Exposed Vocals Interviews Tom Jarvis

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

Tom:  I grew up in a small village just south of Cambridge with my family and started playing the guitar at the age of 6.

I always loved performing with it and I’m pretty sure I was that annoying kid at the party who always wanted to show off and try and play in front of my mates or anybody that’d listen haha (I still kind of am that kid!!)

Then when I left secondary school I went to work in Sales and did that for 9 years… But during that time, when I was about 18 I started gigging with my friends just as a hobby but definitely got the bug for it.

I moved to Chester when I was 23 with work and that was when I really got into Songwriting and performing solo.  A couple of years later I recorded my debut EP “Make your own luck” and out of nowhere it reached the top 40 of the iTunes singer/songwriter charts. This was when I thought I might have something so made the brave decision to quit work and went for it!!

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

Tom:  Errrrm it’s my name 🙂

 

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Tom:  I think online music sharing is extremely important.  As an artist who is continually trying to grow my own fan base, the only way that can happen is by people listening to my music and engaging with it.  I have given music away for free in the past and this has arguments for both sides, but my logic is, I would rather people be listening to my music because they have received it for free (and potentially tell their friends/family about it) than be put off by the price tag that may be attached.  Even if it’s only a few quid, you’d be surprised at how many people won’t order or buy it.

 

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Tom:  I still consider myself to be a start-up, I mean it’s not like I’m touring Europe in a tour bus!!  Hahaaa!

But some tips that might help:-

-        If you think the music, originals or covers is good, start recording it and uploading it to YouTube, SoundCloud etc… Whether they be recorded in a studio, at home, on an iPhone, whatever, just make sure they’re as good as they can be and if they are good enough, people will start to pay attention.  Not everybody, but some.

-        Don’t be frightened to speak to people.  Contact venues, promoters, agencies, labels, management explain who you are and ask if you can come out and play.

-        Start building your ‘Music CV’… Keep track of all the milestones you reach, venues you play at, crowds you play in front of, artists you support, cities you’ve played in and so on… Slowly over time, your music CV will begin to carry more weight and people will start to listen to you.

-        Be thick skinned.  A lot of people will say no. That’s just how it is.  Who cares…….. on to the next person.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Tom:  Songwriting…. Hmmm I’m not one of these people that sits there and writes religiously (maybe I should be)…. But I will go for 3 or 4 months without writing anything new, then all of a sudden I will start writing and ideas will start coming out of nowhere.  I then end up building up a back catalogue of ideas that I can go back to whenever I’m feeling creative.

Sometimes I start with the guitar part, sometimes with the lyrics, I don’t really have a set method…. I just make sure I record any idea I come up with on my phone, even if it’s just 10 seconds, you never know where it might come in handy.

My inspiration usually comes from happy places or things that have happened to me, I don’t often find myself writing a sad song which I think is quite refreshing…. Most of mine have a positive twist.

 

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

Tom:  Yes! I have my own website www.tomjarvismusic.co.uk I also use, facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, YouTube, Instagram, Reverbnation and Snapchat.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Tom:  Hmmmmmmm…. I would invest a huge chunk into recording a new album…. I’ve always wanted to record a full album!!  I’d then obviously purchase my tour bus and tour the album across Europe!

I’d then make sure my family didn’t have to work for a while and could enjoy somewhere sunny! Then mayyyyybe I would treat myself to a new motorbike! 🙂

 

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Tom:  Without the support of a label or management it can be tough to stand out from the crowd…  But it doesn’t mean you can’t… With social media being such a huge (and FREE) platform for reaching people, I literally try and exploit every corner of it… Whether that be YouTube Videos, facebook Videos, facebook Live, Twitter Posts, Twitter Searching for things that relate to what you do, engage with everybody…. There isn’t one single thing that works better than the other I don’t think, they all have their benefits so would suggest taking on them all.

 

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Tom:  So I’m currently in the process of my new release ‘Wonder of time’ which is available to Pre-order now and scheduled for release on the 12^th August!  Once that is out in the airwaves, I will be following it up with some live shows to promote it.

I then plan on getting back into the studio towards the end of the year to start work on my new EP which will hopefully be out beginning of 2017.

 

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Tom:  I honestly don’t know how to answer this… Because even if I wasn’t a full time musician and working 9-5, I would still be making music, but in my spare time etc…. I can’t really think what it would be like to not be doing that if that makes sense haha?!

 

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

Tom:  It’s tough…. Haha all my friends think I sit at home not doing anything, but I’m constantly looking at what I have to do next in my music career to take that step forwards.  I just keep my head down and stay focused on what I have to be doing to keep a buzz around my music and hopefully in the long run, all this hard work will pay off.

 

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

Tom:  As mentioned above, my new release is out on the 12^th of August (available for Pre-order now!!), so once this is released officially, I will be hitting the road and playing a few shows to promote it, details will be posted on my facebook page.

I will also be recording a few Live Acoustic YouTube sessions of the tracks over the next few weeks for your viewing pleasure and then later in the year, looking to head back into the studio and start work on my follow up EP for release early 2017!!

Tom Jarvis SoundCloud