MuzicNotez: First off, it’s an honor to be doing this interview with you, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us.
What motivated you to start creating music? What age did you begin?
Christopher Tom: When I was 13, I started playing around with pitching samples and sounds in Sony Vegas and making little song fragments out of that. One day, I found my old acoustic guitar and decided to mess with it and slowly I became interested in learning how to play music, which became an interest in making it.
MuzicNotez: Who were your musical influences, idols, or bands growing up that have helped mold you into the musician you are today? Or helped mold the music that you create?
Christopher: The Beatles are definitely my biggest influence – it still amazes me how many amazing songs they came up with in such short time. Bands like Weezer and The Strokes left a huge impression on me, and I feel like it reflects on some of the songs I have so far. Oasis was also an inspiration to me. Simple stuff, but it resonates.
MuzicNotez: What’s the ultimate goal you want your music to achieve, or for you to achieve in your career as a musician? Any particular message you wish to send?
Christopher: I’m mostly focused on the melodic side of things, lyrics and messages are always secondary. What’s most important to me is getting a vibe going and accomplishing a feeling. I want to capture the same feeling of excitement you get when you discover something really great.
MuzicNotez: What’s the greatest concert you’ve ever been to or performed?
Christopher: Blondie in 2009. Great band and great concert.
MuzicNotez: You started your music career at a real young age, what have you already learned in your early career?
Christopher: My biggest takeaway is that many times, it’s better to wait it out and give the songs some time. I must have changed my album tracklist a dozen times! I’m always writing new stuff and it’s hard to imagine what my work would be like if I wasn’t able to adapt to those constant changes.
MuzicNotez: You have released over 170 tracks already, where do you get the motivation from to write all of these songs?
Christopher: The motivation comes from hearing great stuff and then thinking, “I wanna do something cool like that!” With all of the great stuff out there, motivation is easy to come across.
MuzicNotez: Out of all your songs so far, why did you choose the 6 you did for the new EP? What’s this EP mean to you?
Christopher: I tried to make sure the EP had songs that sounded diverse and different; it’s a big pet peeve of mine to listen to an album and find that it all sounds the same and it was very important to me that my music didn’t come across that way.
I also did my best not to give away what I thought would be singles or the best tracks because then I’d feel like the album would be underwhelming when it comes out.
All in all, I see the EP as a learning experience – it’s my first real release and I broke a lot of personal barriers with it.
MuzicNotez: Anything else you wish to say about yourself or your music? Any message for your fans?
Christopher: I’m currently finishing up my debut album that I’m hoping to release this year. I’m really proud of the songwriting in it and I’ve taken a lot of time to make sure it’s the best it can possibly be.