Time After Time (#9) |
Mother's Day - Mama, A Rainbow (#12) |
Tom Kiesche is the Closet Singer
One night, after not singing for more than a decade, Tom was coerced at a get-together to sing “Ol’ Man River.” The reaction by those listening was so great, that several of his close friends, including the accompanist, would not let him leave, without promising that he’d start singing again. And he would, but with one condition…
He would sing again for the enjoyment of it, the love of it, the passion of it. He would not let people bully, push, or manipulate him into singing what they thought he should sing, how they thought he should sing, or when, why, or whatever else…
The first step was finding a talented affordable vocal coach that would not only adhere to these very simple perimeters, but also encourage Tom’s individual artistry, expression and overflowing creativity.
After a few coachings, Tom improvised an ending to “I Won’t Send Roses,” which sent his coach into a laughing tizzy. He was convinced that Tom should record a version of it, and send it to a misogynistic radio talk show host who was popular at the time. They did.
They recorded the song in his coach’s studio, with a fan running, a fish tank bubbling, and a clock ticking, as every 15 minutes translated into more money coming out of Tom’s checking account. Tick tick tick.
The song was strong enough that Tom asked two friends if they wouldn’t mind acting in a video for, and soon after, it was put online for all to see.
For the next song, “The Best Is Yet To Come,” Tom decided to save money, and have less stress, by using a music track he built with his coach, but using his own microphone, in the quietest place he could find in his own tiny apartment… His closet.
The rest is history.
It’s rough, it’s raw, it’s low-fi.
One mic. One closet. Mostly in One take.
And yes, it’s semi-ironic that the song that kicked off the whole Closet Singer series is the only song that the vocals weren’t recorded in a closet; And that the former misogynistic radio talk show host probably never heard the song.
One man makes his own world wide stage inside his own closet… Closet Singer. |