An Exclusive interview with Crooked Eye Tommy
An Exclusive interview with Crooked Eye Tommy by Richard Lhommedieu on Mixcloud
Crooked Eye Tommy releases their debut effort, Butterflies & Snakes, eleven memorable tunes penned by Crooked Eye Tommy front-person and band namesake Tommy Marsh and Tommy’s brother, guitarist-vocalist, Paddy Marsh. Together these brothers are the creative tour de force that is Crooked Eye Tommy. Paddy Marsh sings and writes three of the eleven tunes on the record including “Come On In” and “Tide Pool”, which are both fan favorites. Other C.E.T. members: Glade Rasmussen, bass; Tony Cicero, drums; Jimmy Calire, Saxophone/piano/Hammond B3.
The album’s title track, a tasty down-home blues ditty entitled ‘Crooked Eye Tommy,’ “is sort of an autobiography”, states Tommy. “I wrote it when we decided to name the band Crooked Eye Tommy. I was born with two lazy eyes, so the imagined discussion between a nurse and onlookers in the classic baby window at the hospital was a cool way to illustrate the way people can be cruel without even thinking about it.” Rocking blues number, ‘Time Will Tell’ is “the source of the album’s name,” states Marsh. “The second verse talks about the duality of women: Women are made of butterflies, butterflies and snakes Trying to please a woman can give a good man the shakes Time Will Tell “also talks about the duality of men as well in the first verse…and the dreams we all have (as musicians) to rise to the pinnacle of our profession – and how in each case, time is the equalizer and the test by which these are all proven out.”
The tune “shows the direction the band is taking with a more Southern hard blues feel”, concludes Marsh. ‘Somebody’s Got To Pay’ is a sexy Blues shuffle where Marsh laments in song, “the way the world is today, somebody’s got to pay.” He explains: “I wrote this song while dealing with a tax issue…I was very frustrated with the whole government and how no matter who is in office, it’s always about who has the money.” Dancing blues dittie ‘Love Divine’ is about “the relationships we have made along the way before we leave this world, they are the only real wealth that goes with us.”
Crooked Eye Tommy proudly represented the Santa Barbara Blues Society at the 2014 International Blues Challenge when they erupted onto the Southern California Blues Scene after reaching the Semifinals of this illustrious annual competition held in Memphis. For the last several years, Marsh has hosted a weekly Ventura County Blues Society-sponsored Jam Session featuring some of the biggest Blues artists on the SoCal music scene.
Featuring scorching performances and original music firmly rooted in traditional blues, which feels familiar but somehow new, Tommy Marsh’s considerable songwriting, vocal and guitar skills have made him a Ventura County favorite. Capitalizing on local talent, Tommy and his brother Paddy Marsh invited the legendary Jimmy Calire on sax and the deeply-grooved, driving rhythm section of Tony Cicero on drums and Glade Rasmussen on bass to join the effort. The result is an irresistible alchemy of veteran experience, raw talent and enthralling original material. Listen and feel what a Crooked Eye can do.
