New Music from Tom Goss, His Imperfections, Reconciliation, & Joy

Who is this bear-loving adorable singing smiling guy!?!

That’s what I knew about Tom Goss. That’s it.  I’ve seen his shout outs on Growlr and some of his videos drop across my YouTube or at some of the clubs. I was a Tom Goss virgin. I’m a bear that likes the smaller fit and smooth guys so there was an immediate attraction to this talented man, but alas, he is married and living in Los Angeles. But I can still crush on the guy and those thighs, right? It was time to pop my Tom Goss cherry. 

Tom Goss is out with his ninth studio album!  Remember What It Feels Like presents 15 tracks that reflect on present day Tom: a 42-year-old gay man still reeling from his husband’s infidelity who was recently conned by a lover with a secret life now serving time in prison. Tom’s also navigating the challenges of an open marriage.

 

The album is an expansive 15-track collection of fast, fun, summery pop songs punctuated by beautiful ballads and raucous rock. Featured artists include comedian and musician Deven Green, hip hop diva Maya La Maya, wry chanteuse Anne Reburn, and Goss‘s longtime collaborator de ROCHE. The album is available on iTunes, Spotify, and all major digital platforms, along with its new single, “Enemy of Good.”

First impressions seem like they’re important.

Imperfections, you’re trying to gloss em over.

But all your cracks they keep you in tact

Make you something, worth holding

In “Enemy of Good,” Goss sings about perfectionism, a vice that often masquerades as a virtue. “I’m very self-critical,” he admits. “Even as a kid, I would get frustrated when I felt I fell short on a goal, and my mother would say, ‘Tom, the perfect is the enemy of the good.’  It struck me as powerful, and I continue to notice that my need to achieve perfection does little in the way of producing art, or happiness. Joy and creativity flow when I allow myself to be flawed.”

Our time with Tom –

we were able to sit down with Tom and discuss a variety of things. Yes, the music is important and his personal life, the big changes that recently occurred were very interesting, but since this was my first Tom Goss interaction, I wanted to take it from the here and now, the present, and tap into that joy and that smile that he exudes.

I did ask Tom about his sound and where he feels he is in the realm of music.  He mentioned that Dave Matthews  and his band were a huge influence for him to start to play the guitar and write, but Tom feels he soon surpassed that type or style of music.  Tom elaborated that he’s been recording and writing his own stuff that contains so much variety that it’s hard to pinpoint what it is or who it may sound like. He did say his style usually is more poppy, like ‘60’s ‘70s music, concise bright fun pop songs like The Beatles and The Monkeys, having fun, short, and getting to the point. 

We did touch briefly on the cracks that we all have and glazed over the recent cracks in his personal life, but he mentioned that the cracks are good and he was able to acknowledge where some of these cracks came from after spending two days camping with his family.  That would definitely do it for most of us. 

Enemy of Good – his most recent video and release was kind of a happy disaster.  Tom mentioned that the whole plan and wardrobe for the music video fell through at the last minute and what you see in the video is what they could throw together quickly. I was thankful for the wardrobe malfunction and filming glitch as it let us see “those thighs.”  I was never a thigh man before, but… very nice Tom.

He’s played many small to large, fancy to dive places, so I asked him what places stood out in his head as a great venue.  His answer was not just about the spaces, but the people involved. Rockbar in NYC and Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale were two of his highlights as they have been homes for him for his shows for the past 10 years and running.

After bringing up the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, we did get a little more political and did mention Florida and should he come, should the gays come.  I enjoyed his answer in the interview which boiled down to, “You can’t do the clean cut cancel culture when it comes to a state.” Florida holds value to him, the people and the places.

We also talked about how fucking amazing gay people are and we are good to people. We bring so much to the table.

Our rapid fire questions were not so rapid, but were truly amazing.

Celebrity Crush: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson who starred in the Icelandic series ‘The Minister’. Tom explains that, yes, he likes bigger bearish guys, which we all knew, but this was the first time that he saw a man like this portrayed as a beautiful sexual being in this kind of series like the west would portray Brad Pitt.

I also did ask these questions:

• What is the biggest challenge our community is facing: internal divisiveness.
• What is the biggest positive:  I love gay people! We are brilliant.
• Favorite body part on him and someone else: see the video.

We often ask as a final question, “What would you tell that closeted young boy that is trying to deal with who he is.”  Tom’s answer was great and it might have given birth to a new song, “If kissing a boy brings you joy, you should kiss that boy.”  He also stated:

“Authenticity, vulnerability, and joy. Those are what we need to look for in life. Our value lies in our ability to find joy. Find those things that make you happy. What makes you smile.”

I had a great time with Tom Goss and hope to see him when he comes to Fort Lauderdale.  Is he coming to somewhere near you? Check out his webpage for tour dates and check out his other sites for videos, images, and updates.

And do yourself a favor and go down a Tom Goss YouTube rabbit hole. You’ll find some of his early work like Bears.