Welovebearwood are big fans of Tom Naylor! We don't think there was a dry eye in Lightwoods Park when he sang at Bearwood Shuffle#2 with his Mum.
We caught up with Tom during his busy schedule - he's recently modelled for the Duck & Cover Autumn collection and is just finishing off all the final details for the Lightwoods Skatepark event this coming Bank Holiday Monday.
Over to you....Tom.
1. Wow! You’re a very busy man! Model, MC, BMX rider....if you had to choose just one of these which one would you choose & why?
First of all I would like to say thank you for offering me this opportunity to do this interview, its nice to know people are taking an interest in what I do with my life, I’d just like to add that I work full time in an office up Birmingham, just a standard nine to five job but unfortunately we all have to pay the bills somehow, until recently I was working the weekends at a club called Oh Velvet bar/Sugarsuite on Broad street, I worked there for the past year and a half but recently had to give it up. It was getting too much trying to work everyday of the week and doing music so unfortunately something had to go. I’d like to shout out everyone that worked there especially Triple S who got me up to perform at Oh Velvet live lounge and perform live on a Saturday night when a bit of grime comes on, always nice to think back and know I’ve performed in a rammed club up town on a Saturday night.
First of all I would like to say thank you for offering me this opportunity to do this interview, its nice to know people are taking an interest in what I do with my life, I’d just like to add that I work full time in an office up Birmingham, just a standard nine to five job but unfortunately we all have to pay the bills somehow, until recently I was working the weekends at a club called Oh Velvet bar/Sugarsuite on Broad street, I worked there for the past year and a half but recently had to give it up. It was getting too much trying to work everyday of the week and doing music so unfortunately something had to go. I’d like to shout out everyone that worked there especially Triple S who got me up to perform at Oh Velvet live lounge and perform live on a Saturday night when a bit of grime comes on, always nice to think back and know I’ve performed in a rammed club up town on a Saturday night.
Right back to the original question, my dream job would be a mix of all of them to be honest, I would love to wake up in the morning and have a gig booked in a random city or country, I really want to travel to different cities and take my bike and ride the local skateparks and see the sites, I’ve rode my bike for a long time now and as a bmxer there’s nothing better than finding new places to ride. I’ve done a few gigs lately and there’s nothing better than jumping on stage, imagine coming to a nice club or a rave having a few pictures taken and being able to perform live, it sounds like the high life to me. I would like this to be my job because it would be a dream come true, it wouldn’t even be a job I’d just be getting paid for the hobbies I enjoy to do in my spare time.
2. I’ve seen Lightwoods Skatepark in lots of your BMX videos on YouTube. The park opened just over a year ago (May 2011). What difference has this made to you and why?
I’ve been riding down Lightwoods park since I was 16, I’m 25 now so I’ve been riding Lightwoods skatepark for a while, about 8 years now, I used to ride the old skatepark which Anneka Rice built in a day! It was a challenge she was set on her old 1990's T.V programme called Challenge Anneka, I did like the old park because it was different from any other park around Birmingham, but it was old and was in desperate need of being resurfaced, they’ve done an excellent job and in my eyes it’s one of the best parks in Birmingham, hopefully we will be able to extend the park in the future as there is space to expand.
The park is becoming quite popular so space is becoming limited (scooters are everywhere!). The new skatepark has made a lot of difference to me its somewhere for me to ride my bike without having to travel too far plus Bearwood skatepark is like a mini community/family now, you don’t even have to ring anyone cause you know if its dry outside most people will be down the skateparks! It’s also a lot safer than the old skatepark as the old one had a rough surface and was starting to crack due to overuse, the new park has been designed well and there’s room for extension which were hoping the council will help us achieve. I’d like to say a big thank to for doing an excellent job on creating our new skatepark.
The park is becoming quite popular so space is becoming limited (scooters are everywhere!). The new skatepark has made a lot of difference to me its somewhere for me to ride my bike without having to travel too far plus Bearwood skatepark is like a mini community/family now, you don’t even have to ring anyone cause you know if its dry outside most people will be down the skateparks! It’s also a lot safer than the old skatepark as the old one had a rough surface and was starting to crack due to overuse, the new park has been designed well and there’s room for extension which were hoping the council will help us achieve. I’d like to say a big thank to for doing an excellent job on creating our new skatepark.
3. We’ve heard on the grapevine that you’re holding a skateboard jam. Please tell us what exciting things you’ve got planned for the event.
Myself, Rhys Wynn & all the Bearwood locals have been asked to hold an event on May Day, to promote the skatepark and local music talent from the area. The locals from the skatepark have decided to hold a skateboard/bmx competition. We will be giving prizes out to the best riders & skaters of the day, big shout out to an old school Bearwood associate Richard Homer who has helped sponsor the event, I have received prizes from Shiner Distribution’s in Bristol which will be handed out on the day.
