Bio for “East of Lincoln”
Over the course of his career, singer/songwriter and Americana artist Tom Freund has released more than a dozen records, collaborated with legends such as Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne, pulled a half-decade stint on bass for alt-country pioneers The Silos, and has shared bills with everyone from Matthew Sweet to Guided by Voices. Freund’s intimate, heartfelt new solo album, East of Lincoln, chronicles a personal journey along the path from self doubt to enlightenment. “Time to take the wheel and turn this thing around / Time to make a deal and see what’s going down,” he affirms on “Runaround.” Freund takes his time and lets these new songs simmer, and that—along with memorable guest spots from longtime friend and collaborator Ben Harper and an all-star cast of session players—is a big part of record’s charm.
Quietly reveling in its unhurried pace, East of Lincoln sticks in the mind long after listening. Within the record’s framework, Freund tackles progress, hope, and the corporatization of his beloved Venice Beach, which he captures as a bittersweet vortex of vanishing beauty and possibility. “I know I’m no saint, but I know when something is good and when it ain’t,” he sings on the title track, mourning Venice’s fading allure while basking in its once-electric atmosphere. The album dances on the edge of a stark duality: the sun-drenched SoCal beach town’s demise and Freund’s own eventual growth arc. “Better start swimming toward the shore,” he urges on “Abandoning the Ship.”
Much of the record—co-produced by Freund and Sejo Navajas (Smoke Season’s Gabrielle Wortman, Vintage Trouble)—is devastatingly raw. The primarily acoustic arrangements are livened up with some spectacular drumming from Matt Johnson (St. Vincent, Jeff Buckley) and Michael Jerome (Toadies, John Cale, Blind Boys of Alabama), pedal and lap steel from Ben Peeler (Dawes, Shelby Lynne, Father John Misty), keys from Rami Jaffe (Foo Fighters, Ryan Adams) and Chris Joyner (Sara Bareilles, Rickie Lee Jones) and violin from Jessy Greene (Wilco, The Jayhawks). But even with all these studio heavyweights on call, Freund is front and center on the record, singing and playing an eclectic mix of instruments including guitar, mandolin, ukulele, synth and his signature upright bass.
Ben Harper, who produced Freund’s 2008 record Collapsible Plans, lends his vocals to “Abandoning the Ship” and supplies steel guitar to ethereal closing track, “Dream On (Believe in Yourself).” Grammy-winning mixer Jim Scott, known for his work with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Wilco, Ron Sexmsith, Alejandro Escovedo, Lucinda Williams and many more, steps in for several sterling moments as well, leaving his sonic stamp on title song “East of Lincoln,” dreamy standout “Homer Simpson’s Clouds (Day of the Locust)” and dusky saloon romper “Poached Eggs.”
In many ways, Freund’s entire life and career have been leading up to this moment. He’s spent much of his time traversing genres, melding whatever sounds have happened to catch his whimsy with his unmistakable, earthbound songwriting. Back in high school, Freund played bass in the jazz ensemble and performed in productions such as Swing. A few years later, he enjoyed a brief stint in the off-Broadway scene and took classes at Columbia University in New York, later transferring to Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., but when music came knocking again, Freund answered.
His very first album was 1992’s Pleasure and Pain, a duo set with Ben Harper. For the next five years, he also toured and recorded with The Silos before releasing North American Long Weekend, his 1998 solo debut on Mercury Records. Moving ahead into the new millenium, Freund churned out several additional records while also assisting with projects from Mandy Moore, Rachael Yamagata, Graham Parker and other notable artists. From a handful of EPs to his 2007 kids record Hug Trees and 2011’s The Edge of Venice to his appearance playing alongside Parker in 2012 Judd Apatow comedy This is 40, Freund’s career has been a dynamic affair, and that includes plenty of work in film and TV.
His songs have been featured on series such as Better Things, Parenthood and One Tree Hill, and for his latest television project, forthcoming Amazon show Pete The Cat, Freund has co-written, sung and played songs with Elvis Costello, KT Tunstall, Dave Matthews and Diana Krall, and has also co-written the show’s theme song with creator Swampy Marsh (Phineas and Ferb). Costello takes lead vocals on each episode’s opening theme with Freund handling backing vocals and most of the instruments. Freund also co-wrote and sings the show’s end-credits song, “Go Pete Go.” All 14 episodes of the animated series are scheduled for release this September.
East of Lincoln builds on Freund’s legacy while pushing beyond his comfort zone. “Angelus” is a groovy, organ-doused opener, and “Freezer Burn” a vulnerable mid-tempo affair reflecting on personal flaws in the wake of a breakup. “I was running on hope and fumes,” he sings. And where “London Bound Lady” is feathery and sweet, “Broke Down Jubilee” is gutting and mournful, glimmering with tears and silver-lined strings.
