Thom Lion & The Tamers are building their profile within the Adelaide music scene, and their performance at the 2016 Clipsal 500 next month is another stepping stone for the band.
The band's sound is a mixture of catchy indie-pop melodies and a sprinkle of folk, with banjo and acoustic guitars. Their lead singer, guitarist, and band founder, Thom Lion, discusses the group's recent recording sessions that were produced by John Castle in Melbourne. “The recording was an amazing experience, we worked with John whose done some great stuff with Vance Joy among others.
“It was good because we spent a week in there laying down the starting parts for the tracks. I ended up going away and recording all the vocal parts at my studio at home. I brought them back to Melbourne with me to finish off the songs for a few more days with John. You can't understate his influence on all the songs. He shaped a lot of the sounds.
“The first single we will be releasing is called 'Mess At Best' [out 12 February]. More singles will follow, and the EP will be out in the middle of this year.”
Thom recently backed an online petition to prevent the shutting down of local, university-funded radio station, Radio Adelaide. Thom is a strong believer of community radio helping young bands. “Radio Adelaide helped my band. They just give an alternative point-of-view and a great leg up for any emerging artist. Also, because commercial radio has very rigid format in the music that they play, even successful artists who don't fit into that format won't be played on commercial radio."
Although Thom is a relatively recent arrival to Adelaide, he still believes the city's music scene is thriving. “I've come to the Adelaide scene only in the last few years, and even in my short time I think it has evolved. It's been evolving quite quickly and there's a lot of artists doing great things. I believe it's going really well.”
The Clipsal 500 concert is a chance for local artists and established international acts to share the stage, and Thom was quick to answer who he is looking forward to supporting. “Definitely Rob Thomas. I used to watch Matchbox Twenty's DVDs when I was younger coming out of high school. So it'll be pretty surreal to meet him.”
Only 6 South Australian acts (out of 134 applicants) were selected to perform at the three-day concert. It's fair to say Thom is proud of his band's invitation. “We're definitely proud. It'll be a great experience for the new line-up to play on a bigger stage and to a bigger crowd. Also, the publicity is fantastic as well because it's all happening around our release time for the singles and EP.”
Written by Liam Steers
The new single from Thom Lion & The Lion Tamers, 'Mess At Best' released 12 February.
Thom Lion & The Tamers play the 2016 Clipsal 500 in Adelaide from 3-6 March.
