TomCat Interview

 1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

1. First of all, let me say hi to you and all your readers out there. We are Tomcat, a classic hard n' heavy rock group based in Ljubljana, Slovenia (the same country that hosts the mighty Metaldaysfestival!) My name is Grega and I'm the bass player and founder of the group. I formed the band in 2009 after the dissolution of my first band, Cyclöne. Tomcat went through more line up changes than I can recall, but in the end we formed a solid line-up that is Tomcat today- a group of individuals, passionate about this type of music, although we individually like all sorts of music from funk to death metal.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on this album?

2. Our debut sounds exactly as it is titled, its bits and pieces of music that we have accumulated over the years in Tomcat or in our previous bands; a song like Follow you is about 6 or 7 years old and has been revisited for this album while a song like Dirty old mind was written virtually a couple of days prior to the start of our recording sessions. All in all I would say that the album has a strong retro note to it, but that's just the way we are; we've all listened to Led Zeppelin , Iron Maiden and AC/DC while growing up.

3.I noticed when i listened to the album you had a sound that was metal but pre-dates speed, power and thrash, what was the decision behind going for more of a rock/metal sound instead of the other musical style, younger bands are doing these days?

3.When I started this band, we first played covers from Motorhead, thin Lizzy and Ramones, so I guess that stuck with this band for good, although I'm the only member that has been in the band since its inception. It's nothing intentional, we never limit ourselves to a certain sound or genre-we just write it and in sounds like it does, and if we like it, we keep it.

4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

4. From a lyrical point of view, the record is really not that special. It mostly covers the usual topics, such as partying and the effects that it can have on you (Edge of the blade, Hangover), girls,and regular life (Goodbye, Stevie, Annie and me, Girl in leather, Purgatory), and obligatory love ballad ( Wipe my tears), but there are two that stand out a bit; those two are Follow you, which is a very introspective song which i wrote when I was in quite a bad place in my life and Dirty old mind, that deals with mind sickness consuming a person.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'TomCat'?

5. There isn't a big story behind here. When my ex band Cyclone disbanned I started thinking what I would call my next band, since I never intended to join an existing formation as I usually feel the need to lead things my way. Top Gun was one of my favourite childhood movies and aF14 Tomcat is the main fighterplane in that movie so I thought Tomcat would sound great for a hard rock band. Then we developed the cat with the bottle and the Ramones t-shirt for our mascot&logo and the name stuck for all times.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

6. We've played some great gigs. we always love to remember the gig supporting L.A. Guns in Ljubljana in 2012 and Lizzy Borden in 2011; another great experience was also on Metalcamp in 2012. We alVan Halen right up to a rock redention of Lady Gaga's Edge of glory-it just depends on the crowd and their reaction to certain songs.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

7. Yeah we're planning a couple of shows in Slovenia and our neighbour countries with fellow hard rock bands Deck Janiels and Retrokult, and there might be a festival appearance or two in the summer. we will also be promoting our brand new single and our first official video Adrenalin that will be unveiled for the first time on February 8th as part of the 5th Lipstikk N'Leathür festival in Medvode, Slovenia-a festival we will also co-headline with AOR rockers Broken Arrow.

8.The last album came out on On parole productions, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

8. On parole is an independent metal label from Slovenia, led by a great metal enthusiast MatijaPrnaver-Chop. It was the first metal label in Slovenia and started more than a decade ago, in a time when in Slovenia metal gigs were few and far between and you could count bands with album potential on the fingers of one hand . But he stuck with it all the way and today On parole in a very god label that gives bands decent terms on their releases and also promotes the records they put out,so it's usually a win-win situation for both parties involved.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal and rock?

9. Well, to be honest, reactions from all over the world surprised us all. We've been getting awesome reviews in Brasil, where they've featured us on multiple best of 2013 charts along Black sabbath and Carcass which for us is a HUGE honour. we've also gotten some great reviews from USA, Canada and Germany, so all things considered, the response has been satisfying.

10.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

10. The material for the sophmore album is coming along quite nicely and this time it is much more of a group effort; we are taking time to write music together and each member has an input on every song we've written so far and that shows in the material,as most of the songs are more complex, some even have some old school prog rock elements in them, while sme are just stellar hard rock anthems. It's gonna be different, but so far it sounds really awesome and I can't wait to show the world what we're creating in our rehersal space as we speak!

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

11. I've always been a fan of 80's rock and metal and that is definitely showing in my music. I was a glam rocker in highscool so Motley Crue, GN'R and the then up-and-coming Crashdiet had a big influence on me. But as I'm growing older, I'm also listening to "older" music and have really started listening to all 70s rock bands from crowd favourites KISS, Sabbath, Purple and Zeppelin to the more obscure bands like Omega, Pavlov's dog or early Heart. Pink Floyd, Journey, Marilion and many other classic bands are always on my record player. As for the metal, I dig  some of the new heavy metal wave such as Enforcer, Bullet, Vanderbuys and Skullfist, and there are some ambiental black metal records that I like; other than that I don't really enjoy the newer metal scene as i feel none of todays acts will compare with the mighty Savatage, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon, WASP or Testament, ANNIHILATOR or Obituary on the long run. Those bands had all put out such masterpieces that cannot be surpassed by current acts that are mostly in the "copy/paste the current trend" phase. 

12.Do you have any non musical interests?

12. Well I do have my day job, but besides music and that I'm a huge sports fan, especially football (soccer), where I'm a devoted Manchester United fan (eventhough we suck this season). I also own a vingate motorcycle, a 1986 Honda Rebel 450 CMX so I like to ride that and when I have time I also like to scubadive-the tranguility of sea depths cannot be ahieved anywhere else.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

13. I'd like to thank all of you who support hard rock and heavy metal music as it is you that keep the band going. Remember that and eep doing it, keep coming to the shows, support your local scene as that is the foundation of everything. Also, heck out our debut album and if you like it, like TOMCAT on Facebook and follow our Youtube chanel to listen to our new stuff. Keep on rocking !