Freund’s new record is a potent reminder that life is measured not just by our successes, but by how we choose to grow from our failures.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Tom Freund is indeed one of the great singer- songwriters. He constructs a unique world, defines it, and then burns it to the ground. Truly unique and absolutely brilliant.” –All Music Guide
It’s the ease with which he delivers conversational lyrics and honeyed melodies, a natural magic that is the soul of Tom Freund’s music. Though he’s widely-traveled in a variety of genres– from hearftelt folk to buoyant pop to boho jazz to straightforward rock ’n’ roll, and beyond –Freund is, simply put, a singer-songwriter with a defined and captivating presence.
“Freund clearly delights in enigma. His vocals could go from laconic to impassioned without such obvious trickery as cranking up the volume. His lyrics are full of curveballs.” –Washington Post
Freund’s latest disc “Two Moons” on Surf Road Records draws roots sources for an urbane Americana sound, melding nostalgia with a raw and sharp-eyed views of life today. “If Two Moons, with its underlying message of hope in this messy world of ours, serves as an inspiring, encouraging soundtrack for listeners, then I can say to myself, ‘ok, you’re doing something right for the people out there”, Freund says. He delivers this CD’s main message in the standout track “Lemme Be Who I Wanna Be,” in which he declares: “I’m basically hooked on this life/it’s got a lot of problems/but it treats me real right/and you don’t have to agree with me/but let me fly my freak flag.” This oddly upbeat anthem of personal empowerment so impressed Canadian rock star Serena Ryder that she asked to sing on it. The opening track “Angel Eyes,” featuring vocals by Ben Harper, serves as Freund’s take on Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” motif, expresses his appreciation to his Southern California friends for always having his back. Notes of nostalgia play into Tom’s self-declared favorite track “Mind of Your Own” which delves into a deeply personal memory of the New York native’s childhood home.
“If you want to hear what California feels like, Tom Freund’s new album is a good place to start…” – Acoustic Guitar
Freund spent the mid-’90s touring with the indie rock cult faves THE SILOS and has been releasing solo albums since 1998. Tom has alternated between recording and touring behind his own discs, playing upright bass, electric bass guitar, and mandolin with the likes of British pub-rock great Graham Parker (who hailed Freund as one of the best singer-songwriters operating today), pop star Mandy Moore, groove-soul sensation Brett Dennen, Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne, and three-time Grammy winner Ben Harper. “What really brought me to wanting to work with Tom in the studio is his songs,” Harper concludes. “It doesn’t have to even go any further than that. As far as I’m concerned, who wouldn’t wanna work with him in the studio? Because the songs are there.”
“Every year the mounting landfill of new releases that threatens to bury the working music journalists yields a few unexpected gems, and Tom Freund is one of them.”
–New York Times
More recently, you can spot Freund playing with Parker in the Judd Apatow film, “This Is 40” and featured on the hit TV shows “Parenthood”, “American Gothic” and the recently premiered Pamela Adlon show “Better Things”. He continues to tour North America, Europe and Japan playing with his band or doing solo shows.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bio for “Two Moons”
“Two Moons brilliantly reveals Tom Freund’s many musical phases.”
Brett Dennen, Serena Ryder, Arthur Fonzarelli and Barbarella
all make appearances on the L.A.-based troubadour’s latest album
Over the course of his career, Tom Freund has created a wide variety of albums. His first was a collaboration with Ben Harper and his last was a double disc live album. In between, he’s made full-lengths, EPs, a children’s CD and a Christmas album — but he’s never made an album like 2 Moons.
This self-produced disc, due out August 17th on Surf Road Records, finds the Los Angeles-based Freund in a contemplative yet confident mood, where swirls of nostalgia blend with sharp-eyed views of life today. He delivers this CD’s main message in the standout track “Lemme Be Who I Wanna Be,” in which he declares: “I’m basically hooked on this life/it’s got a lot of problems/but it treats me real right/and you don’t have to agree with me/but let me fly my freak flag.” This oddly upbeat anthem of personal empowerment so impressed Canadian rock star Serena Ryder that she asked to sing on it. “Lemme Be Who I Wanna Be” represents a different type of song for Freund. “I’d rather just be honest and say ‘take me as a I am’,” he reveals, adding, “I felt that I didn’t have to dress up songs with clever couplets all the time.”