Myself, Rhys Wynn & all the Bearwood locals have been asked to hold an event on May Day, to promote the skatepark and local music talent from the area. The locals from the skatepark have decided to hold a skateboard/bmx competition. We will be giving prizes out to the best riders & skaters of the day, big shout out to an old school Bearwood associate Richard Homer who has helped sponsor the event, I have received prizes from Shiner Distribution’s in Bristol which will be handed out on the day.
We will also be holding a high jump competition, this has always been a good event at past Bearwood jams so if you’re coming down expect to see some spills thrills and big air!
We have also been provided with a mini stage & generator by Sandwell council so we have decided to showcase local musical talent from the area with performances from myself, Dr Dorz, Dee Cee, Jay Kola (OCD) Mc K Chambers, Mc Sketch, Metz Jnr, Juggernaut & special guests, plus DJ sets from Birmingham’s finest DJ Markey G & Beefy plus DJ Esstee & Stuart Powell. There will be a mix of genre’s playing such as Grime, Dub step, DnB & Hip Hop, it’s a great opportunity for us to showcase our talent to the public. It’s going to be great hearing the music we love down our local skatepark and you never know we may have some new fans of our music by the end of the day.
We have also decided to hold an open mic contest for young unexposed local talent giving them the chance to gain experience performing live, MC’s will be judged on bars, content and stage presence with the winner being awarded free studio time and a sprayout video courtesy of Reduxion Records and Real Life TV, this is a great opportunity for local talent to get a chance to test there skills, it will be an interesting competition to see who wins because I know there’s a lot of good mc’s round the area who deserve a bit more recognition.
4. You recently modelled for Duck & Cover clothing range. What was that like, how did it come about, did you enjoy it and lastly would you do it again?
I really enjoyed it, it was my first taste of modelling as I’d never done it before, it was weird standing in the bullring having pictures taken of you while passers-by stopped and stared but it was a good experience. I would love to do it again, pictures from the shoot will be coming out soon for the autumn/winter range, not too sure where the pictures will be, you never know you might see my face plastered on a poster in the Bull Ring.
I really enjoyed it, it was my first taste of modelling as I’d never done it before, it was weird standing in the bullring having pictures taken of you while passers-by stopped and stared but it was a good experience. I would love to do it again, pictures from the shoot will be coming out soon for the autumn/winter range, not too sure where the pictures will be, you never know you might see my face plastered on a poster in the Bull Ring.
5. You’ve remixed Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ (one of welovebearwood’s faves) and performed your own songs at last year’s Bearwood Shuffles. Do you prefer doing remixes or writing your own songs, why?
Personally I prefer writing my own songs because it is original, as its been written by yourself, I like doing remix's because it’s a little bit easier because you already have a chorus there so you can write your verses around the chorus, plus I can’t sing so I have to have other singers on the track, I’d love to be able to sing or even hold a note but I doubt that will ever happen I have to leave that department to my mom, it’s nice to know people are listening to what I’m doing, it makes me want to make more music so I’ve started to take music more seriously, I’ve been MCing a long time, down the skate parks and in my bedroom, one day I did a mini video for YouTube and got a really good response so since then I’ve just been making more tunes and I’m still shocked at how good things are going, to be honest I was a little bit reluctant to show people I MC’d as I thought I wasn’t any good and thought people would have laughed but as time has passed and I get more support & followers of my music my confidence has grown, I feel anything is possible if you work hard and put your mind to it.
6. What's your favourite album you have listened to so far this year?
I listen to music every day, I constantly wear my headphones, which will probably lead to me becoming deaf in my old age but I can’t help it I feel addicted to music and feel life would be rather boring without it. I’m a big fan of all music from Heavy Metal to Pop Music but to be honest I don’t really listen to other people’s music in my spare time as I’m normally trying to work on new material, so most of the time I’ll be listening to instrumentals. My favourite producers who make beats at the moment are Birmingham producers such as B Line Producer Pro who has a great selection of Rap/Hip Hop beats and deserves a lot more recognition, I’m always a big fan of Markey G & Beefy B who are smashing it on the Dnb at the moment and especially Bearwood’s own DJ Alpha who is making big big tunes at the moment in the Drum & Bass scene. And finally my favourite would have to be grime producer K1.
I listen to music every day, I constantly wear my headphones, which will probably lead to me becoming deaf in my old age but I can’t help it I feel addicted to music and feel life would be rather boring without it. I’m a big fan of all music from Heavy Metal to Pop Music but to be honest I don’t really listen to other people’s music in my spare time as I’m normally trying to work on new material, so most of the time I’ll be listening to instrumentals. My favourite producers who make beats at the moment are Birmingham producers such as B Line Producer Pro who has a great selection of Rap/Hip Hop beats and deserves a lot more recognition, I’m always a big fan of Markey G & Beefy B who are smashing it on the Dnb at the moment and especially Bearwood’s own DJ Alpha who is making big big tunes at the moment in the Drum & Bass scene. And finally my favourite would have to be grime producer K1.
