what's going on everyone this is the
dapper villains Podcast
I'm your host Dana blouin and as always
I am joined by my co-host Jai Sachdev, Jai
what is going on I am very good brother
how you doing man
not bad man it's a crazy crazy Tuesday
for me how about you but it's raining
outside but we got we got some fucks to
give let's yeah well I have no funds to
give and we'll find a Hawaiian a second
before we jump into with our awesome
guests though do not forget to subscribe
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unique content coming there and we'll
get into that more no future episodes
however for now I was like to welcome
our guest the very famous world wide
world renowned vocalist ukulele player
thomas benjamin wild Esquire sir welcome
a free show
thank you for having me at first I first
found out about you and became an
instant fan there was a video of you
playing this marvelous song inside a
suit shop that looks very much like a
haberdashery or clothier and you're
dressed in a very fine I believe a brown
three-piece playing ukulele banjo
singing I've no more fucks to give the
most epic song I've ever heard how did
that video come come about and did you
expect it to go so viral well I'm sorry
there's a there's a story to that I
recorded an album I've been kind of
performing for kind of quite a few years
now under there under the name Thomas
Benjamin wild Squire and I recorded an
album with a colleague of mine at work
because I work in a further education
College over the summer we have run of
the recording studios and that kind of
thing so we recorded an album and then
that November there's November 2018 we
release the album and I wanted to do an
album launch for it and my partner who's
a bit of a social media experts
we were having discussions about kind of
what we could do for it
we thought about kind of going and
playing it in a pub or a club or
something like that but then the thought
was actually we'd need to then pack it
out to give it some kind of atmosphere
to make it feel like it was buzzing and
that kind of thing but actually she then
suggested that it might be a good idea
to ask our friends who run the soup shop
boyd's of Bedford who with in Boyds of
Bedford is something called the vintage
suit hire company and they they kind of
loan out suits to people for weddings
and that kind of thing I started wearing
some of their suits while I was
performing to give them a bit of
promotion and actually we just thought
it's great sized shop you can fit kind
of 510 people in there and it'll feel
like there's kind of a big atmosphere in
there and there's about kind of about
seven people who are watching it and we
decided that we would live stream it at
the same time I'm so we did a live
stream from from her iPhone and then it
aside I just kind of placed another
video camera to record it so I could
chop up the video of it and and kind of
release the video separately up on
YouTube and that kind of thing I didn't
really think about the camera placement
that's all I just kind of plunked it
there it looked alright I said it
recording press record on there and so
yeah so that's how it ended up being in
a suit shop we happen to have some
friends who ran a suit shop we thought
it was a good bit of cross-promotion and
they worked they'd they were fairly new
felling you for them being in in the
town centre and I wanted to kind of
promote they were there and so we kind
of thought it could be a cross-promotion
might be good idea and so that video
went up in the January I think it was a
second of jof third of January something
like that it was up for about two weeks
and it had about 2,000 views on it and I
got rather excited because I know it was
about to put another video up from the
set and my partner just said just just
hold on for another couple of days just
leave it for another couple of days I
don't know what happened at that point
but it and just kind of seemed to
explode and overnight it was kind of
going up and up and up the views are
going up and then the highlight that was
when Amanda Palmer shared it as well and
that was quite exciting but yeah then it
just went a bit crazy and luckily the
album had come out as well so actually
had kind of benefited from that it just
happened so I kind of have everything in
the right place at the right time but
yeah it was a bit of a crazy year last
year it's gonna be kind of from from
January up until about June it was
absolutely insane any of the students
recognize you now like when they see you
on campus like well the funniest thing
was was one of my sheeps kind of I was
getting excited about having two million
views on on Facebook achievements first
thing was YouTube that was it you need
to watch it for three seconds together
please yeah YouTube they have to asked
it'd be kind of at least 30 seconds I
think it is yeah and then without a
youtube right now you got five point
eight million views yeah yeah and then
kind of very tell your students just
like that I think they were quite
impressed after that point do they pay
more attention in classes if your class
is aren't engaging then actually what's
quite nice and the reason I've continued
working at the college is that it's
quite grounding because teenagers don't
care you know they might be kind of
mildly impressed at one point and then
they'll go were you a good student when
you were when you were in squad I wasn't
like that was not horrendous I wasn't
brilliant I got through my kind of
course is I got through them and I came
out with a 2-2 degree which meant I had
fun and come out with a degree
um but yeah so I wasn't the best student
in the world I mean somebody somebody
can get good grades but still be a pain
in the ass for the professors and I was
a pain in the ass to some of my teachers
at school
some of the Karma served as a professor
definitely good at kind of the students
that I teach now and there and kind of
rolling out and going this is this is
karma for I just remember the time that
my teacher had to lock me in an office
to make me do an essay at the end of the
year we'll be able to do that anymore I
couldn't do that yeah I've had some
students that really they push your
buttons I get it and in what you're
saying Israeli teenagers they don't care
what I like about it that's what I quite
like about kind of teaching teenagers I
check yourself so much actually when I
was a I was in my was doing a PhD and I
was a student teacher I interviewed a
instructor as part of my program I had
been doing a podcast in Malaysia and I
had done an interview with a
high-ranking government official that I
was all impressed by the fact that I got
this interview and my student was like
my seems like whoo yeah like really I
don't really care just go away
exactly that exactly that and it's like
so you know what keeps you level it does
keep you level very much and it's like I
can see where like when you have this
sort of exposure and you blow up real
quick and you have like to me which is
what is a very cool song I've listened
to a lot of your other music I really
like it and I like you the way you play
with lyrics from the way you play with
the words and you have so much fun um
but the style that goes along with it
the fact that you were in the suit shop
is really what spoke to me the suit you
were wearing like I said I think it was
Brown wasn't it the suit you wore in the
video yeah the brain was a brown tweed
suit yeah it was so like everything
about it was just like the perfect sort
of juxtaposition of everything you
expect to see in this video and it was
just epic on another level you know were
you were you always considering putting
the style into the music and sort of
playing off a character
and so going back to kind of school I
died when I was at school I played the
trombone and then in my teenage years
decided I was too punk rock for that and
then decided to join a punk band and we
played kind of various then ska punk
happened but I couldn't play the
trombone anymore so I can join any of
those bands I spent a long time trying
to because I have a background of kind
of musical theater and kind of singing
in choirs and playing in kind of brass
bands and that kind of thing as well as
a more kind of punk rock rock and roll
side as well which I kind of tried to
run down those cutner pathways at the
same time so while I was playing in my
punk band I was also a member of our
local youth opera and kind of doing
performances of Mozart and all of those
kind of things so then probably when I
lived out move down to Brighton from
Bedford for a couple of years where it's
kind of they're very stylish down in
Brighton and then we came back and that
year we went to something called twin
wood festival which is a big kind of
used to be the Glenn Miller Festival
it's the it's the place where Glenn
Miller the bandleader
was last seen alive he took off from
twinwood arena to twinwood airbase and
then was lost over the English Channel
like I was they do a big thing up in
Bedford sure just around the corner from
where will ya
we've been going to that for well since
20 2007 is when we started going to that
and actually that's really where I
started noticing kind of they they dress
up kind of proper suits and things like
that and where I stayed at the age of
about 27 started aspiring to to be able
to own that kind of suit and that gonna
I couldn't afford it back then but it
was definitely an aspirational thing and
then eventually my my partly does social
media and also he makes she's a milliner
so she makes head wear
yeah women's head
she got involved with him with first of
all doing online marketing for them and
then I started hosting on a stage there
