I had no idea of the awesome debate going on on this video! YES, I was very nervous. NO I didn't play well. YES I am pretentious, but hey it's art! NO, I am not anti-record deals, I am just pro-independence. I would love as many people to hear my music as possible, but if I signed a major deal it's not my music they'd be hearing. So, for better or for worse, I walk my own path. :)
Dude... I heard every note. This is one of my top 5 fav songs of all time. You are awesomely real. One needs to manipulate extreme emotion to convey it to those who cannot feel as deeply as one. We navigate extremes to find a way to express such passion. Respect, brother.
I didn't get pretentiousness out of it. I got a guy who's good at what he does, and who was nervous about an interview. Great playing, too. "Guitar monogamist." Ha! Love it!
The fact that he didn’t play perfectly during this interview is so humanizing! The man oozes talent and creativity. People don’t realize how challenging it is to just jump into a difficult piece right in the middle of a conversation. This dude can play
It is wonderful! I saw him play at arbroath a few weeks ago and he got an electric shock through his pedals, right in the middle of passionflower. It was a shame, but he started again and played the whole song unplugged and even though it wasnt as loud in a room with 100 people it was somewhat special and I feel lucky to have witnessed it.
What pedals does he usually use? From what I've heard before, (ie the full video on RUclips of Passionflower) I can only really hear compression and a bit of reverb on top of the unplugged version I've just watched... To me that doesn't seem hugely important, sounds amazing anyway...
Jeezus fucking christ... how could anyone dislike this?!? Humble bloke, seriously talented, forthcoming in revealing his art...fuck... sometimes I HATE the internet!
Can't believe anyone would rag on this guy, such an immensely talented dude. Jon, only just heard your music (after reading Chris Catalyst tweeting about it) and find it incredible, looking forward to seeing you live sometime
I was introduced to your musical skills by a friend of mine and I'd just like to say that you are an inspiration - both in how you play and your principals. Thank you for giving us Passionflower - I can't stop watching it!
Just come across your stuff this week via a friend. It's the most poetic, sensitive and technically superb guitar playing I have ever heard. Outstanding song and voice as well.
You're right. Going back to those times, I could see him on the Apple label where he would be given carte blanche to do whatever he liked. The Beatles knew talent. I am just so happy to find a new creative artist out there with something to say and worth listening to. Jon Gomm's music makes me feel alive and so much better for it's existence. Only discovered him yesterday and immediately bought his catalogue on download. I think he is a James Taylor for the 21st century :-)
Nice Jon, I just found out about your music 10 minutes ago! Amazing music and technique. Keep on your own path Jon and you stay truthful to your music. God bless you!
Well done Jon. I respect u for your choices and as a person...Your music and style is inspirational and i wish mofo's with negative comments would keep them to themselves....Well done mate!!
SIEMPRE QUE ESCUCHO Y VEO A JON GOMM, ME DEJA SIN COMENTARIOS Y SU ESTILO OPINA POR SI MISMO. Y EN EL ULTIMO DE LOS CASOS, YO DIRIE QUE: EN UNA SUSECION DISIPULAR, LA MUSICA Y SU MAESTRIA NOS SIRVE DE EJEMPLO
Jon, Only just discovered your music today. You are amazing...posted one of your vids to my facebook because I want other people to discover you too. Don't beat yourself up too bad about the TV show above...could tell you were nerous but you did a good job for all that. I'm sure you aren't used to being in a TV studio. (yet?) Good luck and keep on bringing what you bring.
every year we think: everything's done on the guitar and than comes a kaki king, an andy mcgee or a john gomm - the acoustic guitar has an amazing time right now :-)
You are not pretentious, I would say you are modest with that amount of talent you have. There a lot of labels out there that let you assume that they are independent and are not, it would be interesting to see how much influence the labels have over the overall sound of these bands. I am sure there are lot of musicians out there that would sell off their creative talent for financial gain, so good on you fella for keeping it real. I am sure your success will thrive for many years to come.
They are banjo machine heads called scruggs pegs. Special bits of kit that tune the guitar up a note very quickly. Check out Earl Scruggs who popularised the technique on banjo!
Art is considered pretentious because of it's method of consumption. Traditional, or high art's value comes from it's textual quality. This quality can sometimes be hard to decrypt or understand. For example, those without classical music training may find it difficult to appreciate classical music fully etc. This creates an elite who are capable of reading high art texts and culturally disempowers those who lack this ability.
So happy to hear what he said about the main stream labels and he wont be signing to them, they would find a way to ruin his music, it sounds so organic and beautiful it would be a shame to see him singing about all the same mindless dribble pop artists seem to sing.
