Kingston Release Show SOLD OUT!! Belleville Release Show ADDED! plus Wintertide Meltdown 2

It certainly was a surprise, the speed with which our Kingston album release concert sold out! A welcome change, as many times we are holding our collective breath days before a concert, wondering if people are going to show up. 

We definitely feel your excitement and enthusiasm for this new album, and we are equally excited to share it with you. We'll be performing the album in its entirety for our first set at The Broom Factory on March 9th, then we will return to rock out some more after a brief intermission, and a chance to mingle with the crowd(and hopefully sell copious amounts of merchandise).

It's gonna be great!! 

BELLEVILLE RELEASE SHOW ADDED

Many of our fans also did not anticipate our Kingston show selling out so quickly, so for that reason, we've decided to add a Belleville album release concert on Friday, March 22nd to give our fans in the Quinte/Prince Edward County regions a chance to celebrate this rock and roll achievement with us. Tickets will move fast so act now!!

WINTERTIDE MELTDOWN 2

For those of you in the Kingston/Sharbot Lake/Westport regions that didn't get a chance to buy your ticket for the album release show, come get your DRR fix at Wintertide Meltdown 2 at Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake on Saturday, February 24th. We put on this event last year with a couple of local businesses(Frenchie's Chip Hut and K & P Brewing) and it was so much fun that we decided to do it again!

This time around Frenchie's is offering a dinner option, so you can take in the concert AND have a great meal for the incredible price of $55!! When purchasing your tickets you can choose between beef, chicken, or vegetarian options.

Grab your tickets today and let us know you value us bringing these type of high quality concert events to smaller communities.



See you at the rock show!

Tom

What An Unbelievable Week! Guitars Stolen AND Returned in 7 Days!!

What an unbelievable week indeed! Between Saturday, May 13th and Saturday May 20th, I had my guitars stolen, I had a facebook post about the incident go viral, along with an outpouring of support from the Kingston community and people across Canada, and the guitars were returned to me! Nothing short of amazing!! 🤯

This all started on Saturday, May 13th. I had my gear loaded for a show at Sam's Place out in Prince Edward County, and stopped at the K&P trail(Kingston area) for a walk. A rural part of the trail surrounded by farmland, I might add. I think this is an important detail as some folks on social media assumed I was in the city limits, and more specifically, parked near a homeless encampment...

When I returned to the van it had been broken into(they ripped the passenger side door handle off) and they stole my signature Gibson Nighthawk guitar and an Epiphone Wildkat that Richard Piche (bassist for Dead Root Revival) had just modified with two 1967 Dearmond gold foil pickups. It was a gut punch for sure. I immediately raced home and put up a post on social media with a desperate plea for help in finding the guitars. Facebook responded in kind! In less than two hours, my post was shared over 1000 times, ultimately reaching 7800 shares over the course of the week, and offers of gear and messages of support flowed in. It was a truly heartwarming and overwhelming experience. ❤️


Then on Saturday, May 20th at 10:30 AM, almost exactly the same time of day they were taken from me a week before, my guitars were returned.


https://www.thewhig.com/news/kingston-musician-hoping-for-return-of-stolen-guitars-gear






Naturally, there has been quite a lot of curiosity out there, as to how the whole thing went down. How did I get my guitars back?

First off, I’ll say that this wouldn’t have happened without the social media reaction and the almost 8000 shares my original post received on Facebook alone. That really put the pressure on the thief or thieves.

I always had a good feeling that I would get my guitars back someday because of the unique nature of the models I have. No one plays a Nighthawk really and definitely nobody has an Epiphone Wildkat with gold foil pickups. However, I thought it would take a long time.

But when I woke up on Friday morning, there was a message on my phone from a friend of mine saying he had a lead on the guitars…and he sent pics! I was shocked! The thief probably had reached out to someone in hopes of moving the gear….and the pics had been passed on down the line. But it had become abundantly clear that nobody was going to touch these guitars! They had become some of the most recognizable instruments in the country in a matter of days(hours even!), so the thief switched gears and decided to add to their criminal repertoire by attempting extortion.

They delivered a message to me through back channels that I was to pay a ransom of $1500 if I wanted my guitars back.

I offered an alternative. Deliver my guitars, and do the right thing, or face a not-insignificant amount of jail time for theft over $5000. Through my friend the message was delivered and a deadline was set for a response by Friday afternoon.

