Tom Fisch
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Tom Fisch

Flat Rock, North Carolina, United States | Established. Jan 01, 1974 | INDIE

Flat Rock, North Carolina, United States | INDIE
Established on Jan, 1974
Solo Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"Songs For Kids CD Review"

Flat Rock's own Tom Fisch is back with a collection of songs aimed at the younger crowd (or those of us who just feel young). Song for Kids is just what it says. Fisch takes the straightforward, uncomplicated approach on this recording, using simply his voice (sometimes in the form of a mouth trumpet) and his acoustic guitar to relate his take on a wide variety of traditional and contemporary children's classics. What I find interesting and ironically novel about this CD is that in an era where kids music is increasingly trying to find a new way to get the positive attention of children through the use of television tie-ins or over-the-top marketing campaigns, Fisch just takes these songs (most of which a lot of us grew up with), and sings them just as any father might sing them to his child. True, Tom has a better voice than a lot of us dads, but you get the point. There are even a couple songs on this CD — "Going to the Zoo" and "Somewhere over the Rainbow" — which I wouldn't have thought of as kids' songs, but listening to Fisch's take on them in this context, they seem perfect for this audience. Fisch always has a warm, heartfelt way about his music, and Songs for Kids is certainly no exception. - Bold Life Magazine


"October Boy Review"

SoundTrack Web Extra
by Alli Marshall on 03/25/2010

October Boy, the latest release by Tom Fisch is the polished, thoughtful work of an established Nashville singer/songwriter (his songs have been recorded by the Oak Ridge Boys and Swiss country singer Erica Arnold). So why include it in a SoundTrack review? Well, for starters, Fisch relocated to WNC in 2004. And his album was recorded here in Asheville at Chris Rosser‘s Hollow Reed Studios.

This 11-song collection is very much focused on Fisch’s writing and sense of narrative. Themes of love, nostalgia and time passing are recurrent, though Fisch manages to approach each from fresh angles and often cheeky humor. “You come home late and you come home early. You come home big when you’re feeling small. You come home straight and you come home curly. Sometimes you don’t come home at all,” he sings on “Speed of the Sound of Lonliness.”

Though the vocals are up front throughout, warm and simple, the instrumentation on October is nothing to sniff at — and it’s provided by a cast of Asheville musicians: Billy Cardine on Dobro and lap steel (especially lovely on “Carolina Blue Sky Day,” an all-around stand out track), River Guerguerian on cajon and percussion, Susan Robinson on claw-hammer banjo, Akira Satake plays banjo, Jay Sanders plays upright bass and Duncan Wickle adds fiddle. Rosser himself plays piano and is joined by his wife, Lynn, on backup vocals.

If the album errs a little toward the cloying bluesy folk of, say, James Taylor, Fisch turns out a slow-burning, J.J. Cale-esque “Midnight Special” with a crisp turn on harmonica. “Time,” the second-to-last track, is a poignant meditation on life’s progress — an apt balance to the sweet, wistful, floaty end song, “Sometimes (In The Morning).”

Find more info and local dates at www.tomfisch.com.

—Alli Marshall, A&E reporter - Mountain Xpress Asheville, NC


"Just some of the radio stations playing Tom's music"

KVMR Nevada City, CA
WJCU Sagamore Hills, OH
WFDU Orangeburg, NJ
WTZQ Hendersonville, NC
Radio ISW-FM Waldkraiburg Germany
KCLC St. Louis, MO
CKUT Montreal, Canada
CKPC Brantford, Ontario Canada
WOMR Orleans, MA
WFHB Bloomington, IN
- Thanks to all the DJ's


"In Concert"

Jim Lauderdale
Kim Richey
Jonathan Edwards
Tom Chapin
Townes Van Zandt
Robert Earl Keen
Chris Rosser
Billy Montana - Tom has shared the stage with:


"On Stage"

Blue Ridge Performing Arts Center - Hendersonville,NC

NC Transportation Museum -
Spencer,NC

Sawbriar Acoustic Stage - Pilot
Mt, NC

Bluebird Cafe - Nashville, TN

Red Lion Inn - Stockbridge, MA

Jared Coffin House - Nantucket, MA

Flat Rock Music Festival - Flat Rock, NC

White Squirrel Festival Brevard,NC

Gateway Festival - Kings Mountain, NC

Purple Onion - Saluda, NC

North Carolina Apple Festival -
Hendersonville, NC

Greer Family Fest - Greer, SC

Pickens Azalea Festival - Pickens, SC

Decatur County Public Library -
Decatur, GA

Cherokee County Public Library -
Gaffney, SC

Henderson County Public Library - Hendersonville, NC


- A select list of Tom's many performances


"October Boy CD Review"

