Jon Gomm (born 11 July 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and performer. He employs percussive techniques on acoustic guitar, and his influences include genres such as blues, soul, rock and metal and the musician

Michael Hedges Michael Alden Hedges (December 31, 1953 – December 2, 1997) was an American acoustic guitarist and songwriter. He was known as a virtuoso who used unorthodox playing techniques, and much of his output was classified as new age music. Hedges ...

. He has recorded three solo albums.

Biography

Jon Gomm started playing

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

at the age of two. He began classical guitar lessons at the age of four, and at twelve, he would accompany his father, a music critic, to blues gigs in his hometown of

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. As a teenager, he played electric guitar. On leaving school, Gomm turned down a place at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

studying English to attend the Guitar Institute (now part of the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance) in London. While there, he paid his way through college playing jazz in café bars, recording as a session guitarist, and playing

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education ...

s for line dancers. He moved to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

to study in the

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

degree course at

Leeds College of Music Leeds Conservatoire (formerly known as The Leeds Music Centre, the City of Leeds College of Music, and Leeds College of Music) is a higher education music conservatoire based in the Quarry Hill district of Leeds, England. It was founded in 19 ...

. He began solo performances in Leeds. He developed a percussive style – hitting the surface of his guitar to make

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

and bongo sounds, re-tuning the strings to get bass sounds, and using high

harmonic In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...

s from the guitar for synthesizer-like effects. Jon Gomm avoids playing chain venues and corporate festivals. His appearances are generally organised with independent promoters in venues like ale pubs in rural areas, theatres or arts centres. He is a regular performer at the Junction Inn,

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

. Gomm has also performed with Tommy Emmanuel,

Nick Harper Nick Harper (born 22 June 1965) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is the son of English folk musician Roy Harper. Early life Harper was born in London, England, to the folk singer-songwriter Roy Harper. Nick tells of how he ...

and

Bob Brozman Bob Brozman (March 8, 1954 – April 23, 2013) was an American guitarist and ethnomusicologist. Biography Brozman was born to a Jewish family in Long Island, New York, and began playing the guitar when he was six. He was an adjunct professor ...

. Gomm has performed at festivals including Download, Electric Picnic, the Canadian Guitar Festival, the Italian National Guitar Festival, the Garforth Arts Festival and the London Guitar Show at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

. He performs regularly across the UK and has toured in China, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, Australia and Canada. In February 2012, a video of him performing his song "Passionflower" was the subject of a tweet from the broadcaster

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

.Bloxham, Andya
Stephen Fry tweets guitarist past 2m views with a 'wow'
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 31 January 2012. This led to him appearing on several television shows and being booked for gigs and tours around the world during 2012. In November 2013, the album ''Secrets Nobody Keeps'' was released after being entirely crowd funded in four weeks in a

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...

campaign. In 2021 the album was reissued on CD with an updated version of "Passionflower" as a bonus track. In 2023 "Passionflower" achieved 6th place for the "50 Greatest Acoustic Songs Of All Time" in '' Total Guitar''. On 12 August 2020, Gomm released "Cocoon”, his first single in seven years, from his album ''The Faintest Idea''.

Discography

Studio Albums

* ''Hypertension'' (2003) – released on Gomm's own label. All tracks are single takes with no overdubs. * ''Don't Panic'' (2009) * ''Secrets Nobody Keeps'' (2013) * ''The Faintest Idea'' (2020) * ''Secrets Nobody Keeps'' – Passionflower 10th anniversary edition (2021)

Singles

* "Passionflower" – released in 2011 on Gomm's website * " Message in a Bottle" – originally by

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

, released in 2011 on Gomm's website * " Ain't Nobody" – originally by

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

, released in 2011 on Gomm's website * "Cocoon" – released in 2020

Videography

* ''Passionflower'' (2011) * ''Message in a Bottle'' (The Police cover, 2011) * ''Ain't Nobody'' (Chaka Khan cover, 2012) * ''Ain't Nobody'' (Chaka Khan cover, featuring Daniel Tompkins, 2013)

Press

Referring to Jon Gomm, comedian Stephen Fry posted the one word tweet "wow" in February 2012. '' Sandman Magazine'' wrote "how on earth can one man play so proficiently a "one man band" style that puts full bands to shame?" Leedsmusicscene.net wrote "Leeds should feel very lucky to have such a performer to call its own."

References

External links

*
Jon Gomm page
on Last.fm
Official Jon Gomm page
on MySpace {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomm, Jon 1977 births Living people Acoustic guitarists English blues guitarists English male guitarists English blues singers Alumni of Leeds College of Music Musicians from Blackpool Musicians from Leeds