A relatively unknown guitarist (but old UG favourite) Jon Gomm has hit the big time after a video of his went viral.
Now his song "Passionflower" has been seen by millions, after a tweet from popular British comedian and writer Stephen Fry shared a link to the performance with one word: "Wow."
Speaking exclusively to Ultimate Guitar, Jon says his life has changed a lot since the video found popularity last week. He has been invited to play venues across the world, and has made several prominent TV appearances - something he wasn't used to while building a cult following across Europe.
"My natural home is on a stage, not in front of a camera," he insists. "But basically I'm still me ... I just get recognised in the street sometimes now."
Jon eschews the traditional record industry for independence, letting fans pay any price they want for his music. While he has built a reputation in musician circles for years, and high praise from guitar magazines, his recent surge in popularity serves as proof that musicians can make it alone if they have the will and dedication to work hard.
"There's always low points every so often for any artist, whether it's a bad gig or struggling to write new tunes," he tells us. "I never questioned my choice though, because it's always been job for me since I was a kid ... I'm lucky that I can make my own music for a living now, but I don't take that for granted."
Jon began practicing guitar as a two year old, and later took lessons from renown guitarists including Walter Trout and Bob Brozman. His father, a music critic, would give the touring musicians a bed for the night on condition that they gave a young Jon free lessons.
He only uses only one acoustic guitar, which he affectionately calls Wilma. "I was trying to find a used Lowden, so a I searched through back issues of magazines, and eventually found one in a 3-year-old issue.
"I called the guy and he still had it! But he was in a city 300 miles away from me. I spoke to my dad that night on the phone and told him about this guitar, and he said 'Oh that's a coincidence, I'm going to that city tomorrow!' So he picked it up for me." Their union, he says, was fate.
Before parting, Jon gave the UG community some advice on how to finally achieve their dreams of a career in music:
"The way to get a career in music isn't to be a rock star. They are rare, and it's probably the hardest road with some great rewards but some huge personal costs too. The real way is to be a great, versatile musician who can play lots of styles, read music, improvise, entertain, whatever.
"Being able to play eight-finger-and-nose-tapping solos at 300 beats per minute while crowd surfing is a pretty useless skill. Obviously I can do that though. Easy."
Jon's relentless tour schedule can be found at JonGomm.com, where his music can be bought for any price you want, including for free.
Watch his viral video for "Passionflower" right here:
Yeah! he totally deserves this. Saw the vid a while back (yeah, that's right, before it went viral (like everyone on here didn't...)), and it totally blew my mind. If any guitarist deserves fame and fortune, it's him.
His music absolutely blows me away. I own both albums and i could not be happier listening to them. The songs are so powerful and entirely beautiful that you get lost in them and before you know it you've listened to the album front to back several times in a row in awe at his ability. This inspires me as a guitarist that i can be so much better if i just work for it.
Jon's a regularly at my local guitar shop and all his videos are filmed around the corner, so I've had the chance to see him a bunch of times over the last few years. Guys a killer player, finally got some real success out of it. Cheers Fry.
"Being able to play eight-finger-and-nose-tapping solos at 300 beats per minute while crowd surfing is a pretty useless skill. Obviously I can do that though. Easy."
Great example of extended techniques, however I'm not impressed by guys like this - anyone can sit in their bedroom practicing techniques for 20 hours a day and be this good. If he could write an actual song that wasn't just 6 minutes of wanking then I'd be impressed.
Kinda old news (the video went viral about a month ago, I thought...) but still, great music. Really happy for him, he seems like a pretty genuine guy and obviously a great songwriter and guitarist.
I actually cheked this out because I read the title as "Obscura guitarist" Thought Muenzer had finally received his due but not to say that Gomm isn't amazing..this is one of those 'good' mistakes
wait... I thought the angles of tuning pegs change every time the strings are replaced. How does he...
Anyway, nice techniques. Reminds me of this guy:
..."his recent surge in popularity serves as proof that musicians can make it alone if they have the will and dedication to work hard."
And don't forget luck of course. But yes, will and dedication do go a long way.
I remember hearing this song (how can you forget a title like that?) once but I'd forgotten who it was by. Congrats to him, and thanks for getting famous so I could remember who you were.
Yeah! he totally deserves this. Saw the vid a while back (yeah, that's right, before it went viral (like everyone on here didn't...)), and it totally blew my mind. If any guitarist deserves fame and fortune, it's him.
Get that hipster bs outta here, it doesn't matter when you seen it first, as long as you seen the video ad enjoyed it
Great example of extended techniques, however I'm not impressed by guys like this - anyone can sit in their bedroom practicing techniques for 20 hours a day and be this good. If he could write an actual song that wasn't just 6 minutes of wanking then I'd be impressed.
Agree. But looking at dislikes, you obviously hurted someones feelings.
Great example of extended techniques, however I'm not impressed by guys like this - anyone can sit in their bedroom practicing techniques for 20 hours a day and be this good. If he could write an actual song that wasn't just 6 minutes of wanking then I'd be impressed.
Agree. But looking at dislikes, you obviously hurted someones feelings.
I can only guess what you kids think an "actual song" is. Apparently you have no ear for evaluating music. That song wasn't about technique at all. The only way you could get that impression is if the music is way over your head, so you're left with watching his hands.
