Facebook Q&A with Tom Chaplin
Tom Chaplin kindly spent his Easter Sunday afternoon fielding questions from fans on Facebook. Here’s the compilation of his Q&A session with us.
Nicole Zazcinski Hello Tom! My question is , you write the songs on your new album? And if he does, he inspired ? Life experiences or imagination? Greetings from ArgentinaÂ
Tom Chaplin It's all about my experiences over the last few years...which has been a journey from the depths of despair to a kind of beautiful epiphany.Â
Sebastian Helmes Is a Europe Tour planned?Â
Tom Chaplin Yes, absolutelyÂ
Sara Diamond What ended up being wrong with your eye?Â
Tom Chaplin I decided to ride it out as it seemed to be getting better. Then just when the left eye cleared up, the right one started hurting, Then that cleared up. And now I have a sore wisdom tooth. Next stop death.Â
Sayawordortwo Keane You know Keane fans will be here to support you, what kind of audience would like to reach with your new album?Â
Tom Chaplin The album is about becoming relational again - to those round me and to myself. I hope it appeals to anyone out there who feels in trouble, who feels alone, who needs confirmation that there is always hope.Â
Toni Louise Evans Best film you've seen so far this year? I need something new.Â
Tom Chaplin I went to see Batman v Superman yesterday. I think the critics have been harsh. I enjoyed it, although as with all these kind of films, it got way too baggy and ridiculous in the final third.Â
Laura Natali Valdez How has becoming a father changed you?Â
Tom Chaplin Well it saved my life. But it has has also taught me (eventually) that I'm not the centre of the universe anymore. That's a very liberating feeling. Â
Leah Salt What have you enjoyed the most about the writing/recording process? Is there anything you miss about the process that you enjoyed while working with your band mates in Keane?Â
Tom Chaplin I've loved every minute of making my record. While I truly appreciate everything that I've done with Keane, there is something wonderful about being the master of my own destiny. I've also enjoyed the fact that there are no limitations when making a solo record. You're not confined to the roles you might have in a band.Â
Joe N Louise Lane Will you start your solo tour in Portsmouth, at the wedgewood rooms like you did you did with Keane?Â
Tom Chaplin That's a very specific question! Who knows?
Laura Natali Valdez Do you still keep that goal you set a few years ago that you want to be the fittest you've ever been when you reach your 40s?Â
Tom Chaplin I reckon I'm definitely fitter now than I ever have been. So I'm trending in the right direction!Â
Laura Natali Valdez What did you find most helpful when experiencing a writer's block? An advice from a fellow musician/hero perhaps?Â
Tom Chaplin I wrote with people a lot. That process forces you to come up with ideas, to keep moving. I would encourage that. Or just make sure you write anything, however crap you think it is, so that you keep exercising the muscle...so to speak.Â
Sara Diamond Are you overwhelmed with the amount of questions there are right now?Â
Tom Chaplin Err, yes, a touch. I'm very new to Facebook and I'm worrying that I'm not doing it right!Â
Alexa Morel Hello dear Tom , is there a song was inspired by your little girl ? If so it would be a pleasure to hear .. Greetings and kisses from Paraguay !!Â
Tom Chaplin There is one song that is a kind of cautionary tale for her. I didn't want to write something over-sentimentalised. After all, I'd be lying if I said that life is a bed of roses. I just want her to know that I love her unconditionally, whatever ups and downs she experiences. So the song articulates that idea.Â
RosaMaria Juárez Since "Hardened Heart" seems to be a very personal song, what is the message behind it?Â
Tom Chaplin It's a song about the transition from despair to hope.Â
Jack Sage Will you be touring the UK with your new album?Â
Camila Francisca Latapiat Ă‘ancupil Hi, Tom! I'm your fan since 2004, now I'm pregnant and my child loves your music (I use it like Mozart Effect or kinda)... I wonder if someone told you any advice about being a father, and if you can, do you have any advice for anyone about this? smile emoticon Greetings from Chile (We want to see you soon here someday!)Â
Tom Chaplin I think the the most important thing (other than unconditional love) is to be comfortable with who you are. If you are anxious, depressed, neurotic, then even tiny babies pick up on that stuff from the word go. I don't want to project or hand on my insecurities to my daughter, so I've done my best to make sure I've dealt with them!Â
Helena Limpo The song "To The River" is a song I absolutely love but is also somehow "disturbing" - can you tell us if it is it about your own self or relates with Keane? #tksÂ
Tom Chaplin It's a song about the perils of nostalgia or being stuck in the past. There is a strange comfort in a rose-tinted view of life but it's very unhealthy. I thought like that for a long time but I don't anymore. I'm much more excited about where I am and where I'm going.Â
Eboni Burke Describe your album in 3 wordsÂ
Tom Chaplin Imprisonment, liberation, understanding. In that order.Â
Helena Limpo Is it "Hardened Heart" where you play the flute? It's my most favourite from the songs you showed us already ...Â
Tom Chaplin Yes...and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the flute can sound in a rock song.Â
Laura Natali Valdez have you learnt to deal with critics or you still struggle to not let them get to you?Â
Tom Chaplin I'll see how I feel when the criticism rolls in (and no doubt it will). However, I am hopeful that I'm strong enough to deal with it. The most important thing is that I've made something authentic to myself and that I'm in love with. That should be enough - the rest is just noise.Â
Eboni Burke Would you ever write an autobiography?Â
Tom Chaplin I can't remember enough of the details. A vast tract of my brain was wiped out by...well, you know what.Â
Lisanne Olthof Are you still sad about Bowie? Like me...Â
