you purchase 2 Tom Savage CDs, you will receive a 50% discount. I'm not too good with math, but I think that adds up to a pretty sweet deal. Drop by the CDBaby site, and check it out. We are currently sold-out of "The County Line", but more CDs are on the way to Portland,OR. They should be there this week.

If you wish to download the digital album, please do so from CDBaby or Bandcamp. MP3 albums only cost $5 on these sites, as opposed to the $8.91 you will pay on itunes.


If you're looking for Christmas music, download my single "Christmas Is Here Again". It only costs $0.99, and 50% of proceeds will be donated to OXFAM.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,
Tom

CD Baby Music Store on Facebook

Selling music on Facebook has taken, what I think will be, a giant leap forward this week, with introduction of the CD Baby Facebook Music Store. I just installed it on the Tom Savage Trio facebook page, you can check it out here. CD Baby sells more independent music than any other site in the world, and boasts an incredibly diverse catalogue of music, thanks in large part to the artist-friendly policies. The Facebook Store also doubles as a place where fans can listen to an artists music. Artists can choose whether they want to provide partial or full clips, and which songs they want to be made available. They can also choose which titles they want to sell on their Facebook page.

it will be interesting to see how music sales are using the new store. The knock against Facebook is that its users aren't interested in buying things when they use the site. Have you ever bought anything as a result of something you saw on Facebook ?

At any rate, if you are an indie musician, this will be a welcome addition to you Facebook Page.

CD Baby site currently out of stock

If you've been by the CD Baby site in the past few days, you may have noticed that we are currently sold out of discs (The County Line). We've been waiting out the postal strike here in Canada, so we have not been able to replenish the supply.

I'm not sure what I think about the government forcing them back to work(well actually I'm pretty sure I don't like it at all), but now that they have, CD's will be available on-line again shortly.

If you can't wait, you can buy the digital album for $5 on the CD Baby site, or from a new site that I've set up with Vibedeck. This is a direct-to-fan sale, so if you pay $5, we get $5.

Or you can join the 2000 or so people who have downloaded "The One" for free from our ReverbNation site.