was very much about kind of then
dressing up and I started off hosting
before I started doing the music that
I'm doing now mm-hmm
the first host hosting gig okok given
was something called head in his vintage
nightclub which is in the town called
Milton Keynes it was by accident really
they asked me to do it
they knew I had a theatre background and
they're their regular hosts had had
ducked out last minute and so I kind of
went on and exhausted all the jokes that
I had on that first night and the owner
asked me to come back the next time and
I didn't have any extra jokes so I
thought actually I just play some songs
and ukulele look far funnier on me than
a guitar would because I'm quite a big
chap I'm six foot three and it just it
was kind of a cheap laugh really playing
some songs on the ukulele and it went
from there and but definitely with that
act the soup and the dressing up has
always been a part of that I've just got
better as I've got along because it
started off with charity shop suits
they're gonna be in a thrift store suits
and kind of second-hand wearing that
kind of thing now I'm kind of able to to
afford more more kind of hard price high
quality home clothes and then during the
ten questions section it would be really
interesting to see your answers for
those questions yeah I've been having to
think I've definitely been having to
think what do you mean we never send the
questions what size do you play and I
got a surprise
no you generally play a concert because
my concert ukuleles I've got a power
kind of I'm rather than trying to kind
of written strict myself playing into a
microphone which I have done in the past
it's a lot easier just being able to
plug directly in and now answered in a
tenor and okay I got the concert back
here and then my tenor is over on the
floor
I can't really play the concert my
fingers are too fat yeah my my um so no
a tenor of a soprano and tenor I got um
I actually got a longer neck soprano for
kind of playing with as well so it's
kind of an extended neck but it still
the same size but I find the soprano
just to pick up and just play around and
work stuff out I've got one hanging up
by our sofa downstairs so when I come up
with ideas it's just great to be able to
grab it off the wall and just have a bit
of a play on it although it does keep
falling off the wall and I'm worried
that it's the first ukulele over owned
owned don't worry it's gonna break at
some point cuz it keeps falling off oh
you know like six chords and like two
strumming patterns right I'm not working
things out it's only really need
actually the secret is barring is
learning how to bar all of those chords
because then you can play any chord yeah
you just kind of have the same kind of
finger pattern but bar it up okay on the
on the neck you know I really like this
oh what weird the esquire come from in
the name like in America where I'm from
the US Jay is native to the the cock but
uh Mexican but some people do think he's
Latino they're like who's that like
Latino guy you do the show with I do
like tacos so if that and I love
Colombian women so yeah maybe Latino
yeah in America Esquire is like for
attorneys yeah yeah so you know this is
kind of caused confusion you know I
don't think I'll be honest with you
Esquire in the UK is it's it's a name
for kind of the landed gentry who are
not Knights so it's kind of higher than
a gentleman but not a sir if that makes
sense
nice so kind of educated people at the
end of letters and things like that
Esquire was kind of a thing in mid
century now it's also the name of our or
my local music venue as well Bedford
Esquires has been somewhere else in it
since I was 14
and actually they are gonna it's where
I've been kind of grown up learning
about fuse it clearly seeing all the
kind of bands coming through there
before they've got big but I chose the
ascore literally on the spur of the
moment the first night I was hosting
I needed to come up with a stage name
and announce myself and my name is Tom
Benjamin wild Thomas sounded better than
Tom and Esquire I just sounded quite
nice on the end of it
so it was literally a spur-of-the-moment
decision I made before I went and
announced myself on stage so it's just
enough of a difference to let you sort
of feel like you're playing a character
when you're exactly exactly that exactly
that yeah lots of people think that I'm
gonna I'm an attorney how would you
classify the type of music you play I'm
often asked to to do that I don't know
it's somewhere between ragtime and
skiffle I guess I don't know it's
definitely based on songs from Connie
you know twenties thirties aesthetic or
kind of you know sound but I don't know
I mean some of the new stuff I'm playing
around with is going to be some more
electro-swing
stuff within it as well hopefully Wow
so it's I just write funny songs I think
I've always just me see myself as a as a
songwriter a lyricist
primarily and a singer and lyricist
ukulele player I can I can accompany
myself singing I think is a thing I've
often attempted to kind of get really
good at soloing and doing kind of all
these kind of brilliant hand movements
and kind of strum strokes and things
like that I'm getting there but I'm not
quite there yet but definitely is kind
of a it's the lyrics more than anything
else the music tends to just kind of
support those a little bit yeah it's
fine first I first heard about your song
when we were doing this kind of like a
weekend episode and we were sharing the
top 30 songs that are more
meaningful to our lives and stuff and
first week was mine second week was Dana
and this because it's YouTube we cannot
play the songs so we were just browsing
through from the album cover and when
your song came up as his top 30 I was
like why wait a minute who's this guy
he's got like a beautiful suit on and a
tiny little banjo and the track is
called no more fucks to give like this
guy is a legend and we got you on the
show yeah how did you get how did you
come up with that track I'll be honest
it was the easiest song I've ever
written
normally I kind of go through a process
of I come up with a a a tag line Germany
oh can I be walking along and I'll think
oh that's a thing and then there'll be
some kind of hook line that comes from
that I came it came off the back of the
work mates thing I was in one time just
to put one of those kind of really
frustrating meetings where nothing gets
done everyone sits around kind of
getting an order of each other I'm quite
outspoken in meetings as well and I was
just getting very very frustrated and I
went home and the lyrics just kind of
seemed to come out although this could
have been an email yeah absolutely
this is a could you really not just put
this in an email that started off as our
god pointless work meetings or kind of
meetings it could have been a emails and
then that hook kind of just comes off
the back of that so generally it'll come
it'll be a little niggle or a
frustration that then turns into kind of
a hook line and then builds around that
now it's very hot rock like it's funny
that you said like you're into punk rock
is one of the things I was thinking
before too is when I watched the the
video in the suit shop a lot of the
girls like who were sitting in front and
had tattoos they were drinking beers
like this this kind of punk rocky
there's definitely that influence in
there definitely that influence in that
I did when I was a teenager I was very
much into kind of um
70s pumpkin and eighties New Wave music
as well as kind of bands like rancid and
the offspring and all of those kind of
things as well you know what's crazy
about that from a from a dapper villains
perspective J had brought on the show an
author named natty Adams
who wrote a book called I am dandy and
he is really into punk rock and like the
whole subculture of punk rock but he's
also into like this whole subculture of
dandyism bit of a crossover I think
there is a bit of a crossover and I
think actually it seems to be where old
punks are going he was tall punks go to
retire okay you said he wore a Ramones
shirt at with Yuma hey Borah what
something yeah I think you Jay was
saying Jay did you say that a natty
Adams were a Ramones shirt to Pitti uomo
and then Waco half you don't know oh oh
no he was talking about the fact that
you know he started the band wearing the
band t-shirts inside a suit and then a
lot of people did that and became a bike
the kind of thing yeah yeah but yes very
punk rock thing with it with the
dandyism you know and I I kind of got
that vibe from the the suit shop and I
was like I'll ask that is cool when you
said it was like reminding me like you
know these girls drinking beers with
tattoos a guy playing ukulele banjo
singing about no Fox together but it's
kind of I think is I'm also aware on a
very middle-class and I'm a punk rock
comes very much from kind of anger or
kind of a subculture kind of anger
within the seven seas and that kind of
thing and I don't necessarily have those
same experiences the things that make me
angry might be other things like emails
of work my first comment on the under
video and it says you actually like this
one as well it says I want this song
played at my funeral and now that I
think about it I do want that song
played at my funeral
it has been it has been played the
funerals I got an email from a guy
asking
mission to put it on and play the video
inside so it can I be able to put the
video in his dad's femur because it was
the last video that his dad had shared
before he died so I've had kind of
various emails like that from people
somebody else used it to quit their job
as well so sent me the screenshot of him
