Tom Fairnie - Biography

I was born in Musselburgh but I now live in Edinburgh. Jane and I celebrate our 30th anniversary this year; I've said she can have anything she wants from Poundstretchers. I should watch what I'm saying; she still hasn't forgiven me for Christmas when I bought her the Band of Brothers DVDs. We have three grown up children, Rebecca, Matthew and Rachel. Matthew is married to Jane and they live in Dunfermline; they have a wonderful little boy called Joshua and a beautiful brand new baby girl called Sophie. The real surprise is that we're not Jewish; at least I wasn't the last time I looked. Rachel and her partner Stephen stay in Aberdeen where they are both at University. Rachel is doing a Philosophy degree so she'll no doubt get a good job on the oil rigs. Rebecca stays in Edinburgh and is into drama. She has acted in several plays and I've enjoyed them all without feeling the nerves that any parent gets. She's confident and can project, which are good attributes for an actress...and for working in a vomitarium! In terms of the music...I attempt to write lyrical, melodic and intelligent songs and try to make the best use of my guitar skills to provide sensitive uncluttered arrangements. I often gig as a part of The Travelling Waverlies, who perform a mixture of poetry and song and who released their first cd Speaking In Tongues to really good reviews. The Waverlies compromise four poets…Bob Shields, Billy Cornwall, Mike Dillon and myself although the group has grown to be more inclusive and performers such as Mark Barnett, Martin Boland, Nancy Somerville, Jane Fairnie and Kenny Vass have all contributed. We have toured the Netherlands and performed at various festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe. I often collaborate with Bob and we are steadily building up a catalogue of songs. Our joint efforts feature on birthmarked, Speaking In Tongues, The Harbour At Symi, Companions, War On War, The Journeyman and As Eden Lay In Darkness. My style cuts across folk, country and blues but I simply try to write the best songs that I can. The most recent CD is The Journeyman where I was lucky to have the support and help of singers and players like Kathy Stewart, Arthur Wilson, Kenny Vass, Martin Boland, Ken Kennedy, Killian Playthell-Steele, Gill Reid, Pamela Halpin, Peter Kavanagh, Mark Barnett, Jane Fairnie and others. I'm currently working on the initial stages of producing another Waverlies CD and another solo effort, As Eden Lay In Darkness, both of which I'm really looking forward to.
I've met Sir Edmund Hilary, Eric Bibb, Jackie Leven, John Peel, Allan Taylor, Hans Theesink, Martin Stephenson... I've seen Simon & Garfunkle, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, Donovan, Joan Armatrading, Roy Harper, The Incredible String Band, Robert Palmer, Sandy Denny, Eric Bibb, Jackie Leven... I once stayed with the Berbers in North Africa for a couple of weeks on an adventure holiday. I'm six times removed from you.
Here's a list of some of my favourite things and another of some of my influences... Jane, singaround parties, writing new songs, redemptive movies, Jorge Louis Borges, Cold Comfort Farm, Zany Afternoons, Glen Baxter, Gary Larsen, making lists...and a million other things. Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, Bob Shields, Lowell George, Tom Ovans, Jackie Leven, Eric Bibb, Paul Sibel, Paul Simon, John Sebastian, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton, The Incredible String Band, Lonnie Donegan, Ted Hawkins, Bob Dylan, Michael Chapman, Mike Dillon, Martin Boland, Tom Clelland, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, Tom Russell, Tom Rush, Tommy Flanders, John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Ron Geesin, Steve Earle, Loudon Wainwright, Al Pettaway, Paul Brady, Joni Mitchell, Mark Barnett, Dory Previn, Leo Kottke, Ry Cooder, Roy Rogers, Bernard Brogue, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dana Robinson, Sinead Lohan...and thousands more. Some of my favourite CDs are...Ten New Songs by Leonard Cohen, Another Saturday Night, Highway 61 Revisited and Nebraska, amongst hundreds of others.
Rather than continue making endless lists of artists I like or who have influenced me, Jane suggested that I simply feature an artist of the month here. I decided to make it two artists of the month; one a recognised performer and the other a perhaps less well known songwriter whom I admire. This month's artists are... Martin Stephenson: I was introduced to Martin's music a long time ago by a very good friend, Richard Paterson, and as soon as I heard songs like There Comes A Time and Wholly Humble Heart I knw that he was a gifted songwriter. I tracked down a couple of his albums on cassette and really enjoyed them. Since that time I've regularly listened to his songs and his Best Of... CD is a frequent choice on my cd player, mainly because of the eclectic nature of his songwriting. He mixes quirky, interesting, sentimental and really thought provoking lyrics and adds them to some knockout melodies. Not only do I admire him as a songwriter but also as a performer. He recently played Foakies, which was a major coup for us, and he was outstanding. I'm smiling right now just thinking about that gig. If you ever get the chance to go and see him you won't be disappointed. http://www.daintees.com/ Kathy Stewart: I first met Kathy about 4 years ago and was immediately impressed. You know straight away that she is very talented and very professional. There have been some real highlights in the years I've known her, she sang on The Journeyman, Wild Geese and My Little Radio; Raglan Festival in Wales, brilliant party sessions and now The Snakes. She and her partner Ken Kennedy are virtuosos and bring a really high level of musicianship and perormance to songs. For very selfish reasons I'm so glad to have met Kathy and Ken but the bonus comes when you discover just how good a songwriter Kathy is, her cd, Celestial Shoes features some wonderful songs and I am constantly amazed that she doesn't play them more often and promote them more. There are a lot of songwriters I know who would improve from a bit of honest critical appraisal but I couldn't find a fault with her songwriting, which is really saying something coming from me. http://www.21stoctoberproductions.co.uk/moondance/index.html lf you would like to check out my previous artists of the month you can find them on the Archive page.