Spotlight #75: Friday 24th August 2012 – Liverpool Acoustic Live

Tom Strasser got his first guitar when he was 7, by the age of 10 he was standing on stage for the first time, and it didn’t stop there. After school he studied music at the American Institute of Music in Vienna, focusing on the styles of rock and fusion guitar.

Among the highlights of his career are the cooperation on sound-installations for cultural venues in Austria, the bands Savva and Collective Farm, as well as composing and arranging music for several stage plays and commercials. Strasser then took a creative break from music and turned to filmmaking.

The last few years Tom has been growingly interested in ‘Acoustic Fingerstyle’, finding new inspiration and motivation in it. After his recent return to stage he is currently releasing his solo debut album.

Tom’s style is best described as unique, exceptional and refined acoustic guitar playing to support the moving and catchy melodies in his songwriting. He swiftly combines fingerstyle with tapping and percussion on the instrument to create a dense sound-scape, making a single guitar resonate like an entire band. His songs display a mix of influences ranging from funk, blues and rock to streaks of jazz and the catchiness of a solid pop tune. He is a versatile composer and player striving to understand and use all means available to create compelling and moving music.

After years and many different directions as a musician and human being, his love of guitar prevails and brings him to the roots of playing the acoustic instrument.

Mary McCombs formed an Indie band in the early 1990s, writing and performing their own material which was influenced mainly by Cocteau Twins and The Sundays. McCombs was the lead vocalist of the band which performed at many Liverpool venues and several in London and various University campuses nationally. She is a regular performer with the ‘Sense of Sound’ singers, and performs as a solo artist on the local acoustic/folk circuit which included the 2011 and 2012 Threshold Festivals.

Mary is currently hosting a folk night at The Cornmarket (every first Tuesday of month) in Liverpool city centre and has recently performed at Kash – Chester (Under the Influence), (May 2012) and the Wirral ‘Folk On The Coast’ Festival, (June 2012). She is also a member of Dave Jackson and the Cathedral Mountaineers as a backing vocalist. She recorded a CD in 2010 called ‘Selling Flowers’; 10 self-penned songs available at ‘News from Nowhere’ in Bold Street (read the Liverpool Acoustic review here). Her newest CD is now available containing 3 new tracks.

If you get the chance, please support your local artists by emailing them, joining their mailing lists, liking their facebook pages, following them on twitter, leaving them comments, going to their gigs, and buying their music direct from them where possible. The Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight is produced and presented by Graham Holland on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic website, and is a proud member of the Association of Music Podcasting. The theme music is King of the Faeries by Andrew Ellis from his CD Midnight On The Water.