he kind of did a kind of a Skype meeting
or something like that where can I put
this song in Dana's funeral please it's
so sad he won't make it so long but I
really want your permission alive and
recorded you can you can play whatever
you like a time I can see that like
quitting the job with that song that's
the perfect song to rage when I said
they don't love you on the other side of
that I've had people kind of from I had
a a pasta from Ohio emailed me to tell
me he fucking loved it as well
oh hi Oh before I moved to tile but yeah
it seems there seems to be kind of it
seems to I think it caught the zeitgeist
button beginning of last year me you
said you're working on your new album
will have more electronic kind of staff
I'm doing some projects at the moment
we're and in some collaborations at the
moment which you're kind of keeping an
eye out for and we've got one coming up
in a couple of weeks I'm not going to
say too much about it but okay it's
gonna be good fun and then another one
coming up with a chap who I've performed
with quite a lot he does kind of
electro-swing stuff so we'll see how
that goes and then that might be kind of
a an avenue that we might go down
further the style of the character as
well as you develop the different styles
of music I don't know I think I think I
think
I think my songs will always kind of be
very kind of much kind of how I play
them and I I tend to kind of baseline
down and be ukulele and a bit of a drum
track maybe a piano and but that's
generally as far as it goes with stuff
but I'm kind of looking options have
been able to kind of pass it on pass
things on to other people and seeing
where that goes
I do a lot of steampunk events I've kind
of ended up on the steam punk scene
being embraced by steam punk you see
that in the UK and you know they like
they love a kind of booming kind of
track and so actually kind of even if
it's just remixes of some of them that
are a bit more party might be found for
me
yeah because bucks to give me in a real
club banger yeah yeah yeah but it's nice
I'd like to play I like to play kind of
firm to audiences who are just sitting
down and listening and laughing along on
that kind of thing that's what this
song's worried for but some of those
other ones could work really nicely I
think actually having people dancing
around some and stuff so like how about
like the style of your character like
the the Sue you know the Hat like will
that evolve as the music changes I think
I may find kind of different outfits and
different styles of wearing things but I
think it will always kind of remain very
much in the suits and bowties I like a
bow tie rather than at I will change it
I'll start being my fabrics a little bit
more because I'm a fabric guy by the way
sells me the fabrics to make it with
yeah so it will definitely be sending
you some stuff the difference is I make
a few things J sells fabric to everyone
in the world right okay actually J guide
British fabric company - right yeah in
in Huddersfield north of England who's
that what's the company called oh it's
called Huddersfield textiles okay
ya know it's it's it is in tailor shops
but more more in the rest of the world
rather than in UK chronic I've got
cheque we export a lot more because in
UK it's a lot more competitive there's
so many people there already so yeah we
like being in in Ohio in in Mexico City
in Hong Kong was Becky's town and stuff
like I like traveling you get recognized
on the streets and like people come up
to you and be like hey you're that guy I
have been it's generally when I'm
walking back from a gig oh I'm wearing
kind of the suits or kind of you know
wearing Susan that's Jamie on a day to
day basis if I'm wearing my casuals not
so much but yeah I do get recognized we
are suing it up then you get ready for
me if I'm suited up and going out
somewhere properly kind of nice you have
the you have a little bit of the fame
and notoriety but you're still if you
come out of costume you can still kind
of live a life the kind of the I guess
the the point where I realized kind of
quite how far gone because I'm getting
messages from people in America and all
that kind of thing it was kind of like I
know taking this and on board a little
bit it was when I went down to our local
supermarket and they've got a security
guard on the door who I've known for a
day just cuz we say hello to as we walk
in and that kind of thing then you kind
of actually realize that that was the
point where I kind of thought actually
this has gone pretty far actually all
those messages from American stuff
hadn't really kind of hadn't really sunk
in but actually the security guard from
our local a local Sainsbury's having
seen it was like blimey daily life
yeah-hoo-hoo you know on a daily like
hey I saw I could see where that you
know five million views is a lot you
know it changes you know it changes life
for sure like we need to get recognized
yeah I mean I'm kind of Facebook I guess
in that
with all of the kind of the the
different people have shared it now kind
of uni lad and viral hog and all those
kind of things which I do get kind of
royalties from as well it's kind of
hundred million or something like that
now there's only Facebook but it's yeah
it's a little bit crazy on there would
it be insane the world is pretty good on
your own I mean it's comfortable yeah
yeah I can't complain kinda find the
fabric samples being sent to you will
depend on what answer you're giving it
go from polyester I think the what's
been better is kind of the fact that
he's drawn people across the album and
the music on streaming sites and now I'm
kind of got my website and you can buy
it directly from the website as well
okay I managed to drop out the days at
college I managed to drop apart is my as
well right yes Spotify iTunes in all of
those kind of places we'll put links all
your website and like Spotify everything
down in the show notes so people can
check it out for sure yeah you know I've
listened to a like I follow you on
YouTube so whenever you put a new video
up it's gonna be good but I'm the
streaming side we had a hip hop
journalist Justin hunt on the show a few
weeks ago and he was talking about
before we started recording talking
about like how streams have really
suffered for artists and they've been
down during that co vid I don't I'm not
entirely sure but it's difficult to be
able to have a basis for comparison
because it all went crazy last February
which is only a couple months after the
album was released yeah and I'm still I
still don't know whether this is kind of
what it's gonna be like now or and
actually because of the site that I use
I don't see kind of what's coming
through for a few months okay
so March was fairly good but I release
the new album in March mm-hmm
we'll have a start to see April
hopefully in the next kind of few weeks
the next month or so
yeah I'll get back to you on that one
I'm not sure I'm not entirely sure what
Charlotte to be how do you mean sorry
listen like do you want it to be like to
take over your life and be like a
full-time artist who do you want to
maintain some type of balance of like
what you do teaching and the music I
caught like having the balance there
because it keeps you grounded mm I mean
I'd love to be you know making enough
money from doing music not to have to
worry yeah but no I'm just a bit unsure
at the moment as to take kind of where
the world's going because music venues
aren't open at the moment I can't make
any money from gigging true I'm glad I
didn't throw it all in last year I've
gone viral
I'm gonna what about the privacy of
things when you get you know viral and
we think about like losing privacy I
mean I that I'd not particularly lost
the privacy I think I think I've managed
to maintain that I tend to be on social
media as Thomas Benjamin Wilde is Squire
I find it a bit exhausting being on
there personally I also try and avoid
looking too much statistics looking at
kind of you know the the trends of
things going up and down because it's so
I don't log in to Spotify that often
because all the statistics are right in
front of you as soon as you log in
you've been kind of choose to go and
look at it and so fuel down on views and
streams and things like that then you
immediately see it I've taken in the the
YouTube app off of my other kind of a
creator app off of my phone as well at
the moment because every time we click
on it you're immediately presented with
kind of statistics of how it compares to
the last 30 days compared to the
previous 30 days and that stuff started
to really kind of get to me and wire me
up and you kind of start to feel the
pressure on from that perspective I also
kind of put up kind of some some fairly
political stuff I'm in there in the last
couple of weeks as well which I've
engaged with on a certain level but how
kind of been have not wanted to get into
school because you could you get into
those kind of arguments online forever
yeah so I won avoid I trying to state my
case and then and then kind of leave it
so I in terms of private social media
stuff privacy I I'm not so much on there
as as they're kind of not trying to
promote myself so I don't necessarily
think and everything is kind of private
anyway all my kind of my personal social
media stuff is sets and private so
please tell our viewers where I can find
your private verdict pounds I've only
got a fucking private Facebook accounts
I've only got a personal Facebook
account Instagram Twitter YouTube
YouTube are all just I am there as
Thomas management wild-ass choir yeah I
find social media can be quite
exhausting yeah so you got you got a bit
political and you got you had some
