BMA Band Profile. Photos by Konrad Lenz

How’d your musical journey start?

I was obsessed with “pop” music from a young age, but pop music was very different then. I first heard Bowie, Van Morrison, Marianne Faithful, and Laurie Anderson on my Dad’s reel-to-reel player in the ’80s.

I used to make up albums in my head all day, and finally learned to play guitar in my early teens. I have been writing songs, recording, and performing ever since.

Describe your sound:

It’s evolved from a Dylan-esque folk homage to a more customised hotchpotch of classical, dark country, and dirgey rock balladry inspired by the geographical and emotional landscapes I have inhabited. Australian Gothic, maybe?

Key tracks should people check out?

You Will Win In The End is a succinct manifesto of my worldview and my musical aspirations.

I hate platitudes. They feel so insincere because, deep down, most of us know they’re rarely true. That’s how it feels to tell yourself you’ll be ok and win in the end as your world collapses around you.

And hey, you may win. Maybe you already won.

Anyway, that song and the new record’s title track, Revolving Doors, are a poetic farewell to the relationships made and lost under the fog of alcoholism or life in general.

Influences?

Vincent Van Gogh is an unlikely fitness and wellness motivator. He used to walk everywhere, all over Europe, lugging his shit around. It kept him strong, despite his malnourishment and mental health issues.

Memorable experiences?

I always draw a blank when I try to remember memorable things.

I mostly remember highly insignificant incidents, like when I was listening to And Justice For All, and my cousin was like, ‘Dude, this music’s really old’. That was back in 1994, six years after the album came out.

Also, getting deported from America. That one’s hard to forget.

What do you love about the scene?

I actually love open mic nights. Everyone’s really supportive, and you hear a lot of intriguing outsider stuff you don’t usually see on a proper bill.

I’ve recently been catching cheap public transport around the country just to meet all the oddballs inhabiting the open-mic landscape.

Proudest moments?

Weirdly, it would have be getting deported from America.

I went there on an ESTA visa to hang out with friends, go bushwalking, and play some guitar with hillbillies. The customs people treated me like I was Julian Assange‘s wingman.

I didn’t cave. I kept my cool as I got threatened with five years jail for “defrauding the US Federal government”.

So, I signed a false confession.

I only freak out now when I think about what would have happened if I hadn’t deleted my friend’s jokey WhatsApp msgs about assassinating Trump.

What are your plans for the future?

I’d like to make music and be comfortable with the whole social aspect of it. Since quitting alcohol two years ago, it’s a struggle just to walk into a venue and talk to people.

What makes you laugh?

My close friends. Stupid memes. The Ozzyman Reviews YT channel.

What pisses you off?

Probably dipshits in authority and passive-aggressive bureaucrats.

Anything else you’d like to add?

The current rental situation in Australia is a crime against everything good in the world.

Where can people check you out?

Revolving Doors will go live on all streaming services around 30 August. I’ll launch my new album at Live at The Polo on Sunday, 22 September, at 4pm. Tickets via Humanitix.

I can be found at Tom Woodward Music on Facebook.

Listen to Revolving Doors on Bandcamp, Spotify and YouTube.