Post by Heather on Mar 14, 2010 10:39:20 GMT -5
Chat Recap - Tom Thacker (Sum41/GOB) - March 13th, 2010
Interview
Tom Thacker Hey Everyone! I made it. Sorry, computer issues..
Tom Thacker How's everyone doing?
Tom Thacker Sweet! Thanks for coming to chat with me. So do u wanna get started Heather?
Heather: What kind of vibe can we expect from the upcoming GOB album?
Tom Thacker: It is going to be a little more punk and rock n roll influenced than muertos which had more metal influences
Tom Thacker: it will still be heavy though
Heather: What is your approach to writing? Guitar first then lyrics? Life experiences?
Tom Thacker: It depends, I usually come up with a song idea in my head when i'm just walking around or something, it will usually be a melody and a couple lyrics, i'll have a basic idea what the music will do also
Tom Thacker: but i try not to limit my approach
Tom Thacker: sometimes i'll write lyrics first or expand on a riff or whatever, whatever i feel
Heather: How has writing and recording with Sum41 differed from GOB?
Tom Thacker: with gob i write the majority of the music and with sum41 deryck writes the music so it's completely different that way. it's cool both ways, of course when you work on your own music there's the whole personal element, you feel the sings different than anyone else but when you're working on other people songs you get to experience it from a 3rd party perspective, less emotional and more practical.
Tom Thacker: sorry about my spelling, i'm a bad typist
Heather: haha, no worries. Can you give us some insight on the song you wrote for the Sum41 album?
Tom Thacker: deryck asked me about a year ago if i had any songs i would like to put on the upcoming sum41 release. we talked a bit about the direction the band was going musically and i put some ideas together and sent him the best one. he was stoked on it and recorded his version and it turned out great. we worked on a couple other ideas but by that time the album was basically full. i think the song turned out great. i'm stoked to work on new ideas in the future with deryck and the guys
Tom Thacker: i write songs all the time, this song was specifically written with sum 41 in mind
Heather: Sum41 has some upcoming shows in Europe, can we expect a set list with some of the new songs?
Tom Thacker: i hope so, i love playing all the songs but we play so often that it's always fun to add new or different songs to the set. i'm super excited about the europe tour, it will be my first time visiting a bunch of the cities on that tour
Heather: We know you love being a part of GOB and Sum41, what is the best aspect of both?
Tom Thacker: with gob i have to basically get the machine moving, with sum 41 i show up and it's already happening. it's fun both ways because of course, with your own songs, there's a little more personal gratification. i still feel gratification with sum too though, it always feels good to play a kick ass show
Heather: last interview question: What are some of your most memorable moments with GOB and Sum41?
Tom Thacker: hmmm, touring japan is always amazing. it's really hard to say, i could think of many anecdotes, hanging out with famous people, crazy parties. some people may measure their gratification by gold records, records sales etc. i really enjoy the process, making records, playing shows, being a musician. i think our fans have made both our bands, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the fans.
Free Chat
--Sum41--
TomiT14: About the new Sum 41 album, you wrote a song for it. How about recording, did you record any guitars or did Deryck do it all?
Tom Thacker: deryck recorded the guitars for the record, sum 41 is his baby, i'd love to play guitar on it but he's gotta do what makes him most comfortable
Jake: Hey Tom! That song you wrote, for the Sum 41 album. It sounds as if it's not going to make the record, any chance we'll ever get to hear it?
Tom Thacker: i'm not sure exactly what the album track list is or b-sides, hopefully my song will see the light of day
da_aman: Deryck mentioned something in a twitter update about a Sum 41 single. Can you tell us anything about that?
Tom Thacker: i'm not sure if the first sum single is decided yet. i'll know in a couple days, i'm going to austin to play a couple sum shows
Tom Thacker: i may know, if they know haha
Hentaiman: Tom, as far as you know, there's a title for the new sum 41 album already?
Tom Thacker: yeah i haven't spoken to deryck about the album title lately, there was one, not sure if it's still the same, if he ain't sayin, i prob shouldn't
TomiT14: How did you end up playing with the Sums? Did you know the guys well before? How did the other Gob members react to the decision?
Tom Thacker: i knew the sum guys, they actually opened for gob back in the day haha, eventually they blew up and brought us out on tour, we got to know them then and got to be good friends. cone comes out and plays a song with gob anytime he's in the same town. the gob dudes were cool about me playing with sum
samueeL: Hey, you and dave are friends right?