comments like I'd be scared to do that
with the English crowd man the English
crowd are so direct as well you have the
English crowd outside right American
crowd very direct oh really
yeah run the issue a little bit more we
just like that you guys like to have
fistfights now we like to have snark
fights where you try and kind of have
you try and kind of say the most give
the best put down and and then kind of
leave it at that and you try and kind of
win to win the and that's why I find
exhausting that kind of worn up and ship
and kind of trying to win the argument
trying to shut people down with it with
a clever witty little hmm I just that
kind that style of argument that sort of
discussion I can't cope with I'd rather
have face-to-face discussions with
people about those kind of things but I
thought in the last few weeks it was
important to kind of state where are ya
where and politically and actually if
anybody bothers to listen to any of my
music any of the album's past
no more fucks this is the thing that is
kind of like we came here we liked you
because of your music not your politics
and it's like actually if you listen to
my albums
I've got some pretty outwardly political
songs on them I got a song called to
level to talk yes even your police all
you've me that I've listened to it's
just too much fun for me to be laughs
yeah but I play them
I played Tory novelty cell from one of
my livestream gigs and changed some of
the words to reflect our current
government's reactions to the pandemic
and somebody you get those kind of
comments that are just massive massive
rants at you kind of about how I'm a
lefty liberal kind of all of that kind
of thing always revert back to you know
but what if Jeremy Corbyn had got a
prime minister you'd be even more so
missus but he's not and it literally
always reverts back to that well you
know it would have been worse if your
guys got in so so yeah I mean those kind
of things I just don't bother but it is
kind of insane how like how they're like
oh just shut up and entertain us we
don't want to hear your opinions of
course like why an artist does not
cannot make an opinion what does it mean
like oh we're not here we're here
because for your music not for your
political opinions you just like them
have the rights to give out your lap
dancing I think when the their opinions
being challenged by somebody that like
until that point kind of actually liked
and kind of respect it and and all that
kind of stuff that becomes quite
difficult people
so yeah I'm trying to kind of walk that
tightrope of kind of being politically
enough and stating my opinion enough and
definitely with with no more fucks there
were factions of people that came across
who don't hold the same kind of
political views itself and so it's been
it's been interesting kind of seeing at
what point I swear at that depicts
because I think I feel like when I think
I'm fairly obviously when when one video
is super viral and then they they don't
really know you as an artist as a whole
and then in the
yeah I guess I think - and the song like
no more Fox together it's it it's one of
those things that can resonate with
everyone right like and yeah any working
class middle class person anyone who's
like you know getting dirty every day
you know even though their lunch pail
even the guy sitting behind a desk
typing emails right everyone can relate
to that song and so maybe I think what
happens a lot of times with artists is
you know that people get that song they
relate to it and they just assume that
yeah written from the same places as you
guys I've had people who've just assumed
I've written it because I voted for
brexit or that I you know I'm a trump
supporter or whatever I have had people
kind of making this assumption that
there's no where I'm coming from
Jay's a huge Trump guy he loves Trump I
criticized Trump for I mean my account
is not superheroes like it has about 10k
followers but then this and I keep
things pretty personal make sure people
know what I'm about
but you know I criticized Trump style
which is not wrong I mean it's a style
account it's a cannot about cloths and
stuff it's easy so lady from Texas just
random like we I was admiring your work
and you know I was you're just do your
job and like your only chance to talk
about clots are you talking about
politics we're not here for politics or
stuff like I'm not here to entertain you
you can go fuck yourself lady I didn't
say that I apologized and said I won't
ever do it again it would shoot be in
Texas
yes you got a strong taxes connect Jay
yeah I got a strong Texas connect and
now but I mean I'm not about policy I'm
talking about style like his style is
terrible what's wrong with me point yeah
his style is terrible how does that even
talk about politics at all his ties too
much long his suit is discussing the tie
he has so much money to fuck around what
the fuck is he doing with that ugly-ass
suit with the 2-meter time I love the
2-meter tie this
we'll have a lot of f-words sorry kids
it's not like we can criticize the style
of the the Prime Minister in our country
because we'll go to jail yeah really it
does feel like it feels like our Prime
Minister just copies Donald Trump starts
we can't ask Boris Johnson is there it's
not a particularly stylish man either
the thing is calculated it's incredibly
calculating his Hayes messy hair all
that kind of stuff is deliberate he's
created this persona for himself do you
reckon he he created it yeah absolutely
I mean he makes it look as busy and
shared all the time good reason he
became popular in the UK there was there
was a political satire show in the UK
don't even come across it called have I
got news for you oh yeah I love that
shirt now which he kind of was a
panelist on back in kind of the 2000s
early 2000s and kind of them you know
and he was quite funny on it because
he's landing Boris and people kind of
enjoyed him on there because he's kind
of quite witty he was quite
self-deprecating and that kind of thing
and that is what has kind of that's the
caricature that he's created and his
appeal to people mm-hmm but then
actually you kind of scratched the
surface on the politics there and pretty
problem he kind of reminds me of a
george w bush in that regard like III
really feel like a lot of the persona of
george w bush was a created persona to
make him feel like even though he's a
Princeton grad went to prep school you
know grew up with a rich family I mean
he's actually not dumb you want he's a
Princeton grad I mean anyone's a Harvard
Business School like he's gonna at least
be average intelligence thing I went to
Oxford he you know I think it's about
creating like an everyman persona yeah
you know we're talking about like you
know a lot of people relate to know more
fucks to give or couldn't this just be
an email because they live that reality
yeah not too many people live the
reality of Princeton undergrad in
Harvard Law School or Harvard
in school or going to Oxford like that
that's not a reality most people can
relate to
I'm nestling another thing that I was
reading the other day was actually the a
lot of the kind of the graphic design
for the political campaigns and kind of
warnings about kind of covert 19 and all
that kind of stuff in in the UK has been
pretty dire and actually one of the
theories I was reading the other day is
that actually they're trying to correct
this every person persona graphic
designers are not particularly important
at this time and so to kind of capture
the everyman you don't have someone
who's massively polished looking kind of
amazing and it's I amazing kind of
graphic design that looks kind of
completely produced you want to have
something who looks like everyman and so
kind of someone whose body doesn't wear
particularly good ties to the web
particularly good suits who has used
comic sans font on the thing actually
that that's an everyman kind of
aesthetic like why I found myself good
actually you know that makes a lot of
sense you know the fact that we've got
to a point now where we're designing
stuff to make it look not designed and
we're kind of you know personal kind of
style and things like that
his bit is being deliberately kind of
made to look kind of badly dumb and I
think I think is very calculated I think
Donald Trump was kind of bad starlings
very calculated I think Boris Johnson's
bad starlings that's what Texas Taylor
also said to me a Russ Bennett my homey
he was like they would maybe that's what
I mean he calls it the him the the
president his re core support which is
fine big big don't write me emails but
but yeah he's like maybe that's all an
act
I'm like why would somebody act dumb
well maybe just like why somebody would
act smart right you know by you know you
know by statistics the majority of
people are average intelligence right so
if you're an outlier to the right of the
bell curve you're like one or two
standard
ei shion's out it'd be very difficult to
relate with you if you're outside that
outside that round we don't people want
to see fucking leaders look like they
got their shit together and smarter than
you have why would I want to leave it as
dumber than me who says gooder
like I mean English languages work look
at who we elect is people yeah well it
used to be smarter people people who
have looked like they have their shit
together
and now with wire viral and you know
YouTube and everything kind of designing
everything around what you look at once
and then like I look at a YouTube video
once about something weird and now my
whole YouTube is filled with something
weird flatter so it's one flat earth
video next thing you know you're like is
