Local band Trucker Diablo released their fifth album, “Tail End of a Hurricane” on 7th May after a delay caused by the Covid pandemic. Singer Tom Harte has been a guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show on two earlier occasions in 2017 and 2015 to talk about the two previous albums so it seemed appropriate to get him back again to chat about “Tail End of a Hurricane”.
You can hear that interview on the Friday NI Rocks Show for 14th May 2021 – that Show is available from our MixCloud site -
https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-tom-harte-from-trucker-diablo-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-14th-may-2021/
Playlist
MÖTLEY CRÜE – Girls, Girls, Girls
SARA BALDWIN – No Turning Back
THE DEAD DAISIES – Like No Other
NEONFLY – Venus (ft Dani Divine)
TRUCKER DIABLO – Insects
Interview with TOM HARTE Part 1 (5 min)
TRUCKER DIABLO – The Edge of Tonight
Interview with TOM HARTE Part 2 (5 min)
TRUCKER DIABLO – Bury The Ocean
Interview with TOM HARTE Part 3 (4 min)
TRUCKER DIABLO – The Trade
TOM HARTE – Prison Walls
SHARK ISLAND – Paris Calling
BADLANDS – Devil’s Stomp
BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER – Deadly Sins
HERMAN FRANK – Teutonic Order
SONIC HAVEN – Striking Back
Promo Feature with MYLES KENNEDY for “The Ides of March”
GIRL – Heartbreak America
SMASHED GLADYS – Eye of the Storm
DORO – Do You Like It
Promo Feature with TREV LUKATHER from LEVARA
NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA – White Jeans
RIAN – Stop
DENNIS DEYOUNG – The Last Guitar Hero (ft Tom Morello)
GASOLINE OUTLAWS – Hard Times
The 2017 interview can be found here - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/3214-ni-rocks-interview-with-tom-harte-from-trucker-diablo-sept-2017.html
Website - http://bigtruckkeepsonrolling.com/
NI ROCKS – Hi Tom, thanks for taking some time to speak to Rock Radio NI once again. Trucker Diablo have just released a new album called “Tail End of a Hurricane” and we just played a track from it called “Insects”. What can you tell us about that track?
TOM – “Insects”, it was originally Simon’s riff and I think he had most the song written. And then I came along and added all the lyrics and the choruses and just a few other bits and pieces. But it's really just a social commentary about things that happen on the Internet - that people do that for self-gratification. They're just dicks really. Trollers and scammers and all this here. So it was just really a bit of a social commentary on that. And a bit of a fuck you from Trucker Diablo.
NI ROCKS – Plenty of them people about. We all know them! As we mentioned the album has just been released – on 7th May to be exact. When did the band record the album and who did you work with?
TOM - We worked with Frankie McClay, our long time producer from Einstein Studios in Antrim. We started recording the album at the end of 2019. Did “Rock Kids” first. And then we did a few shows in the UK and then came back and had planned to go back in again a few weeks after, but then we went into lockdown, so that didn't happen. So I think we originally had a set of songs that we were going to do, but because we had so much time on our hands, all these other songs started to come about and we really had the time to work on everything else. So, I just kept sending stuff through to the guys saying look this is good, this is good. And then they're all like, yeah, that's on the album, that's on album. So, it had the time to breathe and really become a lot better than what it was. So I suppose the lockdown, whilst it was shit, was still a bit of a blessing for us.
NI ROCKS – That was actually going to be my next question - did the Covid pandemic have any impact on the recording? So, it did then?
TOM - Yeah, it did. Actually on “I’m Still Alive”, which we'd actually written before the pandemic, the lyrics were sort of changed a bit to reflect how we felt and how we felt people were feeling within the pandemic. So, that one was really the one that sort of encompasses I think how we're feeling at the time.
NI ROCKS - Was May always seen as the release date or was that pushed back because of things?
TOM - No, that was pushed back. I think we tried to get it done for January and then it was right, we're going to do it in March. And then we said look there is so much up and down, let's just do it for May. That looks sort of a bit safer. So, it gave us a good breathing space to get the PR campaign and all up and going and it give me time to do the videos. We had a lot of time in between, so it was well planned out this time. I think the reviews all coming back are really good.
NI ROCKS – You’ve released the album independently again. What benefits does that bring for the band?
