The Tontons are almost set to get a short touring break. They have been going hard for the last seven years; the first two years criss crossing Texas, and most recently all over the world. Their smooth, soulful sound has been drawing attention from everyone, including every major publication, for quite some time now and with no signs of slowing; the band is set to hit New Orleans for the Voodoo Music and Arts Festival 2014 (www.worshipthemusic.com) on Sunday, November 2nd. Many of you will be familiar with their singles, “Golden” and “Never Never” off their “Golden” EP and “Veida” and “Kid Cemetery” off their 2014 release, “Make Out Kings and Other Stories of Love.” Recently we caught up with bassist Tom Nguyen to discuss high school, Red Bull and snowcapped mountains in the summer time.
The ability to look back and laugh at your past endeavors is really the only way to go forward. “It was in high school. (Laughing) I think I was a freshman, like in a talent show. Somewhere out there is a video of this and I hope it never surfaces. From what I remember, I don’t think any of us were in tune. It was pretty awful. I believe we did a cover of something. I already know it’s going to be awful. (On his first instrument) It was a knock off Gibson Explorer and it was yellow. I didn’t know anything about guitars except some friends were getting into it and it sounded like crap. At first I thought it was just me, but it was the combination of myself and the guitar. “
“Make Out Kings and Other Stories of Love” covers a lot of ground, literally. It is written from the road, about the road and all the ways it can play on the individuals as well as the band as a whole. (On “Veida“) “Originally it was about the band and it still sort of is. We had been touring for so long and jumped straight into the studio with half a record, trying to write the rest of the record in the studio. The song is about us not getting along after being around each other for so long that it got to the point like, ‘are we all still friends? Is everything cool?’ (On the road)Honestly it becomes all a blur. We’ve been out for so long. The thing that sucks is that there are some things that you don’t appreciate that much. It takes a while for it to sink in. I was just here and here and here and these are all big cities. I was able to see all these amazing landmarks. We were at Niagara Falls on this last tour and I had never been before. We went really quickly. We were kind of short on time. We did it and left and then we kind of forgot we went to Niagara Falls. Some nights you’ve just got to get on the road or early the next morning. Some cities you don’t even get to see. ‘How was this city?’ I don’t even know. I know the venue and where we ate, possibly, and that’s about it.”
Red Bull has been doing wonders for emerging artist. Their reach allows them to place bands on a growth plan that includes festivals, influential pairings and travel accommodations that can present a band with the ability to go farther and do so more efficiently. “We got on the Sound Select program, maybe a year and a half ago. Just the opportunities they have been able to give us are tremendous. We’ve been touring for several years, but doing it with them; they’ve gotten us into so many festivals, which is really great exposure. There are sold out shows in so many cities that we don’t necessarily have a draw. Some of the opportunities that you really need as a touring band, especially one that is still growing, where no one knows who you are, they’ve been facilitating allowing us to play in front of a huge crowd. It’s been really helpful so that when we go back out on the road, people that remember us come out to shows. The exposure alone has been really great.”
Texas can be an entity all unto itself. Many bands find successful careers inside of its’ borders. The Tontons began their career there, winning a slew of awards less than a year from inception. “We are close to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston, so you’ve got four cities you can hit in a weekend. Doing that for a while gets you pretty prepared for doing that for a lengthier time. Because of that, it’s definitely its own entity. That’s a whole market in itself. Usually on the east coast you hit four or five cities and you’re up the coast. Here you hit four or five cities and you’re still in the state.”
There is a stigma with musicians that are not chart topers. People want you to be in a band and in college, or working at a day job. The misgiving that bands that don’t fit that very small prerequisite aren’t successful enough to simply chase their dreams and do so with financial stability is simple minded and quite silly. “When it first happened, it didn’t really happen by choice. We started becoming so busy that we couldn’t work. We weren’t in town enough to be able to work. We were making just enough to afford to do that. The transition happened on its own. Little by little, we were able to do it. We really got lucky in that transition. We could’ve been like, ‘we’ve got all these gigs, but we can’t afford to go and do them all.’ There is a lot of more free time to really focus on music. We just did a three month tour and that was great. Now were straight back into writing mode. It’s been nonstop and if we were at work, it would never be like that. It’s definitely rough. We haven’t been able to stop since we got back from tour. Everyday we’ve been meeting up and working on music. I think all of us would like a break, but for something were trying to pursue, we can’t really stop. It’s not as glamorous as it looks. I’m still doing what I want.”
Though touring has left The Tontons a little worn, they do have many parts that they cherish. We got to play in Pemberton. It’s in British Colombia. The festival took place in this valley and you’re surrounded by snowcapped mountains. That was pretty incredible. I’ll remember that one for a while. It was amazing. It was middle of July, like 60 degrees and I’m at the festival, hanging out and it’s beautiful. When we got to play, I was staring at the mountains the whole time. It was a rare sight.”
Check out The Tontons at www.thetontons.com and @thetontons for tour information, music, videos and all thing The Tontons.