Tom Thacker: yeah me and dave are cool. i think i was actually closest with him out of all the guys at first. he told me he'd rather it be me playing with sum than anyone else. pretty sweet.
Jake: Do you think of yourself as a member of Sum 41? Or just a touring guitarist?
Tom Thacker: hmm, i think of myself as semi-permanent in sum41. i'm part of the band but the other guys call the shots, i can respect that
samueeL: Yeah funny thing actually Tom. I found Gob in early 2007 and during watching Give Up The Grudge music vid I thought that wow that lead singer would totally fit sum 41! And a few months after that... Kinda funny.
Tom Thacker: yeah samueel that's funny. i never thought about it because they said they would continue as a 3 piece. then deryck asked me
Tom Thacker: out of the blue
Jake: I thought you went to them?
Tom Thacker: no, deryck asked me if i was interested, he said "i wasn't sure if you thought we were gay", i responded, "oh i knew, that's why i joined"
TomiT14: Will we hear some Gob on Sum's tour this time too? You've played Soda with the Sums in the past. Were there any other songs too?
om Thacker: haha, i'm not sure but i have a feeling we'll probably do soda here and there
Jake: Anyway.. seriously, anything you can give us? Anything at all about the new SUm 41 album? Titles, special songs, etc?
Tom Thacker: i don't actually know titles for the sum songs, just working titles, like "skumfuk"
Hentaiman: you gave a title before , haven't u? something thats called "Like Everyone Else"
Tom Thacker: cone's song is called like everyone else, he wrote lyrics, i'm not sure if deryck is planning to change them or what, i don't even know which songs are going on the record
samueeL: how many songs did you work on in pre-pro?
Tom Thacker: we worked on 14 songs i think
--GOB--
patentti: what happened to the gob documentary your friends were working on?
Tom Thacker: we are going to rework the gob-doc into a possible docu. for the new album, the former idea for a complete doc of gobs history i think was too ambitious an idea to follow through on
Tom Thacker: we'll update on that
TomiT14: How's it in Gob with the guitar? Do you write the majority, does Theo record the majority, or is it 50-50?
Tom Thacker: i write a lot, theo writes but not as much, when we get together to choose songs we try to have a democratic process, my stuff is all over the map usually, most like punk influenced but i'll write little piano sonata kind of stuff or a country song or whatever, usually all that stuff gets ditched but theo writes, i just write a lot more
Jake: I've only listened to a few songs from Gob. I'd love to buy an album, though. What do you recommend?
Tom Thacker: i think muertos vivos is the best gob record. the world according to gob has really great songs and may be our most popular record and how far shallow takes you is really fast and hard, bascially a hardcore record. too late no friends is a fun fast punky record. everyone has different favorites, our sound changes up a lot but stays basically the same if u know what i mean
spook6: Gob was kind of dead between Foot In Mouth Disease, were you guys all just taking a break? and was there talk about not doing anything new after Muertos Vivos?
Tom Thacker: after foot in mouth we went through a lot of changes, new bassist(who didn't work out) new management(didn't work out haha) and new label. we almost signed a record deal with sanctuary records then their label folded. there was just a lot of bullshit we had to deal with
Carlos Allen Thacker: what kind of guitar is your favorite?
Tom Thacker: i use gibson les pauls a lot for recording and live with sum. i use a gibson sg live with gob, it's lighter, a little easier to manage live. gibsons sound great. i love fender guitars too, i always use strats and or mustangs, jaguars for recording as well. i love the sound of p-basses and mustang basses. yo, i'll use pretty much any guitar for something, a friend of mine made a wicked cigar box guitar for me, maybe i'll play that on a song
TomiT14: In Gob, how's the recording process? Which one of you plays most of the guitar, you or Theo?
Tom Thacker: theo and i trade off a lot when we're recording. i always try to utilize our different strengths as players. or whatever part we're more stoked on playing
Jake: If it came down to some freak thing, and you had to choose. . . Sum 41, or Gob?
Tom Thacker: if i had to choose between gob and sum, that's hard. maybe i'd just start i new band... anyone wanna join?
samueeL: How far are you in the process of making new gob album?
Tom Thacker: we are just narrowing the final songs down on the gob record, we have 11 decided. we'll be starting guitars maybe today or tomorrow. i'll record a bunch then theo and steven can record some when i go to austin. we're trying to do this record qucik since the last one was so dragged out
Jon2: Wow, you're starting guitars already?! That's great news.
Tom Thacker: yeah, guitars already, we just dive right in. no f'ng around
TomiT14: Where did the name Gob come from?
