Tom Gorrio is no longer a resident of South Florida, but for the time that he was, this humble narrator and scribe was eternally conscribed into his army for the various opportunities that he afforded me to make a simple buck off his numerous recordings.
Tom Gorrio does not produce hip-hop tracks, he does not fuel the Heat; he makes simple rock and roll that can't even be considered a racket. He makes sweet pop noise for discerning ears. If tweens were smart, they'd drop their hard-earned monies on his wares.
Bottom line is as follows: Tom Gorrio is one of South Florida's unheralded sons but not one to buckle from that, he continues to strive forward in California, making good music for good people.
Are you a good person? You might just enjoy what his current act Radar Vs. Wolf has in stock for you. Sit back and relax. This is only part one.
See also:
- Q&A with Tom Gorrio and James Bratton of Radar vs. Wolf; Playing at Sweat Records on Saturday
New Times: Let's talk shop. For a while there, you were putting out so much music, you actually took care of some of my larger bills. And then... nothing. What gave, homes?
Tom Gorrio: Once we got into the studio with an actual producer, it was time to level up and get serious. Which meant, not all the songs were gonna make the cut. There was a ton of writing, but not so much recording. We were striving to one-up every song that did make it on the album.
I always thought you were South Florida's savior, or at least saving me from my creditors.
I needed some saving of my own. Nashville is a tough city. Everyone here can sing, play, and write like a pro... It's been quite the humbling experience but don't lose hope... I'm coming for you, princess!
Talk to me about Baby Calendar and the consequential bands after? You got married, rocked out and made an indelible mark on indie-pop, what happened next to propel it to the next step?
Baby Calendar had its time, but we all grew apart. Jackie wanted to go back to grad school while Arik and I tried to salvage our partnership by starting another project. The music was good but even with the new band members in the bands post Baby Calendar, the chemistry was never the same.
When did you hook up with James and why?
In 2009, Jackie and I moved to California. I needed to find a new music scene, and she luckily got accepted to a grad school there. I played all the open mics in search of a band mate that had "heart." I caught James's set right after mine one night and loved how raw and original his songs/performance was compared to the snobby schooled players.
What makes the arrangement stronger? I don't know him, but I know your energy, how do you two play off each other?
He's more of a singer/songwriter, while I compose for a band arrangement. So he helps me with my foundation to my songs, while I put the icing on the cake in his songs. I would say he's even more energetic than me on stage, and that just pushes me until we are both at full potential, face-melting, kick-you-in-the-balls mode. We are both extremely competitive, hence the "vs." in our name.
Radar vs. Wolf -- "Broken Throne"
Why the pause? I almost felt for a while like I could put a down-payment on a condo given your output.
Read the answer on question one. I'll get you that condo, baby. So long as we have frequent parties for all my homies in the 305/786!!!
What made you buckle down and dig deep into this album?
After hearing the production on the first song to make the cut, our ears were craving more. It was an addicting cycle, and every song after sounded better and better. Mike Marsh (the Agency, Paper, the Avett Brothers) really knew how to bring our songs to life and then some. Because on top of producing the album, he's also the drummer in it! We had a third writer in the group and the chemistry was top notch! Not to mention once we added Craig Schlesinger (Paper, the Remedy Session) on bass... Talk about a solid back bone and catchy grooves to boot!
The Radar Vs. Wolf album Radarvswolf dropped on June 1, on iTunes. Make sure you look for it and part two, coming soon.
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