Tom Yoder
9th Annual New Age Song Winner
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Genre: New Age
HOMEBASE/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
ALBUM NOMINATED SONG IS ON: The song is “Locked In” from the CD Tomfoolery
ARTISTS ON THIS TRACK: Just me. Mike Gardner is the co-producer/engineer.
WHERE WAS SONG RECORDED? Osceola Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina.
WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? CDBaby, Amazon.com, soon on iTunes, my Web site.
WHICH GENRES BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? American, instrumental, acoustic, fingerstyle guitar. But I guess that isn’t completely true because Tomfoolery has got loud fast, distorted electric guitar on it too. How about just guitar?
WHAT’S THIS SONG ABOUT? 3:30… HAHA. I have no idea. It’s about getting the harmonics to sound good.
WHY DID YOU SELECT THIS TRACK TO SUBMIT TO THE IMAs? As far as I am concerned any song is as good as the next on the CD, so there you go.
WHAT UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS OR TECHNIQUES DID YOU USE ON THIS ALBUM? Mike Gardner (co-producer/engineer) and I didn’t do anything unusual. The song structure is straight forward. We used two mics and a direct line out of the Expression System on my Taylor 814-CE. It was a quickly written song. I flied my nails quite well that day. Just tried to get a good performance. We used nice mics, that’s about it.
DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? No.
DESCRIBE YOUR AUDIENCE: Almost nonexistent.
WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? Each one of us is unique in ways none of us can even fathom. The fact that they will even listen to something I write and/or play is just a small part of that weirdness.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO PLAY? Anywhere people will listen. I mean that seriously. It’s hard to find places where people will actually listen.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? I won an Independent Music Award in 2004. I also opened for King’s X once- quite a thrill. They are one of my all-time favorite bands.
WHAT’S IN THE WORKS FOR 2010? I’ve already recorded Serenade No.13 in G, K.525, commonly known as “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”. Just the first movement, the Allegro. I’ll do the other three movements soon. I am in the process on working up Mozart’s “The Marriage Of Figaro” Overture K.492. In my opinion, it’s one of the coolest and most exciting tunes ever written. At the same time I am working on and recording the first movement (Allegro Con Brio) of Mozart’s Symphony No. 25, K.183 and Vivialdi’s Concerto No.1 in E major. Op.8, RV 269 “La Primavera” AKA Spring. I’m playing all the parts, 1st and 2nd violin, viola and bass and other various parts such as the oboe, clarinet, horns etc. – all on guitar of course. And more accurately, electric guitar. It’s too much fun. Seriously, way too much fun. I could be arrested.
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS….Completely unaware of me… in a constant state of flux… not to be trusted… the most fickle thing ever… unforgiving… lots of fun… something that I will never understand, but then that is par for the course for me.
WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? Doing what I am doing right now. I am doing an interview about me with you that other people will read. It would be nice to make more money, though. But in really thinking about it, instead of giving a smart### answer, it’s getting the song written correctly: from my head to the instrument and paper then recorded.
WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? Gwen Stephani “The Sweet Escape”. I love that tune.
NAME SOME ARTISTS YOU ARE CHAMPIONING: There are so many composers/interpreters/bands etc. I love. King’s X. Did I say I love King’s X? If not, I love King’s X. They have never gotten properly recognized as the great band that they are. Greg Howe, may be the greatest guitarist walking the planet. And symphonic music- not just symphonies- small groups of “symphonic instruments.” You know, violin, viola, piano, horns etc. in trios, quartets and quintets, etc as well as full symphonies. Most people in our time simply don’t listen to that enough. So many people have listening ADD/ADHD. If the music isn’t spoon fed to them, they can’t concentrate enough, or long enough to really listen. I don’t understand that. Well, I understand why. But it is certainly the case. So I would champion the cause of higher level listening. Start with Mozart, Chopin, Bach, Beethoven, Copeland, Stravinski, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Greg Howe, Robben Ford… and on and on…..