Tom Thacker: gob, well, lack of a better name, we found it to be catchy, short and sweet
patentti: i heard you had band called tommy's bisquit before you and theo formed gob.. what was that all about?
Tom Thacker: theo had some songs, i helped him do a demo, brought a drummer in to do some tracks then he booked some shows and we played a few, we didn't have a name and they chose tommy's biscuit as a joke. i hated the name and still do. theo and i formed gob after that
Tom Thacker: yeah it's a gob, the british will say shut yer gob
Jake: Can you explain why Gob isn't a little more "big"? You have great songs. SOme better musically than Sum 41. I can't figure out why you aren't huge.
Tom Thacker: well, thanks, i'm glad u like gob, it's hard to say really, there is a lot of peripheral things involved with the popularity of bands. gob has had quite a bit of success, most in canada and in japan. certainly, it would be nice to be as popular as coldplay but i can be grateful that we've had the success we've had, it's more than most bands ever get
spook6: Gob has really evolved as a band, but still has maintained its fan base... Im just curious have you Gabe and Theo all just grown musically the same, or has there been some discrepancies?
Tom Thacker: we've grown similarly in musical taste but a little different, i think i listen to more music than both of them. i listen to older shit usually
samueeL: I'd live to hear some piano gob stuff. You seem to be really good pianist
Tom Thacker: there will be some piano on the gob album, i'm in to piano music like chopin and i can play some but i'm no virtuoso
--Music Related--
samueeL: Any song(s) you're really proud of writing?
Tom Thacker: i'm proud of pretty much everything i write, i think muertos was my best writing to date but i'm really happy with the songs on the world according to gob as well. the new record is even better writing i think
Tom Thacker: better with age, like a fine wine
Carlos Allen Thacker: this question is personal to age thicken the guitar what was your motivation?
Tom Thacker: sorry, carlos, i don't totally understand the question
Jon2: I think Carlos means "what motivated you to pick up the guitar", Tom
Tom Thacker: i always sat down with any musical instrument and hammered somethin out that i'd heard before so i was always into music. i started playing the drums but couldn't afford a set on my paperboy wages so i bought a guitar, metal was king in those days so i learned to solo and shit like that. once i started writing songs i got into punkrock because it was more real, i couldn't really relate to the words in the metal songs, except for the angrier ones
Hentaiman: Tom, what do u think about Billy Talent? do you know the BT guys personally?
Tom Thacker: i love billy talent, i've met the guys and they're all stellar dudes
Jake: Tom, i play guitar. Im decent, i guess. Nothing great, like yourself. Any tips?
Tom Thacker: practice definitely makes a guitarist. when i was learning i learned entire songs so i could understand arrangements and dynamics stuff like that. an i always focused on things i loved, if a i heard a part i really loved i would find out how to make that sound and incorporate it into my own riffs or songs i was writing. i never really practiced technical stuff much but of course that helps. i was always more into songs
sum182: How does a single day in the studio cost for Sum 41 ?
Tom Thacker: it depends on the studio, capitol records is mucho $$$$, i don't do the books though so i don't know what the rates are
Jake: I'd listen to the Jonas Brothers if i wasen't so stuck up.
Tom Thacker: jonas bros? i don;t know their songs but they may have a couple good ones, you know. since i play music i love, i can judge music on it's own merits, all that american idol shit can kiss my ass but the artists may have a good song here and there
Heather: my weakness in Swift, You Belong with Me gets stuck in my head all the time
Heather: Butch's version is better, IMO
Tom Thacker: i must admit, i have a weakness for swift too, she kind of looks like an alien but kinda cute, i don't know
Tom Thacker: i should check butch's version
Heather: yeah, they played his version at the Grammys, his vid for it is funny
Tom Thacker: ahh i missed the grammys
Heather: Butch played his Banjolin, he was the best part of the Grammy's..lol
Tom Thacker: haha i'll check out that butch vid. butch rules
--Touring--
TomiT14: Has Gob made any trips overseas? Would you consider touring Europe, for example? As an opening band for the Sums, maybe. There's a big fanbase over here too!