Not long after this occurred on Friday morning, another friend, from the Kingston Police force, contacted me. He saw that I’d filed a report and offered assistance. He also works as tour manager for 54-40, who had been a victim of Guitarjackers a few years back( 7 guitars stolen, 6 returned).

I told him about the developments in the case and that I was waiting to see if the situation could be resolved without police involvement.

By 2 PM on Friday afternoon, there had been no communication from the Guitarjackers, so I asked him to intervene. He dispatched two constables to knock on doors and start following the trail. The next morning I checked in with him and he assured me the officers were working the case, were 3 or 4 links down the chain towards finding my guitars, and it was only a matter of time. Not even an hour after that, my friend (with connections to the other side of the law 😄 ) called me saying he had picked up the guitars. Unbelievable!!


https://www.thewhig.com/news/kingston-musicians-stolen-guitars-returned-one-week-after-going-missing




The three factors in getting this resolved:

1. Social media - this put such intense pressure on the thief and gave them nowhere to move these instruments.

2. People wanting to do the right thing. Even those who deal in stolen goods wouldn't touch these guitars. The heat was a factor for sure, but from what I understand of the situation, there was considerable pressure applied from those on the street to convince the thief to part with my guitars.

3. The police pressure. It was made known to the thieving party that the police were closing in and it would only be a matter of time before they were arrested.

Some of you will be disappointed that were no arrests. I’m just happy to have my instruments back, but I do hope that the thief will think twice next time, because they definitely got more than they bargained for when they broke into my van.


Thanks again to everyone who shared my posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You collectively played a big part in bringing my guitars home!


If you want to see these guitars in action come see a Dead Root Revival show. They've got extra MOJO now!!

Catch DRR at the Rainbow in Ottawa on Saturday, June 3rd - Tickets
or in Kingston at the RCHA on Saturday, June 10th - Tickets



Rock and Roll!
Tom

New Live Album/Summer Shows/ 21st Century Lo-Fi Vinyl Update

Live at the Old Church Theatre 

More exclusive music for Savage Song Supporters! Bonz brought microphones to our show at the Old Church Theatre in Trenton a couple weeks back and the recording turned quite nice indeed! This was the first show Tony and Benji performed together and there are some great musical moments. Bandcamp subscribers can stream or download now!

https://tomsavage.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-the-old-church-theatre

Summer Shows! Summer Shows!

Looking forward to getting out and playing this summer. It's the first "back to normal" summer since the pandemic started, and it feels good to have a full schedule for the first time since 2019! Keeping it local as I'm not feeling like hitting the road, but playing with...5(?!) different band configurations will keep things creatively satisfying for sure...if you count the jams at Spearhead for industry Mondays, you could say 6,7,or 8 different configurations! 😄

Here is the schedule. Hope to see you at a show or two.

June 24th - Doug Fluhrer Park for River Love! w/ Kevin Davidson on violin (5-7 PM)

June 24th - The Toucan - Kingston - Dead Root Revival (10 PM)

June 25th - Keystorm - Brockville - Tom Savage and Kevin Davidson (8 PM)

June 27th - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

July 1st - ArtFest - Kingston - solo show (12 PM)

July 1st -  Bay of Quinte Yacht Club - Belleville - Savage Family Band (7:30 PM)

July 2nd - Private Party - Westport - Dead Root Revival

July 3rd - 1000 Islands Regatta - Brockville - Dead Root Revival 

July 4th - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

July 7th - RCHA - Kingston - solo show ( 7 PM)

July 9th - Hotel On Wolfe Island - solo on the patio - 1 PM

July 11th - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

July 15th - Joel Stone Park - Gananoque - Dead Root Revival (8 PM)

July 16th - WestFest - Westport - Return of The Foley Mountain Playboys! (2 PM)

July 18th - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

July 23rd - Island grill - Savage Family Band - (3-5 PM on the patio)

July 24th - The Mansion - Kingston - Savage Family Band (3-5 PM on the patio)

July 25th - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

July 28th - RCHA - Kingston - solo show ( 7 PM)

July 29th - The Toucan - Kingston - Dead Root Revival (10 PM)

July 30th - Keystorm - Brockville - Band Format TBD (8 PM)

