Jon Gomm's one man 'band'
Guitar genius Jon Gomm is heading back to the Isle of Man next month for the Acoustic Troubadours concert when he will be performing on a bill with Angelo Palladino as well as hosting a workshop for young musicians.
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JON Gomm is a master of the guitar so terms such as 'singer-songwriter' or 'guitarist and singer' do not even begin to cover what his shows are like.
While the above descriptions may be technically accurate, the way Jon plays his guitar – using it as much for percussion as for chords and melodies – is as visually interesting to watch as it is great to listen to.
But that only paints part of the picture. The best way to do Jon's skills justice is to see him live and watch his inventive and complex playing as well as his excellent rapport with the crowd.
The Acoustic Troubadours concert, on Sunday, February 1, at the Promenade Suite, Villa Marina, Douglas, will be Jon's third visit to the Island and he has built a following here.
'It's always fun, it's a little bit more exciting when you are overseas. Even though it's not technically a foreign country it is literally overseas,' he said.
This time he will be bringing his friend Angelo Palladino – who appears on the soundtrack to the classic film Leaving Las Vegas starring Nicholas Cage – with him.
Jon explains: 'It's a strange, long story with Angelo. He was on the verge of becoming a big name, but that was quite a long time ago. He played at the Royal Albert Hall and, as Nic Cage is driving off to the sunset at the end of Leaving Las Vegas, it is Angelo playing. He had some opportunities for a really big break but, for various reasons, it all went west and it didn't happen.
'It's only the past few years he has come back and started doing gigs again. He could be one of those late discoveries that seem to be happening at the moment, people like Seasick Steve coming up a little bit later in life and suddenly getting acclaim they have never had before.
'Hopefully he will be like that because his new album has had rave reviews in Rolling Stone and various huge international publications so hopefully it will be a big year for him.
'His stuff is rootsy, the darker side of country – think Johnny Cash, and kind of blues. He also has this Keith Richards approach to guitar playing and he always says to me, "Jon, these days everybody knows about the rock but nobody knows about the roll".'
In terms of how he developed his own distinctive guitar style Jon said: 'I used to play flamenco when I was a kid so a lot of the guitar percussion techniques come from that and I used to play a lot of traditional blues as well.
'I remember seeing Bob Brozman, a New York guitarist, when I was 10 years old and I have gone on to play with him since then. I remember him flipping over his guitar and doing a drum solo on the back and flipping it over again. It is nothing new, I do it in a slightly different way, it's a technique that is growing in popularity a little bit now.
'My approach to the guitar has always been to play it every way that I can and learn every possible style and learn every possible technique and then I try to use them all. For me it makes it more exciting and more interesting to perform. It adds to the visual aspect of the performance as well.'
In terms of the on-stage banter, he said: 'The reason why I have banter is for two reasons – I am from Blackpool so I am used to watching "turns" so you have to have banter. It's also because every song that I play is in a different tuning on the guitar. It means there is space to fill when I have to change tuning.
'Being able to tune and to talk at the same time is quite important.'
Jon explained the composing process.
'Often the songs themselves are quite simple. The complex bit is not the song itself but how I play it. I always write the song first and that will be simple chords and melody which I write on my guitar or in my head and then I work out a way of playing it that fits with the song.
'I have written songs that I have thought of in my head and I think "this song is going to have a drum and bass style or this song is going to have a country style" and I decide whether I have to do percussion on the guitar or whether it needs a separate bass line.
'If I were in a band what would I get the drummer to do? What would I get the bass player to do? Would I have keyboards on it? Would I have different instruments? Then I try to do that on the guitar as I don't have a band!'
We can expect a new album from Jon this year.
'I am just finishing up a recording at the moment. It's called Curses and Blessings.
'All my songs are about my life and things that have happened in my own experience or based upon that, so you can lump them into those two categories, the curses and the blessings.'
Also on February 1, Jon and Angelo will be holding a young musicians' workshop at the Studio Theatre, Ballakermeen High School.
Doors open at 1.30pm and the workshop runs from 2pm to 3.30pm.
Jon and Angelo will offer insights into the life of the professional musician – self-promotion, life on the road, performance tips and tricks, composition, songwriting and recording skills and they'll perform some of their songs too!
All ages are welcome, although pre-teens should be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Unreserved seated tickets are 6 for adults and 4 for students/cared for and carers and are available from the Welcome Centre and the ticket hotline on 694555. The event is supported by the Isle of Man Arts Council.
Jon explained: 'It's going to be a fairly general affair, we don't want to make it specifically about guitar playing but I will be revealing some secrets about the techniques I use on the guitar in a simple way that people can understand, it's revealing the smoke and mirrors behind the magic, like those shows where they show you how magicians do tricks!
'It will be interesting for non-guitarists as well.'
Jon will also be tackling some issues that are not often addressed at workshops such as making music your profession.
He added: 'People are often interested in things such as how to make a living for yourself as a musician or as a band and it is something that people don't talk about in workshops very much. Often people have questions about things like that that don't get answered.'
2008 was a good year for Jon and it included two tours in Italy which he describes as 'probably my second country now'.
He said the food and the people are amazing and they say bravo at the end of the songs – and, while they don't cheer, they clap for a really long time!
This year should see Jon play in Germany for the first time as a solo performer.
But there is something Jon wants that he has not had on his previous visits.'I have not had any scallops on the Isle of Man yet – I want some queenies,' said Jon. Let's hope he gets the chance to tuck into some after amazing us with his guitar wizardry once again.
Doors for the gig at the Promenade Suite open at 7.30pm, with support act Hannah Short starting at 8pm.
Unreserved seated tickets are 13.50 from the Welcome Centre at the Sea Terminal, Douglas, the ticket hotline on 694555 or online at www.villagaiety.com
The concert and workshop have been organised by JonnoPromotions.
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