Biography
Tom Rodwell ~ guitarist & singer.
b. 1976, Sheffield, England.
Primarily known as the frontman for the subversive blues/calypso/gospel outfit Storehouse, Tom Rodwell has performed and recorded extensively since before the turn of the century, with an extraordinarily varied backstory of projects, sessions and shows.
Lyrically, Rodwell's work touches on exotic and absurdist themes of art, memory, spirituality and lust with low-budget surrealism and a gothic wit.
Meanwhile, his music is audaciously unfashionable - rough, raw and often strange, yet deeply familiar and darkly funky.
With his recent album Wood & Waste (2021) Rodwell has revealed highly crafted and unconventional songs that cover a varied landscape, all crafted with a fresh studio-as-instrument and all-analogue approach. This music is often ecstatic, always surprising and richly detailed.
Press
"You don't hear that anymore. Beautiful groove, beautiful tunes!" - Derek Trucks.
"Rodwell manages to eschew the cliches that beset blues music. By turns wild, angry, hypnotic and sensual, it's as uncompromising as it is funky and some of the best live music I've seen." - Blues in London.
"It’s rare these days to find an original take on the blues, even in its land of origin, but the freshest blues I’ve heard in a long time comes from this local musician. His name is Tom Rodwell… You won’t find a more individual, eclectic, rhythmically compelling approach to this music, anywhere.” - Nick Bollinger, Radio NZ.
"Tom Rodwell is Sheffield's answer to Lightnin' Hopkins,” - NME, UK.
"A subtle reinvention of the most daring and entertaining aspects of music styles long thought atrophied, and with just voice and guitar (and odd smatters of percussion), he wills it alive." - Gary Steel, Metro (NZ).
"Soul-probing... Raw, avant-garde improvisations...Singer/guitarist Tom Rodwell’s extraordinary revision of blues and gospel always gets the joint jumping." - Metro (NZ).
"Psychotic gospel music," - Blues in Britain.
"Been a while since anyone's heard a song quite like that," - BBC World Service, The Beat.
"Wonderful hypnotic boogie," - Joe Cushley, Resonance FM, London.
"Serving up eclectic, foot-stompin' alt.blues and visceral neo-spirituals" - Time Out, London.
"The most blistering one man set we've seen," - Gigwise, London.
"Punishing," - Sheffield Telegraph.
"Thanks for making my job a lot harder man. I was gonna go out there and play a bunch of bullshit, now I gotta go out there and do something," - Otis Taylor.
"Seriously juicy groove," - Giles Hedley.
"Much funkier than the alternative," - Little George Sueref.
Discography
(TR vox/gtr unless otherwise noted)
2005 - Robert Lamm / “Leap of Faith” / Blue Infinity
2007 - Tom Rodwell / “Soldier in the Army of the Lord” single / Vulcan Cylinder Record Co.
2008 - Tom Rodwell & Storehouse / “Housewrecking vol. 1” / Fireplace
2012 - Tom Rodwell / “Live Humble” / Fireplace
2013 - William Adamson / “Under an East Coast Moon” / Brownswood
2014 - Tom Rodwell & Storehouse / “Housewrecking vol. 2” / Fireplace
2015 - Don McGlashan / “Lucky Stars” / Doncorp
2016 - Coco Davis / “Old Haunts” / Fireplace (producer, gtr,)
2017 - The Melancholy Babes / “Bootleg” / iiii Records (mix, FX)
2019 - Art Terry / “Sex Madness” / Frizz
2020 - Memory Fold / “Memory Fold vol 2” / iiii Records
2021 - Tom Rodwell / "Wood & Waste" / Fireplace
2024 - Fertility Festival / "Fertility Festival" / iiii Records (featuring Storehouse)
Live Highlights
Supports include:
Leon Russell
Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
Son of Dave x2
John Butler Trio
C.W. Stoneking
Charles Bradley
Cha Wa
Tony Gilkyson
Otis Taylor
Trinity Roots
Jerron ‘Blind Boy’ Paxton
Cedric Burnside
Chicken Legs Weaver
Triple Chicken Foot
Giles Bradley
Little George Sueref
Deltahead
John Crampton
Session Gun For Hire:
Lonnie Holley
Don McGlashan (The Muttonbirds)
Robert Lamm (Chicago)
Stew & Heidi (Passing Strange, The Negro Problem)
Jeffrey Foskett (Brian Wilson)
Andy Kim (“Sugar, Sugar”)
Art Terry
Jeff Henderson (Superstars of West Lynn,
Fertility Festival)
Rosie Langabeer
Bruce Russell (The Dead C)
Coco Davis
King Skinny / Peter Daube
Madame Pamita
Selected Live Highlights - Tom Rodwell & Storehouse 2003 - 2024
(LA)
Spaceland
Mr T’s Bowl
Echo Curio
Taix
Cinema
(London)
Lovebox Weekender
Concrete & Glass Festival
Ealing Blues Fest
What's Cookin'
The Spitz
Spitz One Man Band Festival, Spitz Blues Festival
Blues Kitchen
The Glad
Dr King's Jailhouse
Vibe
The George
The Luminaire
Uncle Sam’s
(UK)
Colne Great British R&B Festival
Peace in the Park
Tramlines
Philadelphia Blues Fest
Beer R&B Festival
(Netherlands)
Hongerige Wolf festival
(Switzerland)
Transformateur
Quellrock festival
(New Zealand)
Borderline Festival x4
Music of 1,000 Lovers / Auckland Town Hall
Splore
Auckland City Limits
Ornette Coleman afterparty, Happy
Nowhere Festival
Erupt Festival
Wine Cellar
Golden Dawn
Q Theatre
The Powerstation
Tuning Fork
Misc jazz & arts festivals (Waiheke, Nelson, Tauranga, Bay of Islands, Wellington, Taupo, Auckland)
Rotorua Blues Feast