Tom Chaplin Yes, for sure. His death sent a shockwave through so many lives. That is a very rare occurrence.Â
Monica Medina Hi Tom! Are you on reading a book these days? If you are which one?Â
Tom Chaplin I'm currently reading "Kill Your Friends". Wow, it's so dark and so funny. And so true.Â
Anna Coucke Easter chocolate of choice?Â
Tom Chaplin I've said this before and I'll say it again; when someone brings me a full-sized (as in ostrich or dinosaur) Creme Egg, then I can die a happy man. And probably will anyway of renal failure.Â
Kerry H One album you would absolutely recommend for anyone as a must listen too?Â
Tom Chaplin Absent Friends by The Divine Comedy. A true hidden classic.Â
Alice Chaplin How long will you stay replying our questions?Â
Tom Chaplin As long as I'm still enjoying myself. Which I am!Â
Shanelle Zinck How do you figure out what type of music fits your voice? What's the hardest part of being a singer songwriter?Â
Tom Chaplin Good question. One of the great things about writing my own songs is that they truly fit my voice and reflect my experience in a way that no one else could do for me. And that's not to detract from the wonderful songs that Tim has written over the years, it's just a simple fact!Â
Lisanne Olthof What's something you really wanna do/achieve before you die? or something that's on your bucketlist. might sound a bit nicer that wayÂ
Tom Chaplin I want to become a scratch golfer. I'm edging there slowly!Â
Anelise Sampaulo Camurati Ladeira There Beatles influence on your career? How?Â
Tom Chaplin There's a song on the record that is just like an early George Harrison solo song. It's one of my absolute favourites.Â
Alice Chaplin Will you create an Instagram account?Â
Tom Chaplin It's a headache just running Twitter and now Facebook. But I guess I'll eventually cave in!Â
Philia Serafini Do you ever get nervous before you sing or while on stage?Â
Tom Chaplin The older I get, the less my nerves can handle the pre-show nerves. But once I'm up and running, I seem to forget all of that.Â
Rita Bischoff Are you happy?Â
Tom Chaplin I'm content and fulfilled, And occasionally happy. But I'm also ok with feeling sad. I used to do anything I could to extend my happiness or to fight my way out of sadness. But trying to control my feelings always ended in disaster. They are what they are! Now I'm just content to be carried by the tides of life.Â
Linda van Harskamp Is it true you are anti-religious?Â
Tom Chaplin My view is more nuanced than one or the other. I'm agnostic, as in it would be daft of me to say there isn't a god. However, I do believe that many of the rules of religion are just man-made manipulations. Of course there are sensible moral codes within religions too, but I don't think you need to be religious to have a moral code. I also find the idea if a judgemental god utterly absurd. And heaven and hell seem like daft ideas in my opinion. This is it for me, this life we have.Â
Sonia Sivewright Do you seek/get feedback on your songs from Tim/Richard/Jesse or will they have to wait for the finished product, just like us?Â
Tom Chaplin I think it's important for me that this project is entirely separate from Keane. I hope that they like the finished article though! Kristen KayÂ
Jordan Favorite show to binge on?Â
Tom Chaplin I'm loving Better Call Saul. Shetland was pretty brilliant. And The Night Manager is fantastic.Â
Tom Chaplin Hi there. Nice to hear from someone in Angola! Wow! As for Keane, there are no plans at the moment. But who am I to say where my life will take me? [Not sure who he was replying to]Â
Itzy Vázquez Favorite "Friends" character? (Tell me it's Chandler, please)Â
Tom Chaplin It like so IS Chandler.Â
Lydie Jolania Hi Tom Chaplin! Do you know when will your solo album come out? I'm looking forward to listening to it xxÂ
Tom Chaplin It's nearly finished. And then a few months after that is the norm. So later in the year. There'll be lots of interesting stuff going on in the lead up though.
Elisabete Goncalves Any words to what's happening in the world right now with the terrorist attacks?Â
Tom Chaplin These do seem like very uncertain, unstable times. There's a worrying complexity to the world's problems in my opinion. Sometimes it feels as though the future of mankind is like a giant plate spinning act. And all we do is keep adding plates! I do think the answer lies through peaceful means - education, understanding, compassion, compromise. I think most people try to exist under those terms but that there is a worrying subset of very disenchanted human beings - those are the people who require the MOST love and understanding. So I am very reluctant to adopt this attitude of dividing the world into good and evil, rich and poor. There is a member of ISIS in all of us, given the circumstances. We have to find a solution that doesn't involve further division. I certainly feel that violence and war will NEVER be that solution.Â
Martina Amundarain Don’t you ever think to write a book? like some kind of Bio ?Â
Tom Chaplin I've already written a lot about the songs from the record. It reads very autobiographically.Â
Tracie Hamilton Will you be touring in Scotland? Do you have gigs planned to coincide with the release of the album? XxÂ
Tom Chaplin I hope that I can visit as many places as possible with these new songs. Scotland will probably be easier to get to than most!Â
Laura Natali Valdez okay not that my opinion matters at all but I hope next Q & A won't be on facebook. it's literally a pain to go through all the comments looking for your replies!
Tom Chaplin I'm sorry about that. I'll look for a better way around it. It's nice not to be restricted to 140 characters but it seems daft that you have to search for the answers!Â
Maria Zamorano Would you like your daughter to become a singer-song writer as you or would you prefer her to have another profession?Â
Tom Chaplin She can do whatever she wants. My only job is to support her with that! Although she's already loving singing!
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