Author Archives: TomSlatter
Warden’s Song – 3 new pieces
Warden’s Song was commissioned by Andrew Fletcher as a theme song for his steampunk character Fitch Warden. Here it is at a pay-what-you-want fee. Feel free to share it with all and sundry.
Composing a prog rock epic – step 1
Raising Steam Twit-reviews
Today I decided to write a word association twitter review for the other acts performing at the Raising Steam Festival. This is what I wrote:
Thy Last Drop – playing punk with folk instruments and singing songs about naughty goings on. Vagabondy.
Gladstone: bit ‘eavy bit Iron Maiden Judas Priest telling stories about mummies and madness in the 19th century
The Mysterious Freakshow: Double double! rocky psychedelic bits o’ punk ‘n’ 70s rock. Hedge Witch= great song
@Steampunkfunk Montague Jacque Fromage – What a beard!
@TheMechanisms character costume narrative storytelling fiddles and drums I am slightly scared of them
@BirthriteUK slapback Bowie psychedelic metal filtered through 80s new wave vampires arpeggios and plenty of wah-wah
Crimson Clocks: Folky jumpy fiddles storytelling atmosphere of dark red cogs blood and bad people do-niverse?
@METbandUK 1880s new wave numan bowie synth’n’rock’n’neon’n’rayguns reverbnation.com/metbanduk
@MissVonTrapp cello vaudeville murder ballads and scaring young children from the back of a trike
Helicopter Quartet: Mad Loopy Droney Violin Guitar Crunchy Dreamy Sudden Gradual Bam!
It has begun!
Wednesday was the first rehearsal for September’s gigs. New drummer, Michael was bloody good, Joe on bass and backing vocals was good, I was mildly dodgy.
I actually haven’t played a lot of my newer songs since recording them, and this time I’m using my new steampunky electric guitar so we can play some of the more energetic twiddly songs. Some of this stuff is a bit difficult!
Nevertheless, lots of fun and it’ll sound bloody good by next month.
Here are the dates and facebook events.
London 5th Sept: https://www.facebook.com/events/156214677900965/
Reading 21st Sept: https://www.facebook.com/events/123942861133075/
And here’s some footage. I filmed this with my new zoom recorder. I got the sound settings right but not the video settings, so have compensated by turning up the brightness. I shall do better next time!
Men of the World
This will be on the next album. Yes there will be a next album. I haven’t been discouraged yet.
At some point there’ll be a proper version of this with instruments playing those ‘ooh oh oh’ melodies and an extended middle section with a solo or two. This is the acoustic version.
Went to sea in a sieve or say they say
Where the devil fish roll in the boiling waves
Coming home is such sweet joy
Coming home a man, the boys that went to sea stayed away
Went to sea,
Sharpening a blade
There were serpents to hunt, there were monsters there
And the black waves rolling in
Come to drown and come to sink
Oily graves for us all
We’re men of the world,
But is this the world that we were men of?
Oh how it’s changed
has nothing stayed the same?
We’re men of the world,
But is this the world that we were men of?
Oh how it’s changed
how it’s changed
Islands in the dark
Islands in the blue sea
Islands in the dark
Islands in the blue sea
We’re men of the world,
But is this the world that we were men of?
Oh how it’s changed
has nothing stayed the same?
We’re men of the world,
But is this the world that we were men of?
Oh how it’s changed
how it’s changed
“Tom Slatter, I just think he should pick a style and stick to it…”
A lovely man named Diego has reviewed Three Rows of Teeth. He said this: “Tom Slatter’s Three Rows Of Teeth is a great example of ‘self-made’ music where you can enjoy both complex and regular music with deep pleasure.”
Deep pleasure. Hard to argue with that.
Here’s a link to the review. It’s worth having a look at the site in general if you like this proggy stuff.
Even more exciting is this comment underneath the review: ‘can not say I’m a fan of Tom Slatter, I just think he should pick a style and stick to it… ‘ which I think is going to look great on posters…
Oh no! Burgled!
On Monday I arrived home to find a broken kitchen window, a missing laptop and a bedroom that had clearly been briefly ransacked.
Now I’ve always been relatively liberal on issues of crime and punishment. The right-wing ‘lock-em up’ approach is clearly the soft, less effective option.
However, it is also the emotionally satisfying one, so finding myself the victim of crime, my first reaction was the desire to meet whoever broke into my home and hurt them with a large mallet. The next day, speaking to neighbours, I found myself agreeing with the empty statement ‘they’re evil’, which isn’t actually a helpful attitude.
Funny how your emotions don’t listen to reason.
So that evening was ruined, which was particularly annoying as Joe had come round to work on guitar parts for September’s gigs. We didn’t make much progress with that. Instead the police arrived and I briefly lived in the world’s most boring episode of CSI. The highlight of this was the momentary suspicion that we had found blood. This turned out to be paint.
