Folk-Punk Street Poet Tom Cheshire is a force of nature. Beautiful, yet broken, his forthcoming solo debut, Everything Is New Again, finds him backed by a tight-knit collective of musicians, more brothers than bandmates. Released on March 8th, it is a multifaceted gem of a record; the culmination of a wild and reckless lifetime spent in the underworld of music, art and poetry. Featuring never-before-recorded songs alongside reimagined cult classics from Cheshire’s 25-year oeuvre, it conjures a new, weird Americana or Southern gothic. It’s like ‘Johnny Cash filtered through The Clash. Call it Johnny Clash for short.”
God is In the TV are pleased to premiere their latest single ‘Take the Place.‘ Its lyrics were dreamt by a young Cheshire while passed out under a table at Atlanta bar, The Earl, back in the ’90s- an infinitely catchy, gritty, and nostalgic saloon shuffle, it’s an authentic whiskey soaked anthem and coming-of-age tune about lost love and the weight of responsibility. This fresh version is given depth and meaning by the years of experience in Cheshire’s voice.
Tom was the frontman of Atlanta cult favourites Rent Boys, West End Motel and All Night Drug Prowling Wolves. For this project, The Tom Cheshire Band he has gathered a warm collective of musicians. He said,
“My best friends and I have been playing together in one variation or another for the last 25 years. When we first met, we dove into music, art, poetry, film—we opened our minds and really let ourselves get turned on and inspired. Tom Cheshire Band is my solo project, but it’s still a band, a group, a gang. I’m lucky that me and all these guys have remained such great friends. It had been years since we all played together, so making Everything Is New Again was a way to reconnect. Our fondness for each other—our genuine concern and caring and love for each other—is palpable. We’ve always been there for each other. It’s a testament to our beautiful friendships.”
Cheshire grew up almost as a delinquent wild child roaming the streets of 1980s New York. If there was trouble, he was sure to find it. Worried about Tom’s influence on his impressionable younger brother, their parents moved the family to Atlanta by the end of the decade, where a new job, an affordable home, and a doting grandparent were waiting. Defiant and fresh out of high school, Tom stayed behind in New York. “I moved in with a friend and got a job as a messenger,” he says. “I was just living like you do at that age. But the trouble kept coming and there really wasn’t a great way out. So my dad gave me some sound advice—he said, ‘Why don’t you come down to Atlanta and give it a fair shot.’ And I’m so glad I listened to him because that’s when I met ….all these wonderful people that I’ve been playing with for years—eight or nine of the most wonderful, closest, best mates you could ask for.”
While Cheshire still has a deep affection for New York, he credits Atlanta with making him the man and the artist that he is today. “I lived at 14th Street and Howell Mill Road back during the 1996 Olympics” From there, Cheshire and his communal-living buddies moved into an massive 8,000-square-foot warehouse in Atlanta’s West End (hence the name West End Motel). They put in a half pipe, a swimming pool and a silkscreen machine. “The rent was so cheap,” Cheshire says. “$700 split between eight people—we each paid like $90 a month. So you could get by working one or two days a week and have the rest of the time for yourself, to just dive into your passions and your art.”
In the ensuing years, Cheshire toured and recorded with Rent Boys, All Night Drug Prowling Wolves and West End Motel, the latter landing a record deal with Warner Brothers in 2012, though it didn’t last. “We were getting reviews in Rolling Stone and Spin. Good reviews. So we thought for a minute that things would take off. I have no regrets, though, no crying over spilled milk, or how any of it went down. It’s probably all a gift to be honest. I certainly was conflicted about it for a long time, though, just thinking it was gonna be this other thing. But the minute I said to myself, it’s not, and I’m fine with it, I’ll just work my ass off and put my own stuff out—that’s when I actually started enjoying the little bit of success I’ve had.”
Now, with the coming release of TCB’s Everything is New Again, Cheshire is ready to start a fresh chapter. “I have my ups and downs and all arounds,” he says. “I’ve battled anxiety and depression. But making this record was like being born again. I re-fell in love with music. I re-fell in love with songs and what they do to me, and how they make me feel. I re-fell in love with writing and performing. Music can save you and change you and rearrange you. I’m not a religious person, but I’m certainly spiritual, and the message is, we’re all in this together, any kind of weather. This record is about hope, friendship, brotherhood, sisterhood, love, getting out of the shit and seeing that beautiful light at the end of the tunnel.”