Tom Thacker: haha yeah, i didn't play on the record but i'll be playing it live, just come to the shows
Tom Thacker: gob toured japan and australia other than that just north america, we would def. come if there was a good touring opportunity but we would need to find an opening slot on a tour
Hentaiman: open up for Sum 41
Tom Thacker: yeah that would be sick for gob to tour with sum41 but it may be kind of hard to do both bands at once
Jon2: Yeah, we need you here in Europe, there's 4 finns in this chat, for example
Tom Thacker: 4 fins in the chat! nice. i can't wait to get over there. congrats on the bronze in hockey btw
Hentaiman: well, i would come to the shows if you guys will come to Israel some day
Tom Thacker: hopefully we'll make it to Israel soon hentaiman
Carlos Allen Thacker: have considered for a tour in mexico?
Tom Thacker: mexico would be sick, i love mexico, used to roadtrip down baja when i lived in LA
da_aman: Are you looking forward to Warped Tour this year? Any certain bands you're excited to be there with or any specific dates on the tour?
Tom Thacker: i think it will be great for us to do warped tour, kind of gets us back to our roots. i've been busy and i'm not entirely sure who else is on the line-up for warped. there's def going to be some bands i love do you know who is on warped?
Hentaiman: well a lot of great bands on warped this year
Tom Thacker: yeah, i'l check out antiflag and alkaline trio, pennywise with a new singer i suppose, i'll miss jim tho.
Hentaiman: tom, what is the band you would like most to tour with?
Tom Thacker: i would like to tour with propagandhi, or gogol bordello. i love both of those bands and i've never played with either.
Jake: What's the biggest, best show you've ever played?
Tom Thacker: biggest show maybe summersonic with sum 2 years ago? or edgefest w gob a while ago, when they're that big over 20k it's pretty crazy
sum182: Have you ever wanted to play naked on a show ?
Tom Thacker: haha yeah, i've tried to talk gob into playing naked, fortunately they talked me out of it, it has the potential for major embarrassment, i'm not very well hung
--General--
Carlos Allen Thacker: which is your favorite drink your favorite clothes so it
Tom Thacker: favorite drink? vodka soda , limeade, earl grey tea. favorite clothes? uniqlo jeans, my duran duran shirt
patentti: hahah, a duran duran shirt! cool
Tom Thacker: yeah, it's original from the 80's found it in LA, it's got sweet pits stains, from me
Jake: Hows your girlfriend?
Tom Thacker: my gf is awesome
Carlos Allen Thacker: you have any pets? which is your favorite animal
Tom Thacker: i'm actually allergic to most pets, especially cats which sucks cause i love em
Carlos Allen Thacker: you use on your hair so it looks so cool and ask what kind of cut or use
Tom Thacker: hmm, i use B&B sumotech and then maybe some hairspray. and go to japanese salons if i can, i find they have the best hairdressers
Jake: Tom, i love you! I thought you should know.
Tom Thacker: haha thanks jake! i rather fond of you too
patentti: haha, i love you also tom! in a heterosexual way
Tom Thacker: haha lots of love on here. gay or straight platonic it's all welcome. jesus, i sound like a hippy
Heather: RT @toddsplanet Brown Tom shreds in an old school way, take him to the bar and he will drink himself gay! Lol!
Tom Thacker: yeah, that was a sweet rhyme, courtesy of todd morse i think
Jake: Hey Tom, is "Brown Tom" a sexual reference?
Tom Thacker: who told you brown tom was a sexual reference?
Tom Thacker: sssh!
Tom Thacker: stevo gave me the name tho, so....
Jake: He was about to say brownsound, or something right?
Tom Thacker: yeah, then he corrected himself and said "then brown...tom can play this" something like that i'm like, "did u just call me browntom?"(raised eyebrow)
Jon2: Related to patentti's question, what are some of your favorite movies Tom?
Tom Thacker: ffavorite films-- delicatessen, big lebowski, ichi the killer, to live, royal tennenbaums. i have many favorites.
patentti: might be a pretty random question, but what do you usually watch from tv?
Tom Thacker: i only watch a lil tv, curb your enthusiasm, tim and eric's awesome show great job, 30 rock. bullshit, maybe a couple other shows.
Carlos Allen Thacker: what's your favorite food
Tom Thacker: favorite food, i like thai chili-basil tofu, indian- panchrattan daal, japanese ume-shiso, yamakake soba. i kind of like some crazy shit. depends tho, i haven't different favorite restaurants in different cities
Tom Thacker: i like japanese macrobiotic food the best
--Ending--
Heather: BTW Tom just a reminder, you can chat as long as you like, no time limit, just whatever you feel like
Tom Thacker: yeah i guess it's getting pretty long. maybe we should pack it in eh heather?
Tom Thacker: dont get me wrong i love chttin with y'all
Tom Thacker: thanks everyone! sorry for being a lil late!