This was followed by a long day waiting for glaziers, buying and fitting various locks and so on.
Also, I now own a large mallet.
A Spanner in the Works
So things haven’t been going so well in the Slatter family the last couple of weeks. Things have difficult, my better half has been unwell. Now you may have noticed from the lyrical content of my songs that I’m not given to confessional writing. I’m not one to share deep personal things with you. So I’ll be all British and spare you the details.
However, I’ve been forced to cancel my appearance at this weekend’s 2nd Annual Steampunk solstice, and pull out of a couple of gigs with The Superminx 70 as well (Luckily they found a lovely bloke to dep for me). I’ve never pulled out of gigs before, and despite having very good reason to do so I can’t avoid hearing the director from the youth theatre group I spent many years in saying ‘You only miss performances for hospitalization or death’. Intellectually I know it’s fine and people understand, but emotionally I can’t help but feel bad to be breaking commitments.
But enough of this maudlin stuff. Instead I’ll tell you about the lovely things people have said and done that really cheered me up.
Lovely People
First, Andy comissioned me to write him a song for his steampunk character. I finished it last week and sent him a copy – he liked it, and said nice things. You can hear it to over on the fan page.
Second, Leo and Brian and Ian. Ian played Three Rows of Teeth on his podcast, which appears to have led to a few new people discovering my music. Leo bought the last of my double album special offers and Brian bought one of the last five copies of Ironbark – and they both were generally very nice. Which is good.
Thirdly, a couple of nice reviews over on Sea of Tranquility and ProgPlanet cheered me up no end.
At the risk of sounding all sincere and decidedly un-British, it is genuinely wonderful to have people I’ve never met saying how much they like my music.
The Next Gig, and a Free Sampler
I’m performing on Sunday 14th July at the Markfield Steam Museum, Tottenham Hale. I’ve put together a free taster/sampler thing, which I have called ‘Coghead – a free sampler consisting of songs, ditties and shanties that may or may not be performed in the course of Mr Slatter’s solo engagements in the Summer months of the year of our Lord two thousand and thirteen.’
Snappy title eh?
So if you want a free copy, go ahead. If you already have the tracks, feel free to send a link to a friend.
Onwards, upwards and all that.
Song of the Month: The Steam Engine Murder and the Trial of Seven-Bells John
Seven-Bells John is a character who haunts a few of my narrative songs. However, you don’t know which ones. Perhaps, at some point, I will let you know.
Or perhaps not.
This track was almost part of Spinning the Compass, but I didn’t finish it in time. It’s a sort of mini epic – ten minutes in five acts, with an extended instrumental bit in the middle that contains what I regard as some fo my best melody writing.
At some point I’ll write the sequel to this, ‘Seven-Bells Redeemed’.
Probably.
The Trial of Seven Bells John
1. The Prosecutor:
We’ve heard the accusations,
We’ve heard the counter claims
I say you’re guilty sir,
The evidence is plain
The blood upon your clothing,
The powder in your hair,
The looking glass smashed to shards,
And no-one else was there,
Tell the truth,
Say it plain,
There’s not a jury in the land would clear your name
We’ve heard the accusations,
We’ve heard the counter claims
No matter what you say, your guilt is plain
2. Seven Bells defends himself:
Your honour what you’ve heard here
It makes a saucy tale
The truth is I’m not a saint
My good intentions fail,
On the night in question,
I was on the train it’s true,
But not in the ladies cabin,
Past the hour of two,
Don’t believe the things they say
Don’t believe the deeds attached to my good name
You’re honour what you’ve heard here
A travesty, a joke
I’m honest as a summer day is long.
I’m honest as a summer day is long.
3. The Newspapers
Come read the latest news of the villain Seven Bells,
Murder on the locomotive, a journey straight through hell,
Three shots fired and one shot struck, pistol to the head,
The only alibi that could get him off free from a witness who has fled
A criminal who claims that he has changed the way he lives,
Previous convictions of the kind you don’t forgive
Says he met the lady for an honest tete tete
Left her in her rooms before the hideous event.
Come read the latest tale of a twisted murderer
Innocent girl shot to death just because she turned him down
Pay no mind to his stories or his wicked lies,
The only path to justice is to see that the villain Seven Bells Dies
4. Seven Bells Contemplates his Fate (Instrumental)
5. Summing up
You’ve heard the sordid details,
You’ve heard the saga through,
The evidence presented
The verdict’s up to you
A woman left for dead
on crowded midnight train
the killer fled into the night
But we all know who’s to blame
So say it right and say it true,
Guilty is the verdict you must choose
We’ve heard the accusations,
We’ve heard the counter claims
Now Seven Bells has got a price to pay.
Seven bells has got a price to pay.