Tom Lockett - Interview

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 30 / 9 / 2016

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Anthony Strutt talks to singer-songwriter Tom Lockett about his career with 60's-influenced psychedelic group Electroshock Therapy and 'Feeling Bad', hos debut solo single

Tom Lockett is now a solo artist but originally he fronted Stoke psychedelic band Electroshock Therapy. Electroshock Therapy were a very tight first piece whe played some of the best 60's-influenced music that I have ever heard. They only released three downloaded pieces of music - a five track self-titled mini-album; a one song single, 'Maisie' in 2013, and a final two track single, 'Go Make Your Move/They Ain't Got the Money Anymore', in 2014. All of these are still free from the band's Bandcamp page. After the band split, Tom decided to return to writing and recording by himself, a journey that has produced several albums worth of material he could choose from. He recently released his debut solo CD single, 'Feeling Bad'. Pennyblackmusic caught up with him at a gig in Leicester to talk about his musical career to date. PB: How long were 'Electroshock Therapy together? TL: We first started in 2011 when we were in college and lasted about four years. We recorded our debut EP in 2012 and put it out on the internet, and then in 2013 we got a record deal with these guys up in Manchester. It, however, didn't really work out the way that we wanted it to and so after that we just did our own thing. PB: Does the band still exist or are you completely solo now? TL: No, this is the only thing I'm doing at the moment. Nick, the lead guitarist in the band,went to live with his girlfriend in Durham and the band broke up. PN: Apart from those three Electroshock Therapy releases, is there anything else recorded? TL: There's an unreleased single. PB: Is that going to come out? TL: No, we didn't like it, so no. PB:. Was Electroshock Therapy your first band? TL: When I was about fifteen, I did what I'm doing now until I got into Electroshock Therapy. PB: So how did the band meet ? TL: Nick asked me to be in a band with him and I didn't wantt to be, but then we had a jam and it was all sounding good. We had a mate, Tom, who played drums, and then my brother, Dan, played bass so that is how we started out. They didn't know howto play their instruments at the time. We just learnt them all together. PB: Your influences are mainly from the 60's. TL: Yeah, definitely the 60's. All my influences are from there. PB: What are your reasons for liking the 60's? TL: When I was eight or nine, I listened to that Beatles album '1', the compilation, and I listened to it on a CD Walkman for hours and hours, and then I asked my brother what else he had got and I helped myself to what he had. He was into the Kinks and stuff like that. After that I just loved the 60s. PB: Is there a good musical community in Stoke? TL: There are a few bands around now, a good few indie bands are coming through now. PB: I would imagine the Electroshock guys are playing on the single. TL: No, it's all me, except for the keyboards. That's Sean Lowe who is in the band, the Drifters. Not the 60's Drifters. There is a group called the Drifters now. PB: So how are you finding it away from the other guys? TL: It is better, a lot less stressful than having to worry about playing an instrument this way or how to tune up, so it makes it easier but at the same time with a band there's more energy. It's like a gang. PB: When I first saw Electroshock Therapy I was totally blown away. It was for me like seeing the Seeds in '65. Was that what you were aiming for? TL: Yeah. We listened to those bands and we wanted to recreate what they were doing. PB: Would you say your main influences now are Bob Dylan and American folk Music? TL: Yeah, Dylan, Woody Guthrie, folk and the blues. PB: Did you find 'Feeling Bad' easier to write than what you had written in the past? TL: That song, the whole thing came in about five minutes. It was the fastest song that I have ever written, and it's the best one in the set at the moment. It's also one of the best I have ever written. It seemed to come quicklu and easily. PB; You were in an electric band and now you're acoustic. Which one do you prefer? TL: Acoustic. probably. PB: Is that because you feel have more control when you are playing acoustically? TL: No, it's because I always write songs on the acoustic, so it feels natural. PB: Will an album follow? TL: Hopefully. I will probably do a couple more singles before the album. PB; You have got the songs because you did an album's worth of material tonight. TL: I have got enough songs to release quite a few albums, I just want to make sure that it's right when I put out an album and to make an impact with it, rather then put it out and nobody listens. PB: Thank you. Photographs by Johan Winegard

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