Tom Thacker: thank you!
Tom Thacker: bye bye!
Interview
Tom Thacker Hey Everyone! I made it. Sorry, computer issues..
Tom Thacker How's everyone doing?
Tom Thacker Sweet! Thanks for coming to chat with me. So do u wanna get started Heather?
Heather: What kind of vibe can we expect from the upcoming GOB album?
Tom Thacker: It is going to be a little more punk and rock n roll influenced than muertos which had more metal influences
Tom Thacker: it will still be heavy though
Heather: What is your approach to writing? Guitar first then lyrics? Life experiences?
Tom Thacker: It depends, I usually come up with a song idea in my head when i'm just walking around or something, it will usually be a melody and a couple lyrics, i'll have a basic idea what the music will do also
Tom Thacker: but i try not to limit my approach
Tom Thacker: sometimes i'll write lyrics first or expand on a riff or whatever, whatever i feel
Heather: How has writing and recording with Sum41 differed from GOB?
Tom Thacker: with gob i write the majority of the music and with sum41 deryck writes the music so it's completely different that way. it's cool both ways, of course when you work on your own music there's the whole personal element, you feel the sings different than anyone else but when you're working on other people songs you get to experience it from a 3rd party perspective, less emotional and more practical.
Tom Thacker: sorry about my spelling, i'm a bad typist
Heather: haha, no worries. Can you give us some insight on the song you wrote for the Sum41 album?
Tom Thacker: deryck asked me about a year ago if i had any songs i would like to put on the upcoming sum41 release. we talked a bit about the direction the band was going musically and i put some ideas together and sent him the best one. he was stoked on it and recorded his version and it turned out great. we worked on a couple other ideas but by that time the album was basically full. i think the song turned out great. i'm stoked to work on new ideas in the future with deryck and the guys
Tom Thacker: i write songs all the time, this song was specifically written with sum 41 in mind
Heather: Sum41 has some upcoming shows in Europe, can we expect a set list with some of the new songs?
Tom Thacker: i hope so, i love playing all the songs but we play so often that it's always fun to add new or different songs to the set. i'm super excited about the europe tour, it will be my first time visiting a bunch of the cities on that tour
Heather: We know you love being a part of GOB and Sum41, what is the best aspect of both?
Tom Thacker: with gob i have to basically get the machine moving, with sum 41 i show up and it's already happening. it's fun both ways because of course, with your own songs, there's a little more personal gratification. i still feel gratification with sum too though, it always feels good to play a kick ass show
Heather: last interview question: What are some of your most memorable moments with GOB and Sum41?
Tom Thacker: hmmm, touring japan is always amazing. it's really hard to say, i could think of many anecdotes, hanging out with famous people, crazy parties. some people may measure their gratification by gold records, records sales etc. i really enjoy the process, making records, playing shows, being a musician. i think our fans have made both our bands, we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the fans.
Free Chat
--Sum41--
TomiT14: About the new Sum 41 album, you wrote a song for it. How about recording, did you record any guitars or did Deryck do it all?
Tom Thacker: deryck recorded the guitars for the record, sum 41 is his baby, i'd love to play guitar on it but he's gotta do what makes him most comfortable
Jake: Hey Tom! That song you wrote, for the Sum 41 album. It sounds as if it's not going to make the record, any chance we'll ever get to hear it?
Tom Thacker: i'm not sure exactly what the album track list is or b-sides, hopefully my song will see the light of day
da_aman: Deryck mentioned something in a twitter update about a Sum 41 single. Can you tell us anything about that?
Tom Thacker: i'm not sure if the first sum single is decided yet. i'll know in a couple days, i'm going to austin to play a couple sum shows
Tom Thacker: i may know, if they know haha
Hentaiman: Tom, as far as you know, there's a title for the new sum 41 album already?
Tom Thacker: yeah i haven't spoken to deryck about the album title lately, there was one, not sure if it's still the same, if he ain't sayin, i prob shouldn't
TomiT14: How did you end up playing with the Sums? Did you know the guys well before? How did the other Gob members react to the decision?
Tom Thacker: i knew the sum guys, they actually opened for gob back in the day haha, eventually they blew up and brought us out on tour, we got to know them then and got to be good friends. cone comes out and plays a song with gob anytime he's in the same town. the gob dudes were cool about me playing with sum
samueeL: Hey, you and dave are friends right?
Tom Thacker: yeah me and dave are cool. i think i was actually closest with him out of all the guys at first. he told me he'd rather it be me playing with sum than anyone else. pretty sweet.