TOM - We get all the money! Yeah, nobody gets any of the money except us, because we need it! (Laughs). So apart from that, well, we actually do have a label in Europe, Bad Reputation, who have released all of our albums. So they're taking care of Europe and the rest of the world. But for the UK, we decided to do it independently and do it ourselves. So yeah, it costs so much money to go across the water and that's where all our gigs are, so we just need to try and get the most of it that we can; so we can go play them live.
NI ROCKS - And just in case listeners haven’t already bought the album, where can they find it?
TOM - They can find it at http://bigtruckkeepsonrolling.com/ or just go under our Facebook. It's been tagged over 100,000 posts in the past two months (Laughs)
NI ROCKS – I might have noticed a few of them (laughs). Live music has of course been non-existent for well over a year. Currently what is the first gig that you have lined up that you hope you can make happen?
TOM - The first gig we have is the Rock and Blues Festival, which we have played a few times, and headlined. That's on the 30th of July and that's in Derby. And then the next day after that, we're playing Wildfire Fest in Scotland. And then we're back over again a couple weeks after that to play the Corporation in Sheffield and then we're supporting Massive Wagons in Morecambe the night after that. And then back here hopefully for the Diamond (Rock Club, Ahoghill).
NI ROCKS – We’ll play another track from the new album now. Do you want to pick a track and tell us something about it?
TOM - I'll pick “The Edge of Tonight”. I think it was second last song or the last song that was written. And again it was just a simple riff that Simon had sent through. I just happened to be bringing my mum to the hospital and I was listening to it in the car and just started to get the idea from there. And I just think it's a good pumping rock song. It's simple, but it's a great song.
NI ROCKS - The last time you were on the show was in September 2017 talking about the album “Fighting for Everything”. It’s hard to believe that was more than three and a half years ago. That has been the longest time between any of the previous albums. Did you envisage there being such a gap or is it just the way things have worked out?
TOM – It’s just the way things have worked out. We tend to, sort of religiously, release one every two years and we have done, but obviously we couldn’t this time. But, in saying that, maybe taking a bit longer will produce something a bit better. We had a different set up this time. I have a home studio now, so we were able to demo everything and really work on it. And for me to really work on the vocals. Whereas we did that before in practice. Now we had more time to do it at home and get all the ideas down, and I think that is probably a good thing going forward.
NI ROCKS – During the last interview over three years ago you mentioned that Simon had already had a couple of song ideas for the next album. I’m not sure if that one ever made it onto the new album, but when roughly did you start the song writing process for the new album?
TOM - Well, they probably did actually, because the likes of “I’m Still Alive” – that riff was written. We played a festival in France about seven years ago and I had the riff backstage which I showed to Simon and he said that should definitely be on a song. So it took all that time to get to the album. And there's another song called “This Burning Heart” on the new album, which was actually written and was probably going to go on the third album, but it just didn't come together how we wanted it. So again, it's sort of transcended into this new one because we'd more time to work on it. So, we've been taking bits and pieces from the past, and sitting down and going right, let's get these songs together properly. That was probably 2019 some time I would say.
NI ROCKS - You also released a single, in 2019 I think it was. What was the idea of bringing that out at the time?
TOM – “Other Side of the City” was it? Well, I think at the time we had just got our albums back from the record labels that we were on in the States. So we decided right we'll put them on our own album and release them, which was “Devil Songs Vol 1-2”. So, me and Simon had written that song previously, again around the time of the third album. We had it plus another tune and we decided, if we're going to release it, let's put some new stuff on it and do a few extras. So we did that and we loved the song as well, so we decided we may as well just record it.
NI ROCKS – The band had a good run of festivals etc after the release of “Fighting for Everything”. Do you have any particular highlights from that run of shows?
TOM - I can't remember what they were (laughs). I barely remember playing them! The last festival we did was Winter's End, which was part of Planet Rocks Winter's End. It was great I have to say. It was the first time we'd done that and we were really, really well received. And I think it was the first time; no, it wasn't; it was the first time over the water that we had debuted “Rock Kids” and I went down, went down a storm. So that was that was good to get the feedback off the new song.
NI ROCKS – Those mainland shows are obviously crucial for expanding the Trucker fanbase. How difficult is it to maintain the connections that you build up on those tours?
TOM - It's not really that difficult because we tend to become friends with a lot of them and you know, meet up with them after shows and stuff. They tell their friends about us and next thing we're sitting at a pub with friends of friends. It's not really hard to maintain, it's just getting people to buy the fucking albums!! (Laughs)
NI ROCKS – You mentioned social media earlier with the song “Insects”. Are you a fan of the whole social media thing, or is it more of a necessary evil?