flat 5g cause is covered yeah Bill Gates
is behind all this shit as we digress
into conspiracy theories yeah we're
talking about personal style earlier and
you said like you know you like the
proper suit with the bow tie and the you
know the button up and but when you're
good when you go to work every day when
you go to university do you does that
sort of level of darkness carry over or
are you going in as like you know kind
of more casual look at the office well I
mean this is kind of a bit more of a
casual look here shirt and trousers
jeans as well I quite like him some kind
of a it kind of high-waisted trousers
Jim Murray I quite like wearing a
talking myself in but yeah I die during
the day if I'm bumming around I'm it'll
be kind of in a in in jeans and t-shirt
just because it's easier particularly
cuz it's quite hot at the moment I'm
wearing a lot of kind of loose-fitting
final shirts and that kind of stuff
what's hot in England I don't know what
the temperature is today it's quite it's
quite muggy
yeah yeah
humid I want a bit our cold is your
heart
yeah probably actually I probably
probably is my complain is bubbly which
is very mild the problem is is there I
can't open a window at the moment
because the window in our in the room
that I mean at the moment doesn't open
wherever no windows replaced soon and
I've got the fan on I've not got the fan
on because it will make too much noise
in here what was that something I don't
have the aircon on in the studio room
with the lights it will be 35 degrees in
here yeah yeah I mean we're sleeping
with that my windows opened problem is
is spidered and flies and things like
that start flying in the mosquitos and
stuff so kind of balance between ER
between having insects in a bedroom and
staying cool we only get like maybe two
weeks a year that you can kind of sort
of live without aircon for the most part
yeah everybody brings out this sweater
or and like actor it's like 26 degrees
yeah that's probably kind of that's a
pretty supplement ice exactly what is it
right now right it's like 9 p.m. and
it's it's 27 degrees it's blinding
I could probably tell you what it is in
Bedford at the moment a second let's
have a look and see what our is Bedford
so I'm just on the phone for anybody
listening to this I want to go check it
out I want to go to a bar with this guy
I think it will be legendary
it's 23 degrees 20 degrees
III is really cold for us 23 yeah
robbery's at 10 p.m. for us
and it just rained like today's winner
is supposed to be good because of that
yeah it's probably hotter in this room
than it is outside but we probably did
what half a metre of rain in like 20
minutes that's average for this rainy
season yeah
you ever been to Bangkok you're been to
Asia I've been seein Malaysia I've been
stealing Kuala Lumpur and Penang we went
across the border into Malaysia for a
day this was kind of about 20 years ago
they said not for a while yeah a lot has
changed yeah I spent a lot of time in
Malaysia well when we can travel I was
doing split my my time like two weeks
Malaysia two weeks Tyler okay no you
know two up for me who's too often
especially Malaysia can bangkok itself
because of all the concrete is much
hotter like if you're outside than KL it
was it was getting getting out of the
airport and kind of being hit by the m
hit by the humidity straightaway yeah I
hope you didn't wear a tweed so it no
not twenty years ago
unstructured tweed for him Jay would you
wear it middle of Bangkok unstructured
tweed would be a great photo shoot 35
degrees see like the most oxymoronic I
do photo shoot with miles wearing suits
and stuff here I feel sorry for them
like do it like we'll do it we'll make
it quick you're sweating you're not
comfortable you're suffering for your
art I played them I played a gig last
summer when I was kind of doing the
doing the festival season yeah going and
kind of playing in a full tweed suit
this is like no I've got to keep the
jacket on because because it's the look
sweats running down the inside well your
whether your tweed suit
you wear the pocket watch and the chains
the stuff like yeah yeah yeah sometimes
it kind of read the pocket watch kind of
grin across and there's a class man cuff
links is a bit difficult playing the
banjo lady though cuz I have played with
cufflinks before but sometime particular
meeting a pick up that's a microphone
I'm kind of constantly whacking it with
me with a cuff link so I tend to not
wear cufflinks anymore when I'm playing
because then Jalili Angelini you know
exactly I feel like I'm envisioning you
playing like an outdoor concert at a
festival full tweed and what comes to
mind is a description I once heard Henry
Rollins give about performing like every
night and that he would only wear his
jean shorts and no shoes because the
first time he ever performed he sweat so
much that everything was soaked wear as
little as possible when you're onstage
you don't you only have to wash that one
thing so I totally imagine a three-piece
tweed suit on stage in the summer at a
festival that's suffering is suffering
pure that's what it is they stay well
hydrated huh yeah yeah I made that
mistake once and didn't have a bottle of
water next to me kind of spent Cooper
halfway through the set just did the
game can somebody just please just get
me a bowl of water or something yeah
he's all use alone get off of me way for
me to play set usually different it
depends hour and fifteen minutes if it's
that kind of fool headline set 45
minutes festival set generally even 45
minutes in the Tweed outside the energy
that's rough Tom we have these these ten
questions that we usually injects sort
of somewhere in the middle of our
podcast that we like to run through with
with the gas I know we mentioned it
earlier you've never heard about these
so you know I don't know any of these
now first I'm hearing about it well we'd
like to run through these with you as
well especially because you know
we do love your style and we look we
love your music so we want to hear like
where your personality falls on a lot of
these and what we found this is where
we're like a couple dozen episodes in
now and what we found is yeah you know
we get some very surprising answers on
certain questions so we're looking
forward to yours for sure okay you know
and to kick it off we always ask people
about fabric because fabric is that's
the foundation of every dapper villain
suit right is what fabric of choice what
do you want well if you can only use one
fabric for the rest of your days you
know linen wool or cotton which one
would you choose and why I think it'd
have to be wool I guess tweed yeah and
that's kind of the basis of rough tweet
and I do I do like a tweed suit I mean I
love I love wearing a linen suit or
contain a linen clothes and cotton but
definitely kind of tweed is is my go-to
my go-to fabric most of the suits that I
do have are are wool I like a kind of
cotton twill trouser in the summer but
definitely wool because because it's
tweed because of you know it is the
basis of making tweed yeah do you also
usually go custom or ready-to-wear it's
generally wedded ready-to-wear I'll be
honest with you I'd love to it is a good
fabric for that because it's yeah it is
it's good structure already there are
some that have kind of been made you
know to to measure a little to some
extent but for the most part it is kind
of ready-to-wear stuff i yeah I hate you
kind of going and try trying things on
these yeah I like wearing stuff but kind
of awkward awkward discussions in kind
of shops and things like that
yes awesome could be a pain in the ass
for sure I mean by the time you develop
that chemistry with the tailor yeah you
have already had to go there for like
five six times you know and you have to
fuck up a few suits before you get it
right yeah yeah yeah or you're like Jay
with his tailor who Jay can't say no to
because he knows
yeah my tailor stabbed a guy in the neck
and went to jail for a couple of years
yeah yeah he came out and he's grateful
because I was like one of the first
people to hook him up with a lot of jobs
but I never say his food so does shitty
was always great and anybody wants to
criticize my suit I'm like yo go talk to
that guy
he stabbed laconic with a fork not me
like use a spoon yeah menswear item
favorite menswear item probably straw
boater I love a lover a lover I love a
boater okay I'm pretty clean that way in
the spring in the summer it's got to be
a straw boater this is something very
nice about and wearing a biter
they said you you're your wife's I'm
Nona yet say my partner makes a kind of
vintage style head where I'm sure she
makes kind of hats and kind of vintage
turbans and that kind of thing okay but
not were not the straw hats no no no she
doesn't make men's wear men's anyway
unfortunately yet the haves and Shelby's
okay I do love a cap as well I mean cap
is a good kind of standard if I'm going
out for the day and I can't be bothered
to my hair just Chuck a cap on flat cap
is a pretty standard wardrobe fixture a
couple denim hats I made like especially
I keep my early ones that are all messed
up but I still wear them and I always
have to wear a hat because I'm half bald
so if I go outside in Bangkok the Sun
will just burn the top of my head yeah
yeah that's them that could be an issue
yeah but yeah I did caps and like I know
you said you like to wear jeans serve
around the house do you think it's ever
okay for a guy to wear denim on denim on
denim
denim-on-denim like you know ie the
Canadian tuxedo where you're wearing the
jeans the denim shirt the denim vest the
denim jacket the denim hat and you have
a denim side bag and in boxers yeah