@nicedream1990 Perhaps your friend caught him when he had just come off stage or was busy or tired or something along those lines - he's always been a perfect gent the 4 times I've been fortunate enough to meet him :) He even signed my guitar - good ol' Gomm
Hi Jon - just found out you are gigging with mckee and reed in kendal when i'm gigging :-( gutted. have a great gig! Also found out you were at Leeds with my mate nige murgatroyd. he says you had the same tutor but he (nige) didn't get what you were doing at the time! bet he wishes he'd hung out with you now.
I think one of the problems is he is unplugged, so the tapped notes are less pronounced, plus those nerves, all the attention oh man that would get to me
"After he did that, various celebrities cottoned on and some really got behind it. Stephen Fry said “Wow!” and twitter went mental. I ended up on BBC Breakfast, trying nervously to chat and perform on 3 hours sleep in front of a bleary-eyed audience of millions" his words
I thought Devin Townsend was one of the first to tweet about him?? when he did, Jon only had like 1,000 views which shot up after Devin tweeted. Either way - amazing music!
Because we all know the only way to share one's art is by selling one's soul to the record industry. I wonder how Beethoven shared his music with the world without a major record label. Hell, he didn't even have the internet, tv etc.
It's so that he can do that string bend thing in passionflower with the tuners. He has to tune the string a whole step up and back down with one wrist motion. It would be impossible without the classical (banjo) tuners. I ran into this problem when I tried to learn the song.
Still incredible, but you didn't do yourself justice on national TV! Didn't seem to matter though, just went to your gig the other day, it was completely packed and an amazing show
(part 2) Nowadays, fans/practitioners of the arts are often dismissed as pretentious as a rejection of high art. This is strongly synonymous with the rise of popular culture as it was initially a way of democratising the arts and balancing the power held by the cultural elite. Popular cultures value comes not from it's textual quality but from it's social relevance. Thus, anyone is capable of assessing its value as there isn't really a "correct" reading of the text.
I must take what appears to be an opportunity to proudly declare my love for your music, and on a maybe slightly unnecessary note, you are probably my biggest man-crush ever, besides maybe jonnie peacock.
I had no idea of the awesome debate going on on this video! YES, I was very nervous. NO I didn't play well. YES I am pretentious, but hey it's art! NO, I am not anti-record deals, I am just pro-independence. I would love as many people to hear my music as possible, but if I signed a major deal it's not my music they'd be hearing. So, for better or for worse, I walk my own path. :)
You are a good influence to this new generation, you are the proof that you can be good on What you do and don’t bend to anyone
Dude... I heard every note. This is one of my top 5 fav songs of all time. You are awesomely real. One needs to manipulate extreme emotion to convey it to those who cannot feel as deeply as one. We navigate extremes to find a way to express such passion. Respect, brother.
You played great man. I could hear the nervousness in your voice.. But I think I would had been really nervous too.
I didn't get pretentiousness out of it. I got a guy who's good at what he does, and who was nervous about an interview.
Great playing, too. "Guitar monogamist." Ha! Love it!
Keep walking the path.. 😉
The fact that he didn’t play perfectly during this interview is so humanizing! The man oozes talent and creativity. People don’t realize how challenging it is to just jump into a difficult piece right in the middle of a conversation. This dude can play
Steven Alcala he played great
It's so cool to hear his playing unplugged. I now know how important his pedal board is. LOL
It is wonderful! I saw him play at arbroath a few weeks ago and he got an electric shock through his pedals, right in the middle of passionflower. It was a shame, but he started again and played the whole song unplugged and even though it wasnt as loud in a room with 100 people it was somewhat special and I feel lucky to have witnessed it.
What pedals does he usually use? From what I've heard before, (ie the full video on RUclips of Passionflower) I can only really hear compression and a bit of reverb on top of the unplugged version I've just watched... To me that doesn't seem hugely important, sounds amazing anyway...
I fucking cried when he started to play! He is a fuckin inspirationa to anyone trying to make it with talented music!
Not only is he a genius musically he actually gets the music industry, I wish him a life of success as a musician.
what a wonderful musician, as a guitarist who wishes to play as many styles as possible, i see him easily as the best acoustic player i've ever seen
Owen Barnwell You need to watch some Mike Dawes videos.
Sam Henri And you need to watch some Andy Mckee videos
+Calum Turnell And you need to watch some Mike Dawes videos.....
Tom Johnson I have :p
Jon, you a REAL musician, so your path is the right path!! Hold on with your music! Greetings from Sardinia by Simplo!!