Aug. 1st -  Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

Aug. 5th - Lockmaster's Taphouse - Smiths Falls - Dead Root Revival (7 PM)

Aug. 6th - Private Party 

Aug. 8th - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

Aug. 11th - RCHA - Kingston - solo show ( 7 PM)

Aug. 12th - Skeleton Park Brewery - Kingston - solo show (5-7 PM)

Aug. 13th - Private Party - Dead Root Revival

Aug. 15th - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

Aug. 16th - Confederation Park - Kingston - Savage Family Band (12:30 PM)

Aug. 19th - Private Party

Aug. 20th - Private Party

Aug. 22nd - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

Aug. 25th - Limestone City Blues Fest - Confederation Park - Kingston - Dead Root Revival (4:30 PM)

Aug. 26th - Toucan - Dead Root Revival (10 PM)

Aug. 27th - Z.A.M.F.I.R. - hosting the jam (3-6 PM)

Aug. 27th - Toucan - Dead Root Revival (10 PM)

Aug. 29th - Industry Monday at Spearhead Brewing (3-6 PM)

Sept. 3rd - Longtooth Brewery - Stirling - solo show(2-5 PM)

Sept. 4th - The Mansion - Savage Family Band - Savage Family Band - (3-5 PM on the patio)

Still waiting on vinyl...

It seems like forever since 21st Century Lo-Fi came out in digital and CD formats, but here we are still waiting on the vinyl records. They will get here! The supply chain has messed with delivery schedules for many indie artists, along with major label artists(looking at you Adele!!) monopolizing the pressing plants. We're looking at a ballpark timeline of end of July/ early August for delivery. Thanks to everyone who preordered, and we will have a celebration one day...looking at the end of September for a vinyl release party in Kingston. 

If you haven't heard the new album yet, give it a spin on Bandcamp ( http://tomsavage.bandcamp.com) or add it to your preferred streaming service at https://tomsavage.hearnow.com

What people are saying about 21st Century Lo-Fi:

"With 21st Century Lo-Fi Savage continues this journey, bookending the album with the type of songs we would expect a songwriter of the folk ilk to explore during a pandemic. Just as intriguing is a trio of challenging songs serving as the nervous system of the album, songs that bring to mind various faces of David Bowie, of all people, including guitar threads that remind us of Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick, and creative bass effects that would not have been out of place on the Serious Moonlight tour.

These songs—“The One I Wouldn’t Let In,” “We’ve Outgrown Everything We’ve Known,” and “In the Evening Glow”—are absolutely fabulous, taking the listener on an appealing journey of sounds and visions. Savage’s vocal phrasing on these songs is pure genius, whether intentionally going places I’ve not previously heard from him or not.

But truly, the entire eight-song disc is bleeding amazing, and is certainly my first ‘favourite’ of 2022, closely followed by my recent purchase of Ann Vriend’s new one! The storytelling here is that of experience and emotion rather than narrative.

The press notes site the requisite Van Zandt and Springsteen comparisons, and Yeah, sure. I find Savage more individual, and comparisons—despite my previous attempts—don’t truly work. Toss in Tom Petty, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Ian Hunter while you’re at it, but I prefer to just let his songs—the lyrics, the guitar effects, the vocal harmonies (check out the lead track, “Right Where You Found Me” for the combination of the three)—pull me close and keep me riveted." - Fervor Coulee

"The eight-song collection expands his familiar Roots Rock sound into previously uncharted territory, combined with lyrics that address many issues we are currently grappling with as a society". - Wildfire Music

"I’ve had the privilege of discovering various new talents hailing from Canada in this year alone, but Tom Savage may just be the very best to emerge thus far, and with an album as adept, as diverse, as spurring and overall as remarkable as 21st Century Lo-Fi, that shouldn’t come as much of a shock." - Small Music Scene

"...a rapid-fire indictment of economic disparity overtop a pulsing beat." - Canadian Beats

Hope you enjoy a safe and happy summer season.


Cheers,
Tom

Surprise Guests at The Toucan!

You never know what's going to happen down at The Toucan. Jeff Martin from The Tea Party just might get on stage and jam out. A great night of music. Thanks Jeff!

Also, thanks to Johnny Lane and Matt Woodward for contributing to the epic Rock and Roll goodness!