boxers denim no unless you're in that
kind of it and an a to use a tribute
clap sitting rock band I would say okay
if kind of dressing up in in kind of a
big mullet wig or kind of you've got big
mullet hair and you are kind of going
for that aesthetic and it's deliberate
yeah
then then that can be quite funny and
ironic however no not not on a kind of a
stylistic basic but if you have a mullet
it's a qualifier for denim on denim you
can have a mullet and have denim denim
on denim now you know you're from
England so obviously British tailoring
is renowned around the world J over here
he's a huge Italian tailoring guy long
as the sprits adora right and I like the
more American cuts you know I like that
that Lucic caught a little bit box here
I'm a larger gentleman I like to lift
weight so I like to show off you know
the arms and the shoulders which are the
only things I just basically do curls
every day well you know what do you
prefer which one of those tailoring
styles do you liked you just resonate
with you and your style
I'm British all the way I mean all the
saints I've got all the clothes I wear a
kind of Germany British tailored suits
okay volcanus yeah there's certain kind
of brands that I can I go back to on a
regular basis and some of them I'm kind
of friends with friends who've got kind
of clothing brands and that kind of
thing and yeah I'd say so I'd definitely
say British I'm not I have not got any
Italian suits so I probably can't make
as an informed decision on that as other
people but definitely from from my
perspective where it stands
definitely British hmm all the way Bruce
all the performance like the way you're
the character is carried that sort of I
always think of British
tailoring is a suit of armor cuz it's so
she assured it's so well put together
and when I see you standing there in the
suit shop playing the banjo lately you
know that's what comes like this is a
suit of armor for this character I also
I also prefer to have a high-waisted
trousers with braces as opposed to the
belt because I find that belts generally
kind of end up going down a little bit
you end up seeing the belt underneath
thee through the waist legs you can come
obviously you can't button you you
button back down on your waistcoat that
needs to stay open and so with a belt I
always find that eventually I'm showing
some shirt and so can a pair of nice
pair of braces all the way up to kind of
yeah over your Obi stomach and then
every day I've got the the suspenders I
like the high waist I make my pants
without a belt loops yeah and I got the
button side just I go all in
yeah absolutely the only thing is when
I'm kind of been performing and it's
then kind of the nicest feeling in the
world undoing the braces when I get home
loose because you find that your back
kind of ends up getting pulled down a
little bit that's right so you can then
just kind of relax and sit back as well
so yeah for sure
or if I'm really lazy you know if I've
got I wear shorts when I work everyday
so get the high-waisted shorts I've got
the braces on and if I'm really lazy
especially after dinner I'll just you
know I always have button fly so I'll
unbutton everything all the way down
hang out and just walk around downstairs
like that and my wife will be like what
will tend to happen after I play a gig I
will come into the house and the first
thing that will happen is the suit
jacket will come off and it will be over
the top of a door and the braces will
come off the trousers will come off
across this and I'll be in my underwear
within ten minutes just kind of sitting
around enjoying the kind of cool air
because you know I tend to to get quite
hot your feet you know your Facebook
page your web page you have a great
photo on your web page it's like you
lounge down and a t-shirt
sock daughters on so that's cool yeah
we're definitely bringing this image up
yeah so you've got like God like the
gutters that go above your calf muscle
like your socks up like mid calf so
that's kind of the album cover of the
latest album are quite 19 and the first
track on that is a song called pants
trunk which is that kind of getting
drunk in your underwear is actually I
kinda never remember the Scandinavian
term for it begins with a K which
basically means getting drunk in your
underwear sitting on your own with no
intention of going out anyway I just get
him drunk in your underwear nothing
wrong with that
now I J was asking earlier about the you
know the pocket watch and you said you
wear the chain full across but do you
have a favorite accessory that you like
to throw in with your your suit to the
by on a daily basis are quite like kind
of a lapel pin okay to go in there as
well and I love I love a really nice
cuff link as well I've got so many cuff
links so many kind of lapel pins that
are kind of I can change out for various
different things and actually when I'm
if I am doing a I'm doing a video issue
and I want to do more than one do more
than one song at a time to make it look
as if I'm doing at different times or
change the location slightly and then
change their kind of pin or change the
bow tie or change its kind of a couple
of things to do with it
I'd say cuff links actually you go with
everything more a gold or a silver oh
probably more silver but I quite like em
you know a jewel cufflinks and things as
well so that kind of something that
makes it stand out rather than just
being fairly plain quite like something
that stands out I've got I do have some
Star Wars cufflinks as well
and I've got some Harry Potter
rebels take up these kind of things
what's that rebels at Empire OS m RT DT
oka cufflinks a yeah it's a little kind
of round r2d2 ones nice and I've got
quite a nice and Darth Vader tie as well
then it's got stars on it all the way
down but it looks like it's kind of dark
spots on you know polka dots because
only when you open up kind of the thing
is way to cope properly that you can see
that it's a Darth Vader time very cool
you might say I have a little top here
there's a bb-8 hat yeah yeah yeah I can
see that this I actually wore this when
I went to when we went to the premiere
uh was it movie eight or seven movie so
nice my my my partner made me am a
Mandalorian shoulder bag okay I mean
stuff right it's not in here downstairs
but I'm yeah so she tends to kind of
make me various things wait and you're
you're you're the one with the PhD you
wore that hat out and I also have an
Infinity Gauntlet she made me have no
it's downstairs but I have a crocheted
infinity complet that I wore out for the
Avengers movie yeah I've got various
things that my partner makes for me this
is gonna be the last night joy without
J's like forget this you know I mean
when you think of style and like you've
talked about you have the different
ranges that you go through right yeah
you're really on point with the
character right when you do a show yeah
I said you're a little bit more casual
forward when you're working but at home
it could be you know a t-shirt and jeans
well for you how OnPoint do you think of
mans um a manager dress right like how
I'm how formal should they be on a daily
basis
I think smart casual on a daily basis I
think it depends on whether you're kind
of gonna be seen by anybody if I'm gonna
be seen by somebody then I become more
formal depending on how many people I'm
actually gonna come into contact with
and it depends on what situation as well
really if I'm going out then I'll often
dress up more formally if I'm performing
then it's probably the most formal and
I'll go fall out or if we're going to
vintage events and kind of there's lots
of kind of vintage festivals and
nineteen twenties thirties forties
festivals that we go to every summer
people tend to be on point at those yeah
passively and kind of it's just like a
big style kind of a it's in your town
well twinwood festival is the big one
for us and that is kind of just just but
there's lots of them all over the
country there's kind of various good
wood revivals another big one which is a
motor racing circuit where they race
them vintage cars and kind of everyone
dresses up and that's that's kind of
where real rich people are so people who
have actually got lots and lots of money
are there and but there's lots of kind
of performers there lots of acts that
kind of a play those kind of things it's
an opportunity to get dressed up and
kind of promenade really in the old
sense where you kind of get up in your
finery and walk around we do kind of
partake in those kind of events
sometimes as well and we're going to
know for Jay and I we've really been
doing a co-ed formal which is
essentially we yeah pulleys decked out
the boxes below yeah absolutely
absolutely but I when I'm doing videos
if I'm kind of shooting from there to
there I don't need to worry too much
about we're in parish or so because I'm
only saying kind of a shirt in a
waistcoat so yeah I feel like you know
putting on an expensive perfume to a
video call
yeah wearing pants it's like
but what problem is like if you get to
get up to get something in the middle of
the video call you're like oh yeah that
shot my camera up for a moment we have
been having some fun kind of getting
dressed up just for the sake of it at
home as well though so we kind of get
dressed up a lot better to do that yeah
I think we've been on lockdown we've
been having to kind of make our own
entertainment so we've been kind of
setting up cocktail bars in the garden
just for me name my partner and getting
dressed up properly and taking lots of
photographs and drinking lots of things
we had a we had a pyro seemed night the
other week where we Sam watched a couple
of hercule poirot films well drinking