This more emotionally raw and vulnerable songwriting surfaces throughout the album. The opening track “Angel Eyes,” which serves as Freund’s take on Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” motif, expresses his appreciation to his Southern California friends for always having his back. Freund proudly notes that “Sugar Pie,” the sweet-sounding album closer, “doesn’t have one sarcastic line in the whole song.” Played simply and sung sincerely, it’s his most heartfelt love song, even though it concerns a relationship that has come to an end.
The idea of persevering through life’s hard times is a reoccurring theme in 2 Moons. While “Heavy Balloon” holds the fear of impending doom, Freund still cherishes how “ordinary days are like miracles” and pledges not “to lay down my heart.” The charmingly chilled-out anthem “Same Old Shit Different Day” offers snapshots of skater kids, bossy cops and Venice Boardwalk weirdness, extolling the virtues of everyday craziness.
Several 2 Moons tunes find the songwriter reflecting on his past. The wistful “Happy Days Lunch Box” name-drops the Fonz and the Cunninghams as Freund recalls his carefree youth, while generational conflicts flare up amidst memories of a long-ago summer in “Me and Bernice,” a tune written some years back but a perfect fit for 2 Moons. “Mind of Your Own,” Freund’s own favorite track, also finds him looking back and considering the ending of eras. This was the last song the New York native wrote at his family’s house before it was sold.
Nostalgia strikes a more playful note in “Grooves Out of My Heart,” which contrasts an innocent youth spent spinning records and “getting stoned on the stoops” with an adulthood where “Barbarella has gone away” and “I guess I have to make something of my life today.” This funky rocker reveals some musical touchstones with its “me and Julio” shout-out to one of Freund’s songwriting idols, Paul Simon, and a fadeout guitar riff nod to AOR rock gods Led Zeppelin.
Freund, in producing and co-engineering this album, draws upon folk, rock, jazz and other roots sources for an urbane Americana sound. He blends in cool touches: woozy mariachi horns pop up in “Same Old Shit,” mermaid-evoking backing vocals in “Next Time Around.” He punctuates “Heavy Balloon” with a blast of electric guitar and guest Stan Behrens (of Canned Heat fame) lends an atmospheric harmonica solo to “Weekend Guy” (a co-write with singer/songwriter Brett Dennen, who contributes vocals too). Inspired by listening to a lot of old Squeeze music, Freund also mixed in some trippy keyboards and old-school synths to flesh out tracks like “Me and Bernice and “Lemme Be Who I Wanna Be.”
The “Lemme Be” lyrical theme translated to the recording of 2 Moons as well. Freund brought a “this is the way we do it” approach to the sessions, which were done in studios across Los Angeles (from Echo Park to North Hollywood to his own setup in Venice). The recording went exceptionally well. “I knew what guys to grab and how to get it done,” he confides. “There weren’t wasted takes or wasted hours.” He used a core of group of musicians he knew (drummers Michael Jerome and Michael Iveson, keyboardist Chris Joyner and bassist John Button) and, he says, “every time we got together, something good happened.” Some talented old friends lent Freund support too. David Immergluck (Counting Crows/John Hiatt) weaves his pedal steel through 2 Moons, while “Angel Eyes” features vocals from Ben Harper, who also produced Freund’s 2008 CD Collapsible Plans.
Freund himself plays guitars, ukulele, keyboards and bass on 2 Moons. An in-demand bass player, Freund got his first big break in the mid-’90s playing for the Austin-based roots-rock cult heroes the Silos. He settled in Venice, California around the time of his 1998 solo debut North American Long Weekend. Over the years, he alternated between making his own music and working with folks like Mandy Moore, Rachael Yamagata and Graham Parker, who has hailed Freund as one of “the best singer/songwriters operating today.” You can even spot Freund playing with Parker in the recent Judd Apatow film, This Is 40.
Freund funded 2 Moons through a successful Pledge Music campaign. Although admitting to having some trepidations about going the crowd-sourcing route, Freund wound up a believer. “I’m very endeared by the Pledge experience,” he confesses. “It showed me that people wanted to engage in it. That was moving for me and got me excited.” Besides doing his traditional touring, including summer European festival appearances and shows in the States, he will be doing some special house concerts as part of this Pledge Music campaign.
Fans’ reactions resonate strongly with Freund: he feels that a job of a songwriter to help others access what they are feeling. “A real joy is when people come and tell me that a song or an album got them through something,” he says. If 2 Moons, with its underlying message of hope in this messy world of ours, serves as an inspiring, encouraging soundtrack for listeners, “then I can say to myself: ‘okay, you’re doing something right for some people out there.”
“California-based troubadour Tom Freund sings of skate-boarding kids, impending doom and Happy Days lunch boxes on his new album, Two Moons.” —NPR WEEKEND EDITION http://bit.ly/1N1vuBI