Jake: Do you think of yourself as a member of Sum 41? Or just a touring guitarist?
Tom Thacker: hmm, i think of myself as semi-permanent in sum41. i'm part of the band but the other guys call the shots, i can respect that
samueeL: Yeah funny thing actually Tom. I found Gob in early 2007 and during watching Give Up The Grudge music vid I thought that wow that lead singer would totally fit sum 41! And a few months after that... Kinda funny.
Tom Thacker: yeah samueel that's funny. i never thought about it because they said they would continue as a 3 piece. then deryck asked me
Tom Thacker: out of the blue
Jake: I thought you went to them?
Tom Thacker: no, deryck asked me if i was interested, he said "i wasn't sure if you thought we were gay", i responded, "oh i knew, that's why i joined"
TomiT14: Will we hear some Gob on Sum's tour this time too? You've played Soda with the Sums in the past. Were there any other songs too?
om Thacker: haha, i'm not sure but i have a feeling we'll probably do soda here and there
Jake: Anyway.. seriously, anything you can give us? Anything at all about the new SUm 41 album? Titles, special songs, etc?
Tom Thacker: i don't actually know titles for the sum songs, just working titles, like "skumfuk"
Hentaiman: you gave a title before , haven't u? something thats called "Like Everyone Else"
Tom Thacker: cone's song is called like everyone else, he wrote lyrics, i'm not sure if deryck is planning to change them or what, i don't even know which songs are going on the record
samueeL: how many songs did you work on in pre-pro?
Tom Thacker: we worked on 14 songs i think
--GOB--
patentti: what happened to the gob documentary your friends were working on?
Tom Thacker: we are going to rework the gob-doc into a possible docu. for the new album, the former idea for a complete doc of gobs history i think was too ambitious an idea to follow through on
Tom Thacker: we'll update on that
TomiT14: How's it in Gob with the guitar? Do you write the majority, does Theo record the majority, or is it 50-50?
Tom Thacker: i write a lot, theo writes but not as much, when we get together to choose songs we try to have a democratic process, my stuff is all over the map usually, most like punk influenced but i'll write little piano sonata kind of stuff or a country song or whatever, usually all that stuff gets ditched but theo writes, i just write a lot more
Jake: I've only listened to a few songs from Gob. I'd love to buy an album, though. What do you recommend?
Tom Thacker: i think muertos vivos is the best gob record. the world according to gob has really great songs and may be our most popular record and how far shallow takes you is really fast and hard, bascially a hardcore record. too late no friends is a fun fast punky record. everyone has different favorites, our sound changes up a lot but stays basically the same if u know what i mean
spook6: Gob was kind of dead between Foot In Mouth Disease, were you guys all just taking a break? and was there talk about not doing anything new after Muertos Vivos?
Tom Thacker: after foot in mouth we went through a lot of changes, new bassist(who didn't work out) new management(didn't work out haha) and new label. we almost signed a record deal with sanctuary records then their label folded. there was just a lot of bullshit we had to deal with
Carlos Allen Thacker: what kind of guitar is your favorite?
Tom Thacker: i use gibson les pauls a lot for recording and live with sum. i use a gibson sg live with gob, it's lighter, a little easier to manage live. gibsons sound great. i love fender guitars too, i always use strats and or mustangs, jaguars for recording as well. i love the sound of p-basses and mustang basses. yo, i'll use pretty much any guitar for something, a friend of mine made a wicked cigar box guitar for me, maybe i'll play that on a song
TomiT14: In Gob, how's the recording process? Which one of you plays most of the guitar, you or Theo?
Tom Thacker: theo and i trade off a lot when we're recording. i always try to utilize our different strengths as players. or whatever part we're more stoked on playing
Jake: If it came down to some freak thing, and you had to choose. . . Sum 41, or Gob?
Tom Thacker: if i had to choose between gob and sum, that's hard. maybe i'd just start i new band... anyone wanna join?
samueeL: How far are you in the process of making new gob album?
Tom Thacker: we are just narrowing the final songs down on the gob record, we have 11 decided. we'll be starting guitars maybe today or tomorrow. i'll record a bunch then theo and steven can record some when i go to austin. we're trying to do this record qucik since the last one was so dragged out
Jon2: Wow, you're starting guitars already?! That's great news.
Tom Thacker: yeah, guitars already, we just dive right in. no f'ng around
TomiT14: Where did the name Gob come from?