That was beautiful. Aside from how technically gifted this guy obviously is, he played with great passion and emotion and thats what I think makes song as beautiful as it is.
But there is a whole channel (some kind of cheap record label?) filled with guitarists practically exactly like this, as well as other similar types. He is no more impressive than any of them, and his song is no better than any of those guy's songs.
If you watch the video, this guy is certainly impressive. But then if you just listen to the video, it's not so good. There's nothing wrong with it, but this stuff is a dime a dozen on YouTube (and apparently on his website, too). But music is supposed to be about how it sounds -- not about how impressive it is to watch -- and this stuff just doesn't sound good to me.
His breathy voice also doesn't do anything for me; it actually reduces my interest in listening. Couple that with the lyrics, melody, and phrasing, and you've got a recipe for disinterest from me.
So, my general summary:
While this guy may be entertaining and impressive to watch, I would never just listen to it. Music is supposed to be about playing what sounds good, not what is visually impressive, and this stuff just doesn't sound good.
Great example of extended techniques, however I'm not impressed by guys like this - anyone can sit in their bedroom practicing techniques for 20 hours a day and be this good. If he could write an actual song that wasn't just 6 minutes of wanking then I'd be impressed.
Agree. But looking at dislikes, you obviously hurted someones feelings.
I can only guess what you kids think an "actual song" is. Apparently you have no ear for evaluating music. That song wasn't about technique at all. The only way you could get that impression is if the music is way over your head, so you're left with watching his hands.
...because the only time people dislike something is when they don't understand it, due to their lack of an evaluating ear for music.
I thought I just didn't like the way it sounds, but now you've enlightened me to the fact that I just don't understand the aspects of virtuous hippie-folk wankery.
What's funny is I was thinking to myself (before reading this)... Why the hell isn't Jon Gomm as well known as he should be? Passionflower was playing in my head at the time. Haha I'm glad to hear he is FINALLY getting the recognition that he deserves! Good for you man! I'm proud to say that Jon Gomm is on of my Idols.
"Being able to play eight-finger-and-nose-tapping solos at 300 beats per minute while crowd surfing is a pretty useless skill. Obviously I can do that though. Easy."
Obviously Jon... You're Christ. You can play anything...
Playing guitar at the age of two... I could barely walk at that age let alone shit without someone changing my diaper.
Intro really remind me of Steve Vai. Also 'The real way is to be a great, versatile musician who can play lots of styles, read music, improvise, entertain, whatever.'
oh shit! At first I had no idea who it was, but then I scrolled down to the video and completely recognized him! I remember going apeshit about how good he is with my friends!
I love how one of the only idiots that said this sucked had a username in this vein: i_am_metalhead. Lol. Good god. The guy is fantastic. Also to the idiot who said music about playing what sounds good: Wrong. Music is about playing what you feel.
It's a shame that people with talent like this are kept in the shadows, while "artists" like Kesha, Bieber, Minaj, etc, are in the lime light with their talentless BS. Props to this man for having more talent in his 2 hands than most "artists" today have in their entire being.
I love how one of the only idiots that said this sucked had a username in this vein: i_am_metalhead. Lol. Good god. The guy is fantastic. Also to the idiot who said music about playing what sounds good: Wrong. Music is about playing what you feel.
...and if what you feel doesn't sound good, what have you accomplished?
That's why this guy relies on techniques, gimmicks, and visual aspects -- as opposed to actually writing good music that sounds good on its own -- because if it was just about his music, there wouldn't be a response like this.
If it was just an audio file, there would be practically no interest in this.
Also, if we're resorting to name-calling, I could argue that you are an idiot if you think this guy is fantastic at anything other than his playing. His guitar-playing-skills and multi-tasking abilities are fantastic. However, his voice is horrendous and laughable, and his songwriting is far, far, far from fantastic.
But as a guitar player, yes, he is fantastic. I bet he can play other people's music very nicely.
Great example of extended techniques, however I'm not impressed by guys like this - anyone can sit in their bedroom practicing techniques for 20 hours a day and be this good. If he could write an actual song that wasn't just 6 minutes of wanking then I'd be impressed.
Yeah! he totally deserves this. Saw the vid a while back (yeah, that's right, before it went viral (like everyone on here didn't...)), and it totally blew my mind. If any guitarist deserves fame and fortune, it's him.
Great example of extended techniques, however I'm not impressed by guys like this - anyone can sit in their bedroom practicing techniques for 20 hours a day and be this good. If he could write an actual song that wasn't just 6 minutes of wanking then I'd be impressed.
FUCK OFF
Sorry for the double post but i just had to attack this moron too. What you basically just said is that anyone can work hard and be good? Are you against musicians practicing techniques for many hours a day? You make no sense sir. Please reread what you posted and stick your face in the toilet for me because I am not there to do so.
Great example of extended techniques, however I'm not impressed by guys like this - anyone can sit in their bedroom practicing techniques for 20 hours a day and be this good. If he could write an actual song that wasn't just 6 minutes of wanking then I'd be impressed.
What is wrong with you? Actually I take that back, about 5 seconds of looking at your profile explained everything...
You don't have to like the music to appreciate it, and ripping into it is just a display of ignorance, not of some sort of superior musical knowledge or ability.
Saw this vid a while ago, it truely is amazing. Now, after reading his comment on playing eight finger nose tapping at 300 bpm, I want to hear this guy shred.
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