Sep. 11, 2007 - Issue #621: Sex in The City 07

Tom Savage will Never Shed No Tears

When Tom Savage leads the appropriately named Tom Savage Trio to its Edmonton debut at O’Byrne’s Irish Pub, don’t be surprised if the group’s eponymous leader is compared to a famous male singer-songwriter at some point during the show. Over the years, he’s heard more or less every comparison possible—Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Steve Earle, Fred Eaglesmith and even Bruce Springsteen. Especially Bruce Springsteen.

“I get Bruce Springsteen a lot, especially for Never Shed No Tears [the group’s latest record],” explains Savage. “I get a lot of that comparison live. I never listened to Bruce Springsteen.”

But, the constant suggestions that he sounds like the Boss eventually drove Savage to seek out Springsteen.
“It’s funny, people compare me to something and then I’ll go check that out,” says Savage. “It’s opened me up to a lot of music I’d never heard before.”

Fans of Savage may be a little curious regarding which songs he’ll choose to play. With multiple full albums of remarkable musical versatility to draw from, Savage has quite the selection process to go through, admitting that he’ll be drawing from all three of his releases when he arrives in town. Perhaps more challenging than choosing the songs is choosing how to play them. With Sandy MacKenzie on drums and Geoff Chown on bass, the trio is still, well, a trio. As such, replicating the involved sound of Savage’s studio work in front of a live audience is not an exact science.

“It’ll just be different versions of the songs, I guess,” explains Savage. “We’re three people; we’re not bringing samples of the string section.”
This doesn’t phase him, however.

“Most of the songs, I think they work with just me playing them solo, they work with whatever instrumentation you put on ‘em,” says Savage. “I think that’s the test of a good song.”

Looking at Savage’s lyrics, you might surmise that he also thinks a good song should have something significant to say—some of the tracks on Never Shed No Tears, such as “The State We’re In,” have fairly strong political overtones.
“I don’t intend to get too political, but... I don’t really shy away from heavier subjects, even if they’re on a personal level,” he explains. “I’m definitely not writing the happiest songs in the world. You’re trying to figure stuff out in your own mind when you’re writing a song.” V

Mon, Sep 17 (9 pm)
Tom Savage Trio
O’Byrne’s Irish Pub, Free

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