Tom Thacker: gob, well, lack of a better name, we found it to be catchy, short and sweet
patentti: i heard you had band called tommy's bisquit before you and theo formed gob.. what was that all about?
Tom Thacker: theo had some songs, i helped him do a demo, brought a drummer in to do some tracks then he booked some shows and we played a few, we didn't have a name and they chose tommy's biscuit as a joke. i hated the name and still do. theo and i formed gob after that
Tom Thacker: yeah it's a gob, the british will say shut yer gob
Jake: Can you explain why Gob isn't a little more "big"? You have great songs. SOme better musically than Sum 41. I can't figure out why you aren't huge.
Tom Thacker: well, thanks, i'm glad u like gob, it's hard to say really, there is a lot of peripheral things involved with the popularity of bands. gob has had quite a bit of success, most in canada and in japan. certainly, it would be nice to be as popular as coldplay but i can be grateful that we've had the success we've had, it's more than most bands ever get
spook6: Gob has really evolved as a band, but still has maintained its fan base... Im just curious have you Gabe and Theo all just grown musically the same, or has there been some discrepancies?
Tom Thacker: we've grown similarly in musical taste but a little different, i think i listen to more music than both of them. i listen to older shit usually
samueeL: I'd live to hear some piano gob stuff. You seem to be really good pianist
Tom Thacker: there will be some piano on the gob album, i'm in to piano music like chopin and i can play some but i'm no virtuoso
--Music Related--
samueeL: Any song(s) you're really proud of writing?
Tom Thacker: i'm proud of pretty much everything i write, i think muertos was my best writing to date but i'm really happy with the songs on the world according to gob as well. the new record is even better writing i think
Tom Thacker: better with age, like a fine wine
Carlos Allen Thacker: this question is personal to age thicken the guitar what was your motivation?
Tom Thacker: sorry, carlos, i don't totally understand the question
Jon2: I think Carlos means "what motivated you to pick up the guitar", Tom
Tom Thacker: i always sat down with any musical instrument and hammered somethin out that i'd heard before so i was always into music. i started playing the drums but couldn't afford a set on my paperboy wages so i bought a guitar, metal was king in those days so i learned to solo and shit like that. once i started writing songs i got into punkrock because it was more real, i couldn't really relate to the words in the metal songs, except for the angrier ones
Hentaiman: Tom, what do u think about Billy Talent? do you know the BT guys personally?
Tom Thacker: i love billy talent, i've met the guys and they're all stellar dudes
Jake: Tom, i play guitar. Im decent, i guess. Nothing great, like yourself. Any tips?
Tom Thacker: practice definitely makes a guitarist. when i was learning i learned entire songs so i could understand arrangements and dynamics stuff like that. an i always focused on things i loved, if a i heard a part i really loved i would find out how to make that sound and incorporate it into my own riffs or songs i was writing. i never really practiced technical stuff much but of course that helps. i was always more into songs
sum182: How does a single day in the studio cost for Sum 41 ?
Tom Thacker: it depends on the studio, capitol records is mucho $$$$, i don't do the books though so i don't know what the rates are
Jake: I'd listen to the Jonas Brothers if i wasen't so stuck up.
Tom Thacker: jonas bros? i don;t know their songs but they may have a couple good ones, you know. since i play music i love, i can judge music on it's own merits, all that american idol shit can kiss my ass but the artists may have a good song here and there
Heather: my weakness in Swift, You Belong with Me gets stuck in my head all the time
Heather: Butch's version is better, IMO
Tom Thacker: i must admit, i have a weakness for swift too, she kind of looks like an alien but kinda cute, i don't know
Tom Thacker: i should check butch's version
Heather: yeah, they played his version at the Grammys, his vid for it is funny
Tom Thacker: ahh i missed the grammys
Heather: Butch played his Banjolin, he was the best part of the Grammy's..lol
Tom Thacker: haha i'll check out that butch vid. butch rules
--Touring--
TomiT14: Has Gob made any trips overseas? Would you consider touring Europe, for example? As an opening band for the Sums, maybe. There's a big fanbase over here too!
Tom Thacker: haha yeah, i didn't play on the record but i'll be playing it live, just come to the shows
Tom Thacker: gob toured japan and australia other than that just north america, we would def. come if there was a good touring opportunity but we would need to find an opening slot on a tour
Hentaiman: open up for Sum 41
Tom Thacker: yeah that would be sick for gob to tour with sum41 but it may be kind of hard to do both bands at once
Jon2: Yeah, we need you here in Europe, there's 4 finns in this chat, for example
Tom Thacker: 4 fins in the chat! nice. i can't wait to get over there. congrats on the bronze in hockey btw
Hentaiman: well, i would come to the shows if you guys will come to Israel some day
Tom Thacker: hopefully we'll make it to Israel soon hentaiman
Carlos Allen Thacker: have considered for a tour in mexico?