TOM – No, we’re a fan of it. When we started, we always thought we were quite good at it and quite savvy with it. And I think we still are, but it has evolved so much and people have got brilliant at it. Obviously, I'm designer, so I can do videos and do a lot of that stuff, so we just try and maintain a great amount of creativity and sort of let that come across in the videos and the songs.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play another track from “Tail End of a Hurricane” now. Again, can you pick a track and tell us something about it?
TOM - Let's play “Bury the Ocean”, which is the closing song on the album. That song was again another riff that Simon had just knocking about. He played it in rehearsal a few times, and we thought lets try to put something around this. He came over here and I ended up getting the verse and the chorus; and it just sort of all came together. That's been really well received. We normally put a sort of slower song on at the end, but this time we thought lets just go for a big broody one. Yeah,we enjoy that one.
NI ROCKS – We’ve been talking obvious;y about Trucker Diablo, but in 2018 you released a solo acoustic EP called “Life, Love and Everything In Between”. Was that something that you’d been wanting to do for a long time?
TOM - Well, yeah. I always had a love for singer songwriters who do everything. I think it makes you a really good all round songwriter if you can sort of strip things back and still deliver a powerful message. I plan to release some more stuff. I've just been constantly writing, so yeah, it definitely was. And it's just it's just good to have. Now my son is old enough and he's an accomplished piano player, so I'll try to get him involved. Sort of pass it on to the next generation.
NI ROCKS – That’s something obviously that you’re going to come back to at some stage to so some more of those?
TOM – Definitely. I've a load of songs that I'm working on at home here and that I'll probably, hopefully get released this year and just get them out there. Just need to find the time to get everything done. Maybe after this busy period with Trucker, I'll get some time to look at it.
NI ROCKS – There were four tracks on the EP. How hard was picking four just?
TOM - Oh God. I think it was just that the four that I had written that week (laughs) No, no, it is hard. I think the only obstacle I had was to trying to make them sort of different enough; so it didn't sort of sound similar. Because you would probably tend to stick to a certain structure. It was just trying to strip them back and make them different enough so that some people enjoy them. But it was received really well and I was surprised because people are used to the big riffs. So, it's good to expand.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play something from that EP later in the Show. Which track would you pick and why?
TOM – “Prison Walls” would probably be the one that'd l pick. It's just a personal experience from when I was young and I think it's pretty poignant. But I think it's a really good strong song.
NI ROCKS – As we mentioned there hasn’t been any gigs now for well over a year. Where have you been getting your musical fix – have you been watching some of the live-streams that artists have been doing or where are you finding new music?
TOM - Yeah, I have actually been watching some of the live streams and they've been great. Some of the set ups have been amazing and it gives you an idea of what's possible. This - fingers crossed, doesn't happen again – what we can do. But yeah, apart from that, just the usual places. You see it on Facebook all the time. But I've been buying. I bought Chez Kane’s album – it's excellent album. I bought Mason Hill's album.;I thought it was great. And then I bought the new Mammoth album – Eddie Van Halen’s son, and it’s brilliant. I was just blown away by that. So yeah, just listening to loads of different things.
NI ROCKS – I have the Mammoth album ordered on vinyl, but it hasn't arrived yet unfortunately. So I’m looking forward to getting that. You mentioned a few bands actually, including Chez Kane, who was also on the show a few weeks ago. What other new bands have you discovered recently?
TOM – New bands? I don’t think I’ve discovered any new bands recently! Oh well, I suppose they're not a new band, but I've discovered them recently. I’ve always seem them mentioned on social media - Larkin Poe from the States. Just incredible singers and harmonies and brilliant playing. I've been watching a lot of their covers online and then I was listening to the album. It's just like Jesus Christ, how did this get past me, it’s brilliant.
NI ROCKS - It's frustrating when you find something new to you, but it's been around for a while and you think why haven't I found that before?
TOM – I know, exactly!
NI ROCKS – That’s all the questions. We’ll finish off by playing another track from the new album. Again I’ll let you decide which one and tell us something about it.
TOM - Yeah, let's pick “The Trade”. Again, probably another sort of social commentary song. It was written about when the caravans were coming from South America to America and a bit of a commentary around it. It was kind of the one sort of big sort of southern rocker we had on the album. It starts slow and then kicks in. We just thought it was great from the very start.
NI ROCKS – Thanks for talking to me and good luck with the album.