FEBRUARY 27, 2010
CD Reviews: Tom Fisch October Boy

BY BRENT FLEURY

Tom Fisch

October Boy

tomfisch.com

Singer/songwriter Tom Fisch's latest album, October Boy, is an example of what happens when an artist truly understands his craft. Having honed his skills in Nashville, it's evident he's learned what it takes to create beautiful, well-rounded songs. The album is chock full of catchy, hook-filled tunes, any of which I can easily imagine being on nationwide country radio. Fisch thankfully doesn't do the thing I most dislike about modern country...overproduction. No swelling string sections, overeager arrangements or rock star drums here. No tiresome, fabricated, test-marketed image either. I believe I'm hearing the real Tom Fisch, not some focus group's idea of what Tom Fisch should be. With a conversational vocal sensibility of Willie Nelson, his songs come across as stories told by a good friend over a hot meal after a long day's work – they just flow at a perfect, natural pace. While certainly not a flashy vocalist, Fisch has a particular talent that modern country vocalists frequently lack — the ability to nail the note the first time without using that trick of sneaking up on it with a plaintive, pitch-bending whine. His confident and versatile voice is a perfect fit for his style of substantive and poignant storylines told within fresh, solid arrangements. Honestly, I was a bit taken aback at how much I enjoyed October Boy. Now I'm going to have to go and listen to all his other albums. I suggest you join me in that endeavor. - Bold Life Magazine


"Fisch Has Kids Singing"

Singer/songwriter Tom Fisch was 10 years old when he won a guitar in a raffle at a school bazaar, according to his website, launching him on a musical journey that would become his career.

That journey brought Fisch to Elkin Thursday, where he performed three times — the first two for children and the third that evening for adults. The 117 children at the 11 a.m. performance ranged in age from toddlers on up, including some around the age Fisch was when he won the guitar, and they all seemed to have a great time.

“This is one of the largest groups I’ve played for at the library,” Fisch said. “One hundred seventeen, that’s a lot of kids. I’ll have to say they were real, real good.”

Fisch said his 45-minute performance can be a long time for children. “But all in all, they were into it,” he said. “They were wonderful actually.”

Performing such well-known favorites as “The Wheels on the Bus,” “Five Little Monkeys” “Skinamirinky Dinky Dink,” “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” and “This Little Light of Mine,” Fisch had no problems getting the children to sing along.

Beginning with “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” he said, “I’m going to start out with a song that’s about a perfect place for kids. It’ll tell you about a land I know that’s not so far from here … and yet you blink your eyes, and the strangest things appear.”

Interacting with the children throughout his performance, Fisch shared these words of advice before his last song: “You guys take care and do your best in everything you do,” he said, “and help me sing this song if you will.”

Fisch then started singing, “This Little of Mine,” prompting children to sing louder that they had the whole time.

The song was also a favorite at the 1:30 performance, according to Wendy Giudici, assistant branch librarian. Most of the 52 children that turned out in the afternoon sang along with Fisch the whole time, Giudici said, “but when he did ‘This Little Light of Mine,’ every kid was singing.”

“It was a smaller audience,” Fisch said, “but they were a great audience. They really got into singing along. ‘This Little Light of Mine’ seems to be a real crowd pleaser. I’m glad I saved it until the end.

“They were both great shows,” he said. “They were two different audiences, but both wonderful in their own way.”

Giudici said Fisch sent the library a copy of his “Songs for Kids” CD and some information about him last fall. “We book way, way ahead for our performers,” she said, “so I went on his website and saw where he had been playing.”

When she contacted staff at two of the libraries where Fisch had played, Giudici said they raved about him. “They said he was an awesome man,” she said, “and that the kids loved him.”

So Giudici contacted Fisch, who lives in Flat Rock in western North Carolina. “I was very, very pleased,” she said of his children’s performances on Thursday. “I thought his music was good, the selections he did were good and you could tell he is a very seasoned performer.”

Fisch handled the large group very well, Giudici said, even though there was a lot of wiggling going on from the heat. “He really got the kids involved, and the parents loved him,” she said.

Several parents and children commented on their way out of both performances how much they liked his music, according to Giudici. “I heard ‘That was fun’ and ‘I was singing, were you singing?’ that kind of thing,” she said.

Fisch sold copies of his “Songs for Kids” CD at both performances. He said in an interview Thursday afternoon that he is working on a second CD for children. “It’s not close to being finished,” he said, “but I have started working on it.”

Because his performing schedule is so busy, Fisch said the CD is his only current project.

He was planning to perform selections from his two adult CDs, “October Boy” and “We Could Use a Little Rain” at Thursday evening’s adult performance and offer them for sale afterward.