When it comes to albums there’s only a couple that come to mind, I asked my good friend K Chambers to lend me an album of an old school American Artist as I didn’t have much knowledge of the roots of Hip Hop and wanted to listen to the original tracks and see how their music and flow of rappers has influenced rappers & mc’s of today, he gave me an album called Capital Punishment by an artist called Big Pun, his music is very x-rated so not really for the younger listeners but his flow and the way he put his words together was amazing, this album is a good 15 years old but he could swing it with the best rappers of today, unfortunately he has passed away but his music still lives on, what I liked about his music was that he told stories in all of his songs, things about his past and the way he lived his life, He explained how he comes from nothing and how his life has changed, if your into rap he is definitely worth a listen to. I like all genres of music and really don’t see the point of being boxed in and listening to the same style of music, it gets boring.
7. What’s your connection with Bearwood?
Lived here since I was about 8, went Abbey Junior’s & Bristnall Hall and used to work at the Dentist & the old Safeway’s which is now the Aldi on the high street a few years back, lived in the Maisonettes by the library and Pheasant road but have moved since then, my main connection would definitely be the skate park, I’ve spent most of my spare time down that place over the years plus my friends live in Bearwood
8. What do you like about living in Bearwood? What/who/where makes you smile?
I used to spend a lot of time in Warley Woods as a teenager as it was just by my house, I knew the place like the back of my hand and everyone round there, I also spent most of my life down Bearwood Skatepark so every face down there is familiar, I drink in the local pubs and until recently still had my gym membership at Thimblemill baths, I moved around a lot over my life and used to live in Canada when I was younger but wherever I end up in the future Bearwood will always be home to me. What makes me smile is the people round me, there’s some funny characters round this area so you got to look on the positive side of life and have a laugh.
9. What’s 2012 hold in store for Mr Tom Naylor?
Just carry on doing what I’m doing, I’m really enjoying music and it’s nice to know that people are listening to what I enjoy doing. I just want to perform more and gain more experience. I’m really looking forward to Bearwood Jam as it’s the first event I’ve helped organise, from getting the sponsors to the performers to promoting, looking forward to seeing how the day pans out, really looking forward to the open mic event and helping local talent get a bit more exposure. I’ve been given a lot of support lately and have a lot of performances coming up, I’ve recently been hooked up with a clothing sponsorship from a brand called deadbydenim they will be sponsoring the high jump at Bearwood jam so look out for some prizes, also auditioned for a talent showcase called Birmingham Industry, I got through and will now be performing on the 15th June, it’s a big opportunity for me as there will be contacts from London coming to watch the performance so we will see if it leads to anything further, also working on my mix tape which should be finished soon, alongside the OCD mix tape, which we have been working on at Reduxion Studio’s, performing on D&B internet radio every week and really looking forward to the summer as I have booked a month off work to perform aboard.
Just carry on doing what I’m doing, I’m really enjoying music and it’s nice to know that people are listening to what I enjoy doing. I just want to perform more and gain more experience. I’m really looking forward to Bearwood Jam as it’s the first event I’ve helped organise, from getting the sponsors to the performers to promoting, looking forward to seeing how the day pans out, really looking forward to the open mic event and helping local talent get a bit more exposure. I’ve been given a lot of support lately and have a lot of performances coming up, I’ve recently been hooked up with a clothing sponsorship from a brand called deadbydenim they will be sponsoring the high jump at Bearwood jam so look out for some prizes, also auditioned for a talent showcase called Birmingham Industry, I got through and will now be performing on the 15th June, it’s a big opportunity for me as there will be contacts from London coming to watch the performance so we will see if it leads to anything further, also working on my mix tape which should be finished soon, alongside the OCD mix tape, which we have been working on at Reduxion Studio’s, performing on D&B internet radio every week and really looking forward to the summer as I have booked a month off work to perform aboard.
Just like to say a big thank you to everyone supporting and everyone that’s helped me along the way, below is a bunch of links to local music and to people supporting.
Big Thank you to:
Mike, John and Lucke @Reduxion Records
Craig @ Real Life TV
EnR Twinz @BirmzIsGrime
MonaBrom Photography
OCD
B Line Producer Pro
K Chambers
Birmingham’s Finest / Sound Boi Flex
Triple S @ Oh Velvet Live Lounge
& everyone else that as helped me along the way! Apologises if I have missed anyone out, also a big to every person that took the time to listen & download my music #ddddddatshowwheredoingit
You can find all my music and video’s by following the links below.
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/mrnaylormc
Soundcloud http://soundcloud.com/mrnaylormc
Official Website http://www.reduxionrecords.com/index.php/artists/ocd/mr-naylor
10. What makes Lightwood Chippy’s chips orange?
I reckon they mix orange skins in the batter, that why your left with a tangy taste
No comments:
Post a Comment