Jeezus fucking christ... how could anyone dislike this?!? Humble bloke, seriously talented, forthcoming in revealing his art...fuck... sometimes I HATE the internet!
Can't believe anyone would rag on this guy, such an immensely talented dude. Jon, only just heard your music (after reading Chris Catalyst tweeting about it) and find it incredible, looking forward to seeing you live sometime
Saw this morning. Only said last night we def would not miss next Friday - fingers crossed it still happens we missed it last time!!
I was introduced to your musical skills by a friend of mine and I'd just like to say that you are an inspiration - both in how you play and your principals. Thank you for giving us Passionflower - I can't stop watching it!
Me too John! No Compromise! Control your own!!!! Love it. Blessings from London mate! K.
"guitar monogamous-- and monogamous in every other way!!" so beautiful-- cheers to monogamy and beautiful music
Jaw droppingly awesome. Bravo!
Just come across your stuff this week via a friend. It's the most poetic, sensitive and technically superb guitar playing I have ever heard. Outstanding song and voice as well.
If I could see this man perform live just once-my life would be that much closer to being complete :')
So amazing!! With what passion he plays^^
You're right. Going back to those times, I could see him on the Apple label where he would be given carte blanche to do whatever he liked. The Beatles knew talent. I am just so happy to find a new creative artist out there with something to say and worth listening to. Jon Gomm's music makes me feel alive and so much better for it's existence. Only discovered him yesterday and immediately bought his catalogue on download. I think he is a James Taylor for the 21st century :-)
Saw Jon at the Brewery Arts Centre recently with Andy McKee and Preston Reed. Jon stole the show for me. Catch him live if you can - Brilliant !
Nice Jon, I just found out about your music 10 minutes ago! Amazing music and technique. Keep on your own path Jon and you stay truthful to your music. God bless you!
Love this guy. Love where his head's at. And he can play on top of it!
hay jon if thats you on a bad day.then the rest of us have no chance.i have wached you vidos and am in awe of your talant .keep it up mate.fantastic.
I can't believe this sounds just as amazing live with no amplification as it does in the mastered version on his website. Amazing.
i'll be there in september! can't wait
He's British :O
English.
Slashbag69 he's from Leeds
all of a sudden hes like the best artist with a youtube channel.......
loved this , all u haters who cares what u say hes on TV were r u ? beautiful music has no place for haters.
Great guitarist and songwriter
Oh my God, he's English. That just tops it, so proud!
so not just an amazing talent, such a cool dude too
Wooo Desde Que E Oido A Este maestro no dejo decir que es uno de los mejors y tiene estilo uniko que DIOS lo bendiga.
Well done Jon. I respect u for your choices and as a person...Your music and style is inspirational and i wish mofo's with negative comments would keep them to themselves....Well done mate!!
Amazing...
The fact that it's not plugged makes it more awesome
oh my god, incredible!
SIEMPRE QUE ESCUCHO Y VEO A JON GOMM, ME DEJA SIN COMENTARIOS Y SU ESTILO OPINA POR SI MISMO. Y EN EL ULTIMO DE LOS CASOS, YO DIRIE QUE: EN UNA SUSECION DISIPULAR, LA MUSICA Y SU MAESTRIA NOS SIRVE DE EJEMPLO
Love you!
Jon,
Only just discovered your music today. You are amazing...posted one of your vids to my facebook because I want other people to discover you too. Don't beat yourself up too bad about the TV show above...could tell you were nerous but you did a good job for all that. I'm sure you aren't used to being in a TV studio. (yet?) Good luck and keep on bringing what you bring.
every year we think: everything's done on the guitar and than comes a kaki king, an andy mcgee or a john gomm - the acoustic guitar has an amazing time right now :-)
He is awesome
walk your own path, you have every right to do that...you ARE talented
This guy is always wearing black.
Wolf Muse maybe he's going to a funeral.
Like whoever gets that reference lol
Top man!
well said sir!
HE BLOWS MY MIND EVERY FUCKIN TIME
I've been inspired to become an independent musician.
You are not pretentious, I would say you are modest with that amount of talent you have. There a lot of labels out there that let you assume that they are independent and are not, it would be interesting to see how much influence the labels have over the overall sound of these bands. I am sure there are lot of musicians out there that would sell off their creative talent for financial gain, so good on you fella for keeping it real. I am sure your success will thrive for many years to come.
ace!...jon is a top lad.x
More power to you Jon Gomm, stay away from any record company that would even consider controlling your art.
this is unbelievable
They are banjo machine heads called scruggs pegs. Special bits of kit that tune the guitar up a note very quickly. Check out Earl Scruggs who popularised the technique on banjo!
