-----------------------------------------------------2008 SUMMER WORKSHOP
now booking
-----------------------------------------------------Albums now available on i-Tunes
-----------------------------------------------------Big article in the Irish News
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somebody wrote about Thomas on Wikipedia
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Interview with FingerStyleChina.com
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Desert Pirate reviewed by Minor7th.com
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Feb. 22nd 2008
Another long-overdue update!
NAMM was fun but exhausting as usual. One of the things I love about that show is that it is starting to feel like a bit like a family reunion - you keep bumping into old friends and making new ones. I was really happy I finally got to meet Don Ross. I've been aware of for a long, long time (even learned his 'First Ride' in 1996) and finally met him when him and Andy McKee stopped by to say hello .
It's media month again - there's a big article/interview with me in this month's 'Guitarist' magazine (# 300, UK/Ireland) and as far as I know there should also be a huge interview/article on me in the coming German "Akustik-Gitarre" which is fantastic because I used to read that when I started out.
You can also find Eric Roche's arrangement of Van Halen's 'Jump' which I transcribed in this month's 'Acoustic Guitar'. Apart from the fact that it should give Eric's cause a bit of a boost. I'm really chuffed I get to write for them sometimes - AG is the biggest acoustic guitar magazine out there!
A NAMM story worth mentioning: I was playing 'Desert Pirate' and suddenly somebody who honestly looked a bit like a California bum/hippie snuck up next to me and started singing along and dancing. He had a fantastic voice and great sense of time - I thought it was hilarious but at the same time a bit rude because I was trying to perform for a group of people! I laughed, leaned towards him and said "you're crazy, man" and kept on playing. After I was done, a camera guy (ubiquitous at NAMM) comes up to me and tells me about a documentary they are doing about Jon Anderson and would I mind if they used the video they just took. I said: "Who's Jon Anderson?" and he said "The singer from 'Yes'!". So I guess I must have pissed off somebody really famous by being a bit rude. But he was a bit rude too, so whatever. I told them I wanted to see the footage first...
Jan. 25th 2008
I'm sorry for having to cancel/move the Knitting Factory and Verity Room gigs in Los Angeles but I had to fly to Austria on short notice. This is the first time I've cancelled a show so this is important. I'm sure you'll understand.
I'll be back in California on February fifth and all concerts will go ahead as planned.
Jan. 4th 2008
2007 was fantastic - and I have high hopes for 2008 as well! The concerts in Croatia, the UK and Ireland went down really well and I think I've found a good way of keeping myself fresh on tour by simply avoiding 3 1/2 months of gigs everyday but about a month maximum. Am at home at the moment, writing some new stuff, arranging more. A Lowden baritone guitar will join the famly in a few weeks and I'm REALLY looking forward to what I'll come up with on that thing.
What else is there to look forward to? A quick jump to Belgium for the Verviers Guitar Festival (should brush up on my French for that one) and the Austria tour this spring which I'm in the process of setting up.
Nov. 3rd 2007
...and a whole bunch of videos are online now as well - feel free to send these to everybody you know :-)
will start packing tomorrow - almost 30 gigs in as many days in Croatia, the UK and Ireland. Can't wait....
hugs,
Thomas
Oct. 24th 2007
just finished a two-week bout of manic tablature writing....some of it with flames closing in on the house and some of it in a car because we were evacuated and had to spend the night in a parking lot. I'm not joking.
The digital tab book will be done tomorrow and I've updated the shop area for that and the NEW ALBUM which should be here just in time before I leave for Croatia, the UK and Ireland!
Sample tracks to 'Desert Pirate' can be found on my MySpace page.
And we've done some photo and video shoots which you'll see soon too. The website is also about to receive an update.
Sept. 5th, 2007
It's been a fantastic summer - My yearly residential guitar workshop "boot camp" was brilliant due to a magic constellation of students, teachers and great weather on the mountain. I'm already excited about next year!