Tom Thacker: mexico would be sick, i love mexico, used to roadtrip down baja when i lived in LA
da_aman: Are you looking forward to Warped Tour this year? Any certain bands you're excited to be there with or any specific dates on the tour?
Tom Thacker: i think it will be great for us to do warped tour, kind of gets us back to our roots. i've been busy and i'm not entirely sure who else is on the line-up for warped. there's def going to be some bands i love do you know who is on warped?
Hentaiman: well a lot of great bands on warped this year
Tom Thacker: yeah, i'l check out antiflag and alkaline trio, pennywise with a new singer i suppose, i'll miss jim tho.
Hentaiman: tom, what is the band you would like most to tour with?
Tom Thacker: i would like to tour with propagandhi, or gogol bordello. i love both of those bands and i've never played with either.
Jake: What's the biggest, best show you've ever played?
Tom Thacker: biggest show maybe summersonic with sum 2 years ago? or edgefest w gob a while ago, when they're that big over 20k it's pretty crazy
sum182: Have you ever wanted to play naked on a show ?
Tom Thacker: haha yeah, i've tried to talk gob into playing naked, fortunately they talked me out of it, it has the potential for major embarrassment, i'm not very well hung
--General--
Carlos Allen Thacker: which is your favorite drink your favorite clothes so it
Tom Thacker: favorite drink? vodka soda , limeade, earl grey tea. favorite clothes? uniqlo jeans, my duran duran shirt
patentti: hahah, a duran duran shirt! cool
Tom Thacker: yeah, it's original from the 80's found it in LA, it's got sweet pits stains, from me
Jake: Hows your girlfriend?
Tom Thacker: my gf is awesome
Carlos Allen Thacker: you have any pets? which is your favorite animal
Tom Thacker: i'm actually allergic to most pets, especially cats which sucks cause i love em
Carlos Allen Thacker: you use on your hair so it looks so cool and ask what kind of cut or use
Tom Thacker: hmm, i use B&B sumotech and then maybe some hairspray. and go to japanese salons if i can, i find they have the best hairdressers
Jake: Tom, i love you! I thought you should know.
Tom Thacker: haha thanks jake! i rather fond of you too
patentti: haha, i love you also tom! in a heterosexual way
Tom Thacker: haha lots of love on here. gay or straight platonic it's all welcome. jesus, i sound like a hippy
Heather: RT @toddsplanet Brown Tom shreds in an old school way, take him to the bar and he will drink himself gay! Lol!
Tom Thacker: yeah, that was a sweet rhyme, courtesy of todd morse i think
Jake: Hey Tom, is "Brown Tom" a sexual reference?
Tom Thacker: who told you brown tom was a sexual reference?
Tom Thacker: sssh!
Tom Thacker: stevo gave me the name tho, so....
Jake: He was about to say brownsound, or something right?
Tom Thacker: yeah, then he corrected himself and said "then brown...tom can play this" something like that i'm like, "did u just call me browntom?"(raised eyebrow)
Jon2: Related to patentti's question, what are some of your favorite movies Tom?
Tom Thacker: ffavorite films-- delicatessen, big lebowski, ichi the killer, to live, royal tennenbaums. i have many favorites.
patentti: might be a pretty random question, but what do you usually watch from tv?
Tom Thacker: i only watch a lil tv, curb your enthusiasm, tim and eric's awesome show great job, 30 rock. bullshit, maybe a couple other shows.
Carlos Allen Thacker: what's your favorite food
Tom Thacker: favorite food, i like thai chili-basil tofu, indian- panchrattan daal, japanese ume-shiso, yamakake soba. i kind of like some crazy shit. depends tho, i haven't different favorite restaurants in different cities
Tom Thacker: i like japanese macrobiotic food the best
--Ending--
Heather: BTW Tom just a reminder, you can chat as long as you like, no time limit, just whatever you feel like
Tom Thacker: yeah i guess it's getting pretty long. maybe we should pack it in eh heather?
Tom Thacker: dont get me wrong i love chttin with y'all
Tom Thacker: thanks everyone! sorry for being a lil late!
Tom Thacker: thank you!
Tom Thacker: bye bye!