Tommy Gun Interview

Tell us a bit about Tommy Gun- I was born in CarIsle, Pennsylvania back in November of 1982. I've traveled all around the world, lived in some pretty rad places, and I've gotten the opportunity to play with some really cool people and bands. I moved to Michigan at some point and I started playing in bands over 10 years ago. Some of those bands included: Switch 76, Robbery In Progress, The Hubies, Nuke and the Living Dead, the Vampirates, the Necrophilicons, and the Beat-Ups. I also do this solo music on the side.

What is your current release? Around my 24th birthday I released "The Rotten EP" for free on my MySpace page. 4 songs that I recorded after my last CD "I'm Poison." The album art was a picture I took right after Halloween this year of a rotten pumpkin on a neighbors porch.

It is a great Ep, what influences went into the songs on it? Well each song was influenced differently. "Stiff as a Board" came to me while I was in line at a bank trying to cash a paycheck. During that period, I was sick of my job, and sick of a lot of things.. and felt I was going nuts. That song came from me thinking I was going crazy. "Motor Psycho" was influenced by a Country Bob & The Bloodfarmers song called "Murder City Hotrod" .. I wanted to write a song that was straight forward rock n' roll with a bad ass guitar solo. "Family Business" is an old song I've been throwing around for a while.. it's the first country/rockabilly song I ever wrote. I wrote it on a road trip with 'the Hubies' a few years back. I have a slight obsession with the hitman lifestyle and wanted to write a song about that.. part of it is influanced by my Dad, who fought in Vietnam and has killed many people himself. And the last song on the CD is "Zeke the Plumber" .. anyone who was a pre-teen or a teenanger in the early to mid 90's watched the TV show "Salute Your Shorts" .. there was a Halloween episode that introduced the killer of "Zeke the Plumber" .. Mainly as a joke I decided I was going to write a song about that. No one thought I would do it, but I fooled them! The music is influenced by my time in the band 'Nuke and the Living Dead' .. I wanted to mix doo-wop and rockabilly. It's sort of my tribute to my buddies in that band.

Who are your all time favourite artists/bands? The Clash is and always will be my favorite band. No one compares to them in my book. But some of my biggest influences come from Billy Bragg, I was always really into him growing up with his politics mixed with melody. Black Flag was huge for me, they introduced me into the hardcore punk back when I was a little kid. The Canadian hardcore/punk band Marilyn's Vitamins are the reason I ever wanted to play in a band. Their lyrics and their songs were so heartfelt. Agent Orange is the reason I even picked up a guitar in the first place. Other musicians and bands that influance me are: Eddie Cochran, Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent, Wanda Jackson, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Stray Cats, The Stooges, MC5, FEAR, New York Dolls, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Brigade, Bad Brains, Link Wray, The Cramps, The Damned, Misfits, Negative Approach, Almighty Lumberjacks of Death, Necros, The Germs, TSOL, Social Distortion, Descendents, Ramones, and plenty others.

How would you describe your musical style? Acoustic, Punk Rock n' Roll. That's basically the gist of it. Obviously some songs are influenced by other genres, ska, rockabilly, doo wop. But over all it's all rock n' roll.

Other than your solo material what other projects have you been a part of? My main band right now is "The Hubies" .. often my solo songs are performed live with them. I try them out solo style, and if they go over well we usually make them full band songs. I was in "Nuke and the Living Dead" for like 2 years. I recorded on their album "Dig This!" and on a few unreleased tracks post-Dig This that will probably never get released. I currently play guitar for the Horror punk band "The Necrophilicons" out of Grand Rapids, Michigan and I also play bass for the punk band "The Beat-Ups."

Where can people find out more about Tommy Gun? You can check out my MySpace page at www.myspace.com/thomasgun for my solo music. For the Hubies you can check out www.myspace.com/thehubies. For the Necrophilicons: www.myspace.com/thenecrophilicons. And for the Beat-Ups www.myspace.com/thebeatups.

Jason, Myers or Freddy? I was always a fan of all 3. Growing up I was more into Freddy. As I got a little bit older I got really into Jason and Michael Myers. Any movie where slutty teenagers die, is going to be a good movie!

Danzig or Graves? Both are good. As far as the Misfits go I've always been more into the Danzig era.. although I do enjoy some of the Graves-Misfits shit. As far as solo stuff goes.. I like some of their work.. but not all of it.

Who is the MOTOR PSYCHO? and have you met him? The Motor Psycho is a killer creature from outer space who likes to go around and kill pretty much anyone who crosses his path on his trusty rusty motor cycle with a giant axe. It's based off a character from a B-movie with the same name. Have I met him? Not yet, and if I ever do he'll probably cut my head off and put it on display on his bike for all to see.

Any last words? Thanks for the interview, I appreciate it. Everyone to go my myspace page and download those songs for free! I make sure all my music is available for free online. The more who hear it the marrier!

Thanks for you time and keep up the awesome work!!!

Scare Street
Doctor Von Bracken