cocktails
what's your mass scale range Christina's
gonna ask well smart he'll ah I said
that's a good question actually I don't
know anything really gin I tends to be
Jim based but after I'll drink anything
really I quite like an old-fashioned
because it's a nice one you can drink it
takes you Walter
to drink a much wider Negroni oh yeah
Negroni as well do like an agressor huge
menswear drink now in the industry
everybody always like where it's nice to
its and drinking takes you a long time
to drink it and actually yeah it's
pretty strong yeah yeah I'm an
old-fashioned guy like a bourbon old
fashioned
yeah I've got some bitters downstairs
occasionally I'll Mull some bitters and
some raw sugar and make myself a little
bit of Woodford and a glass with it and
nice yeah but generally honored on a
day-to-day basis is gin and tonic yeah
it's a nice easy one it's a nice easy
go-to there's lots of different gitans
out there as well you can get variant
you see that was not part of the ten
question and we didn't prepare it you
see none of this was prepared at all
yeah earlier you talking about the when
we talk about the pocket watch you know
do you
do you ever wear like a regular watch
and do you think I haven't worn a
regular watch for years not since
probably Chuck because every watch I
ever had when I was a child I lost okay
all ran out of battery and I just didn't
replace the battery in it it became
pointless and I don't like where I don't
like wearing rings all kind of things
around my wrists really I find it find
it quite just frustrating it gets in the
way
pocket watch love a pocket watch got a
really nice wallet I got kind of on a
steam railway I love white steam railway
great restaurant Great Western Railway
yeah
pocket watch that kind of goes in me
pocket it's a wind-up one as well so you
can wind it up but yeah
wrist watches I don't I've had them in
the past but I tend to lose them so you
think there's no point for a man's watch
gain to be like on mark it just it's a
waste here if you're gonna have a watch
then it should be a good one mm I prefer
a pocket watch over a wristwatch there's
something quite nice about kind of
lifting at a pocket and a particular
team rather than good looking at the
wrist there I can see there and say yeah
pocket watch over wristwatch I'm an
Apple watch guy myself I like yeah and I
know JJ's much more of a her ology guy
than me he's got a little collection
buddy now Jay you're on you or something
no audio it's it's an expensive it's an
expensive thing to to get into a I'm
trying to stop that I got into audio
file as well like get vinyl players read
cards and stuff okay actually Spotify
this the same thing or even more
convenient I don't have to get my ass I
don't have to listen to the whole damn
album I can be all ADHD and change the
songs right away rather than having to
kind of lift it up and kind of move the
move they can move the little kind of
needle across the nation Oh something
quite nice yeah do you have a job audio
system
not particularly now I mean I've got
some speakers and I do have a vinyl
player but I don't use it that often you
know use most part I listen to lazy
through headphones and but as much you
like ragtime music right like old 1920s
jazz you can't really can you really get
that on Spotify and stuff it's all on
there it's all been kind of digitized
now but like when you go vinyl digging
that's where you get elected moss
there's something really I really like
going digging for old sheet music that's
something that I really am I like kind
of looking into so I've got quite a
collection of old sheet music that just
doesn't really do anything it just kind
of sits on my on my shelves because a
lot of the old sheet music has the
ukulele tab on it as well and so you can
you enjoy trying to work out these old
songs without listening to them first
you can't try and read it for the music
and accompany yourself on there and then
because I'm not great really music but I
can and so it's kind of trying to work
out what the tune is and then listening
back to it to see kind of how the shelf
at the moment but kind of like you get
it for like 50 P a bit of a that's Rudy
Vallee there thanks so what's what is
sheet music so so you owe you buy the
music sheets if basically before before
you before they actually recorded music
that songs got solved so people would
have a piano at home or a ukulele they
wouldn't necessarily have the record
player and so you'd buy it
you'd buy the sheet music for a song
you'd heard and you play it for people
who are musically talented
when most most people in it a lot of
households had someone who at least
someone who could play the piano and
read music yeah it's a dying art though
I think being able to read the lines to
read the dots
I definitely yeah I can barely read tab
I can barely read anything and after two
there grones not at all style I found
that you look up to time are we talking
current day style icon I've got a few
look up to in fact there's a few people
I work with all kind of know of on the
scene that I quite quite admire in terms
of their style called Tom Caroline who
runs a cockney sing-along in in London
so he basically can take the piano into
a bar and plays old musical songs but he
dresses up kind of Victorian style with
their kind of boater kind of full suit
really really stylish if you can if you
get a chance to have a chapter two Tom
Carradine he'd be a great person for
Carradine now if you google him it says
it says that he's David Carradine's
somebody's not okay
so Carradine's cockney sing-along have a
look into that Jamie can order that I'll
have a so if you google me though you
will get Carlito Gonzalez and that's a
different person just I didn't do those
things that early though did it's
different guy I promise so he works with
another chap called er champagne charlie
who has a very kind of thirties
aesthetic from Ceylon champagne charlie
okay
British Air Bud champagne charlie and
the bubbly boys
that's the and there's also another chap
in the states New York called
dandy Wellington reply he's he is he is
kind of like
somebody I kind of admire huge level
will chop this into stories and tag -
ahem so you know are you go Celeste Andy
Wellington why you ghosting us what up
homie definitely definitely his style is
on point
he's a he's like Maddy Adams would say
he's a capital D dandy like yeah like so
um are you a capital D dandy you pull it
so well though you like it's it's not
good to have you on the show because
your style of dressing is so different
than everybody we've had and it's such
an important style the British style the
dandies now tweed you know like it's the
image of what you wear is so different
than every great guess we've had I don't
talk to anyone who who rocks tweet have
reject no no I very flattering that you
say that I kind of sometimes feel that
my style game isn't it isn't as OnPoint
as it could be I mean because it's so
unique great I mean and it's and I said
I love tweed but I live in the tropics
oh I can't wear denim or I would be dead
all right it's just it's that simple
like outside if I'm wearing tweed I'm
outside of aircon for like 30 seconds
done right but I mean I'm I'm jealous
that you can wear it you can you can and
not only can you wear it you rock it
yeah and tweed is such a perfect fabric
for England in general because it's hot
in this cold well it's never really hot
is usually cold and then it's wet and
then it's it's not so cold it's cold
enough and then it's just that no
sunshine at all and it's just how does
feel these whiter than me you know when
I was setting up the company I was there
for a month and I saw sunshine the first
time you know a whole like 20 days I was
there and I was so excited I was like oh
now I understand why people get excited
about summer and sunny days we talked
about the weather so much from the UK
the whole mood changes
good changes for sure particularly up
north up in Huddersfield understand now
why people are so grumpy it's just the
weather it's how do you be jumping in
you know all of that when it's always
it's is it gonna rain it's not oh it's
just rained yeah
is he ever ever long discussion is it
gonna rain today should should wear me
coat the opposite here we're like okay
is it too sunny to go out so I need an
umbrella because it's so sunny yeah I'll
see you actually I saw today a woman
riding a bicycle down the street holding
an umbrella to keep the Sun off for a
while she rode yeah
they don't they don't want to get the
tan here no they want to be whiter than
me yeah it's it's like a it's like a
weird thing that's there in Asia like
women don't wanna be tan because then
they will look as if they're not wealthy
because if you're working in the Sun
then you're from a different class and
then bla bla bla
so they sell a lot of whitening and all
the soap has to have white lightening
whitening salons with a they've even got
some crazy thing will they'll inject
they inject some chemical into you and
it kills your body's ability to produce
melanin Wow and so like you see people
who look out by no white walking around
Bangkok and they'll have like an
umbrella and long-sleeve shirts yeah
that's him that's weird come here
exactly yeah and that note the tire not
to tie that is the question
I know you said you like a bowtie but
you know do you feel like ties needed to
complete an ensemble or do you think you
can go without um I I think it depends
on what you wearing casually I tend to
kind of have a crevasse the mic kind of
top so if I'm wearing something like
this and I was going out I might put a
cravat on with
ah but definitely thing kind of attire