Born and raised in Albany, New York, Fisch says on his website that he found himself being drawn to singers and players like Doc Watson, James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, Tony Rice, the Byrds and traditional folk and country artists. “My playing and writing were also greatly influenced by singer/songwriters such as Dave Mallet, John Prine, Steve Goodman and Jonathan Edwards.”

After years of entertaining audiences throughout the Northeast at colleges, clubs, coffeehouses, festivals and fairs, Fische moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in his 30s, where he worked as a songwriter and demo singer, did guitar work in a studio and started his own publishing company, Tom Fisch Music.

In 2005, he and his wife moved to Flat Rock to be closer to her mother in Hendersonville. “I had enjoyed Nashville,” he said, “but I was ready to leave, and I knew there was a great acoustic scene, particularly in North Carolina.”

While 80 percent of his performances are for adults, Fisch said he hopes to do more for children. “I love playing for kids,” he said.

Fisch’s brother, Joe, accompanied him to his performances, having just moved to Jonesville with his wife, Zulma, last fall. Tom is the oldest of five children, and Joe is the next to the youngest. They have another brother, Peter, who lives in Winston-Salem and works at Wake Forest University.

They also have two sisters, Judi, who lives in Vermont, and Betsi, who lives in Albany.

Fisch said he has enjoyed the time he has spent in Elkin since Joe moved to Jonesville. “I love the town,” he said. “It’s a cute town. I also like the fact that it’s a railroad town. I love trains and we don’t have trains coming through Flat Rock and Hendersonville anymore.”

The downtown buildings are also interesting, Fisch said. “I hear the (Reeves) theater is being restored,” he said. “I love it when people work to save old buildings like that because they’re such a treasure for towns.”

Read more about Tom Fisch on his website: www.tomfisch.com. He can be contacted for performances at tomfischmusic@gmail.com.

Kathy Chaffin can be reached at 336-258-4058. - Elkin Tribune


Discography

Albums:
Songs For Kids
October Boy
We Could Use A Little Rain
If You Have A Dream

Tom's songs are regularly played on radio stations across the US and Canada as well as Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Photos

Bio

Contact info: 828-699-9272  tomfischmusic@gmail.com

Born and raised in Albany, New York, Tom won his first guitar in a raffle at a school bazaar when he was ten years old. That set the path for a life long musical journey.

Tom says, As the years went by, I found myself getting into singers and players like Doc Watson, James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, Tony Rice, the Byrds, and traditional folk and country artists. My playing and writing were also greatly influenced by singer/ songwriters such as Dave Mallett, John Prine, Steve Goodman, and Jonathan Edwards.

After years of entertaining audiences throughout the Northeast at colleges, clubs, coffeehouses, festivals and fairs, Tom moved to Nashville, TN in 1991 to further his songwriting career. While working as a demo singer and studio musician he formed his own publishing company, Tom Fisch Music. His songs have been recorded by a number of artists, including the Oak Ridge Boys, Swiss country singer Erica Arnold and childrens performer Lisa Atkinson.

In 2004, Tom relocated to Western North Carolina and its thriving acoustic music scene. With the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains for inspiration, Tom and his music found a comfortable place to call home.

Whether Tom is performing for a large audience in an auditorium, outdoors at a festival, or in front of a small crowd in an intimate listening room, his audiences are taken with the stellar musicianship and warm, engaging personality he brings to the stage. Toms shows feature his own outstanding songwriting as well as songs from some of his favorite artists and songwriters.


Just a few of the many places Tom has performed:

Flat Rock (NC) Playhouse Music On The Rock series:
The Songs of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell - Unplugged

Tryon Fine Arts Center  Tryon, NC

Empire State Performing Arts Center Albany, NY

Cafe Lena Saratoga Springs, NY

City of Morganton Municipal Auditorium  Morganton, NC

Gateway Festival Kings Mountain, NC
Azalea Festival Pickens, SC
Spring Jubilee Pendleton, SC
White Squirrel Festival Brevard, NC
Family Fest Greer, SC
Guilderland Performing Arts Center Guilderland, NY
NC Apple Festival Hendersonville, NC
Rockingham County Folk Festival Wentworth, NC
NC Transportation Museum "Rail Days" Spencer, NC
Spring Fest Chesnee, SC
Historic Morganton Festival Morganton, NC
Blue Ridge Performing Arts Center Hendersonville, NC
NC Art of Sound Festival Shelby, NC
Flat Rock Music Festival Flat Rock , NC
Numerous library and school concerts

Tom has shared the stage with:
Jim Lauderdale
Jonathan Edwards
Tom Chapin
Townes Van Zandt
Kim Richey
Fred Eaglesmith
Robert Earl Keen