As another guitarist, I feel you're probably right.
Art is considered pretentious because of it's method of consumption.
Traditional, or high art's value comes from it's textual quality. This quality can sometimes be hard to decrypt or understand. For example, those without classical music training may find it difficult to appreciate classical music fully etc. This creates an elite who are capable of reading high art texts and culturally disempowers those who lack this ability.
So happy to hear what he said about the main stream labels and he wont be signing to them, they would find a way to ruin his music, it sounds so organic and beautiful it would be a shame to see him singing about all the same mindless dribble pop artists seem to sing.
@nicedream1990 Perhaps your friend caught him when he had just come off stage or was busy or tired or something along those lines - he's always been a perfect gent the 4 times I've been fortunate enough to meet him :) He even signed my guitar - good ol' Gomm
Well said :-)
Hi Jon - just found out you are gigging with mckee and reed in kendal when i'm gigging :-( gutted. have a great gig! Also found out you were at Leeds with my mate nige murgatroyd. he says you had the same tutor but he (nige) didn't get what you were doing at the time! bet he wishes he'd hung out with you now.
Jon Gomm is the fucking man.
i just want you to know, you're awesome, and Passionflower is hands down one of the most beautiful songs ever. Just saying :p
jon gomm my respects men
Please visit Montreal, please.
heh, every single artist witch love their instrument, will give it a name!
I think one of the problems is he is unplugged, so the tapped notes are less pronounced, plus those nerves, all the attention oh man that would get to me
"After he did that, various celebrities cottoned on and some really got behind it. Stephen Fry said “Wow!” and twitter went mental. I ended up on BBC Breakfast, trying nervously to chat and perform on 3 hours sleep in front of a bleary-eyed audience of millions"
his words
finally starting to look like a rock star
I agree :)
My dad and I name our guitars too
the tattoo is the Michael hedges's album cover Oracle. isn't it?
Bit of a legend
Hahahahah he looked so nervous on this interview 😂😂
I thought Devin Townsend was one of the first to tweet about him?? when he did, Jon only had like 1,000 views which shot up after Devin tweeted. Either way - amazing music!
Vc é um alienígena meu caro demais sem palavras
Any idea what guitar does Jon play on? thanks.
The "classical" tuners are in fact banjo tuners to enable better mid-song re-tuning :)
Because we all know the only way to share one's art is by selling one's soul to the record industry.
I wonder how Beethoven shared his music with the world without a major record label. Hell, he didn't even have the internet, tv etc.
3:12 haha, "Mmmff.. nice, Well that's lovely Jon".
It's so that he can do that string bend thing in passionflower with the tuners. He has to tune the string a whole step up and back down with one wrist motion. It would be impossible without the classical (banjo) tuners. I ran into this problem when I tried to learn the song.
Passionflower
Fucking RESPECT!
Saw you in Gloucester last Friday. Awesome. Thank you so much. This interview does not really do your playing style justice at all.
Still incredible, but you didn't do yourself justice on national TV! Didn't seem to matter though, just went to your gig the other day, it was completely packed and an amazing show
He normally plays with an Amp and distortion so it won't sound like the standard recordings.
So you're touring with Andy McKee who is on Kandy Rat Records. Would you ever settle with them?
This...took...longer...to...read...than...necessary.
What kind of guitar does he play??
Did anyone else notice that his B and high E string have classical tuners and the rest of the strings have modern tuners...?
Agreed, but given the circumstance he was in (I.E. He was sitting down) it was still pretty successful.
Better than i would have done by a long shot
how the fuck can someone dislike this?
You are fucking awesome. That is all.
1 dislike...that IS Justin Bieber
(part 2)
Nowadays, fans/practitioners of the arts are often dismissed as pretentious as a rejection of high art. This is strongly synonymous with the rise of popular culture as it was initially a way of democratising the arts and balancing the power held by the cultural elite. Popular cultures value comes not from it's textual quality but from it's social relevance. Thus, anyone is capable of assessing its value as there isn't really a "correct" reading of the text.
anyone else get a Tool vibe from this? (particularly their acoustic sessions)
but remember how manipulative the record industry is..i'm actually glad that he's not signed with a record label, so no producers can corrupt him
Yolo
His biggest inspiration is Tommy Emmanuel, although Michael Hedges is obviously another big influence.
why?
I'm a guitar slag
I must take what appears to be an opportunity to proudly declare my love for your music, and on a maybe slightly unnecessary note, you are probably my biggest man-crush ever, besides maybe jonnie peacock.
A Fender Strauss.
It was me, I just wanted attention :D