2007 guitar boot camp pictures here
...and here are some from Matt B.
The music festivals in Aflenz (A), the IGF Bath (UK), Lewes (UK), Limerick (IRE), Hersbruck (GER) and Bregenz (A) as well as all the concerts in between also were a lot of fun and on the top of it all I recorded the new album 'Desert Pirate' in two days at the Hitbox Altenburg where 'riddle' and 'Upside Down' were also done. For those two albums we've tried to achieve a 'larger-than-life' type of sound but this time we are aiming at RFB (really f***ing big). We must have hit the target because a manic grin keeps spreading across my face while listening to the near-final mixes. Am very excited about this one - it should be out in October. Featuring new original tunes as well as a cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" and Bjork's "Isobel".
The only bad news: I have to write quite a bit of tablature in the next month, which is not much fun at all!
June 18th, 2007
Spring Tour picture diary online
It's been a while - after this round-the-world tour, trying to play live and reach as many of you as possible, I urgently needed a few weeks off.
But I'm writing quite a bit these days and looking forward to a busy summer! Highlights include recording sessions for the new album, my own summer workshop, guitar festivals in Austria, Germany, England (two) and Ireland and a few concerts along the way here and there.
As far as the tour retrospective goes, I've noticed that I started repeating myself so instead of doing the usual "tour went well", "I think I played well", "it was great to see xyxy", "thanks to xyz" etc.... I thought I'd treat you to a picture diary from this mad dash around the world. Enjoy!
April 4th, 2007
We're both happy and sad that the summer workshop is completely full. Please e-mail me anyway so you can be the first to know about next year's workshop.
I'm in Austria at the moment, enjoying a couple of days 'break' in the middle of a spring tour which spans six countries and three continents... I also just spent a day and a half answering left-over e-mails.
NEWS: I'm very happy to announce that I have joined Cornford Records - a record label which is also home to the fantastic Guthrie Govan. This is a bit of an adventure as Cornford Records are basically known for extreme electric guitar playing but we think my acoustic antics should go down well with the shredder crowd.
February 2007
Hello everybody -
another year, another NAMM show - I will post some pictures soon. It's always so much fun to spend time with the folks from Lowden Guitars and play their beautiful guitars. And there are many friends and colleagues from all over the world I usually only come across at the major trade shows! Playing there was a lot of work - it's tricky to get a crowd from passing (and mostly jaded) industry-types but it's a great work-out and testing ground for new material. Which I've incidentally been working on in the weeks 'off' since as well.
The workshop for this summer is sold out - we're still taking people's names down for a waiting list in case of cancellations and for next year but we're full. Whee!!!
I'm writing this at Chicago O'Hare airport - I've been re-routed on account of the snow storms and have four hours to spend here.... Well, at least I finally get to write something for the website :-)
The next week I'll be blazing through Missouri, Kansas and Colorado with my friends and fellow guitar slingers Andy McKee and Dan LaVoie - I'm very much looking forward to these concerts - it will be great to play and hang out with them and grab the 'middle' of America by the ears!
See you all soon!
December 23rd 2006
You can find the look back on the tour of Taiwan and Korea here - and pictures are here
I am enjoying a few weeks 'off' at the moment before the road will eat me again -the spring tour will start off with a few dates in the US with my friend Andy McKee, the on to Japan, on to Germany, Austria, UK, Ireland and then back to California... So I am using this rare occasion to write, organize and prepare for 2007. I have so many ideas rushing around in my head at the moment - I haven't felt like this since 1998 when I wrote the material for 'riddle'.
2007 will be a good year :-)
November 22nd 2006
If I get sick before I go to Korea this kid can play my shows for me... video
November 15th 2006
Sam is a good friend of mine and his daughter Niamh is probably my youngest (definitely the cutest) fan and is playing the opening bar of 'riddle' for you in this video. If she keeps practicing like that I'll have to look for a new job!