about psy tops off the outfit and if
you're wearing a suit if you're wearing
kind of a you know a full suit they're
definitely kind of tire or a bowtie
isn't it it's an important part of that
I would say very British of you yeah
yeah absolutely that's kind of thing
obviously taught you tie your own right
you're not you're not clipping on any
bowties oh my god
terrible I know terrible terrible I know
I do have some Thailand bowties but it's
just a lot easier to kind of take on and
off yeah former particularly when it's
hot
particularly when you're kind of
sweating and that kind of thing the
great thing about kind of a clip-on bow
tie is
I can I can unclip it and go backstage
and kind of chill out a little bit a
mins clivia back on I don't need to have
a mirror neccessity able to do it up and
I can go straight back out again and it
looks fine whereas when I when I've
tried to do a kind of a a properly tied
bow tie you take it off and then you've
got put it all back on again yeah which
I is not like a tie
once it's tied you can't loosen it all
right so now you've got to undo it I
like I am bowties but again I'm not
performing so I don't have to worry
about losing it yeah and I tend to be
able to do attire at home kind of in
there in the in the comfort of your own
home when you've got enough time to do
it but actually perform in it you know
quite often eat all you've got is kind
of a a small we're at a mirror in a
bathroom you have to try and get
prepared in and I don't necessarily
particular it's hot
I won't kind of where the full all kind
of outfit while I'm traveling either so
you kind of have to do a little bit of
kind of dressing up when you get to a
venue as well and just clip on sighs I
just see a clip-on bow ties tie ties a
normal tie are always kind of
directly clip-on ties that's good oh
yeah sorry I'm disappointed I can feel I
can feel like disappointed you guys well
giving you the past as you're a
professional performer you it's okay
it's acceptable Tomas Benjamin
acceptable now how about movie
characters are there any that you kind
of look at you like while this movie
character has there they're just style
games unlocked 100% we we have been
watching a lot of Poirot films recently
in you know Poirot
and actually Peter Ustinov as Hercule
Poirot his style kind of is always on
point I say that because we've been
watching what's those films recently
yeah the classic one I remember David
Suchet as well as Hercule Poirot very on
point too wasn't so impressed with the
Kenneth Branagh version of it that if
you saw that at all the Murder on the
Orient Express
yeah Kenneth Branagh did I wasn't so
into that stylistically make any of that
into your own character definitely kind
of what I find is I don't necessarily
only look at the main character in those
kind of films you also look at kind of a
paper in the background I'm gonna go
particularly for things like casual wear
that kind of old classic casual we're
getting just some kind of tips from that
from from those kind of films is always
really good and also what was the the
other one with Steve Buscemi in it what
was that series called have watched a
few semi yeah what's that M where is the
in
city in the 1920s Boardwalk Boardwalk
Empire there we go remember what's your
age is that serious but definitely that
say yeah that was when I was looking at
a lot for am for kind of style tips
there's a lot of necessary so taken a
lot of greed suits in that series yeah
definitely and also Deadwood you ever
watched Edwards of course yeah I love
that Western American style yeah yeah
yeah Deadwood and then the movie
tombstone right with yeah that red
waistcoat you know yeah definitely
definitely and anything we David Niven
in yeah as well and Terry Thomas I don't
know if you've ever come across
Timmy to Terry Thomas he was a British
actor in 60s had a gap between his teeth
he was quite um he was quite yeah he was
the the CAD he was the kind of the actor
who played those kind of real cared
characters in the in those old 60s
British movies and so yeah if you ever
have the chap that they did the chance
to have a look at Terry Thomas he's a
bit of a car stylistic hero as well have
you guys ever come across publication
called the chap magazine no that sounds
like something I want to subscribe to
all the chap yeah so there and they the
recent three times a year comes out but
the chap magazine definitely want for
you to have a look at the chat we're a
good chap
I'm surprised why that word is not used
so often in the rest of the world I
guess used a lot in UK but it's not used
at all do American Lee Dana no not
really like maybe if we're making fun of
British people
but definitely that is kind of if you
want to see kind of British style and
kind of British you know classic British
clothes and stylish people then
definitely have a look at that because
you you probably find lots of people
that you can want to contact and
sculpture in there as well yeah for sure
ham but now they're very interested I've
done I did am buy a few photoshoots with
them I don't know I did i photo shoot
with him a couple years ago but they
also host an event every year in the UK
called the chap Olympiad Wow
a bunch of people taking part in caddish
games just silly
over-the-top games like having your
Butler carrier you martini glass and a
yeah kind of taking a slap from her
giving a caddish comment to a woman who
can include steak to slap the best
definitely definitely something to look
into though it's a it's a fine
publication Archer sounds something very
dapper villainous yeah yeah I definitely
think you'd enjoy it maybe we should we
should make a trip and compete Jay yes I
think you want to you can go into the
chapel impede that team's a prevalence
that's yeah definitely definitely
it'd be I did I went once to it to the
big event and it chucked down with rain
and they didn't have a huge amount on in
terms of but when it's a sunny day
central London
it's a really nice kind of thing and to
go along to blue so do events at various
other places as well we have to start a
Bangkok Bangkok branch of the chapel
here I'm sure I'm sure they'd be very
interested to talk to you love to reach
out for sure you dropped the new album
in March right Tom yeah that's right
yeah and some collabs yep sorry
working on some collaborations with
one with Tom Carradine actually carrying
Scot me sing-along another with brother
fantastic steampunk act Victor in the
bully okay again these have been another
very dapper chap well you went to steam
the character or did you get at the
steampunk I was aware of it and I got
very much embraced by the scene I
wouldn't necessarily say I particularly
steampunky but I kind of definitely
tailor my look when I'm performing at
those kind of events and tend to go for
kind of more of a bowler hat style thing
with that kind of thing so there is a
slightly different interpretation of its
steampunk events only Victorian a
steampunk I mean I like the aesthetic of
it
but I don't know if you're a Star Trek
fan I kind of think of steampunk is like
if the Borg assimilated like 1900s earth
yeah I'm not that's exactly it that's
exactly the thing he's going for the
interesting thing it's endlessly
creative because you can do whatever you
want with it yeah so it's it's really
interested in the played a big one a big
event back in November at the National
Space Center in the UK which we do have
a Space Centre which is really you know
in Leicester invaded in the middle of
there is myself chat called mister be
the gentleman rhymer who actually again
he would be an interesting one for you
to get in contact with mr. be the
gentleman he gives the founder of what
he calls chap hop which is kind of a
British chap take on hip hop music and
also another chap called professor
elemental who is far more kind of geared
towards the steam punk scene but again
I've been kind of Tyre aid in with those
two guys because they both dress up and
do kind of the English gent kind of
thing he he plays a proper or not a
proper banjo a very small neck banjo and
lady as well so yeah he's been a big
influence on well it's a
I've got a picture of him here but he's
gonna yeah I guess it is a Banja lately
but it's got a big pot okay idea
he's got various different ones I think
all right yeah so yeah yeah
and so playing at that event just the
costumes and the kind of the things that
people were wearing was actually incense
it kind of crosses over the whole geek
culture thing you know pop culture
references within there there were
people dressed up as characters from
sci-fi but then tied across with kind of
Victoriana
style as well like steam point is just
really interesting yeah exactly exactly
seedy steampunk take on various things
there kind of a guy who had a steampunk
r2d2 and so it was kind of an r2d2 kind
of controllable r2d2 but it had been
sting Punk that would cogs and all of
those kind of things and then it was
also a guy you're doing a tintype
photography as well so there's a great
they did a great picture of me I look
like something out of
like Deadwood like the actual dead words
they took a photograph of him a bola
half and my bowtie and I just look I
look like a criminal from the kind of
from the Wild West it's nice do you know
how can Pilar I don't know two comedians
from America but they did they get the
ghetto steampunk thing all right
hilarious low key and Peele yeah I'll
send you the link I don't want to
explain it yeah yeah it won't come
across this funny but if I send it to
you you're so sarcastic you yeah it's
hard to explain a key and Peele because
it's so so good I think you have seen
him but yeah probably would have yeah
yeah I'll send you a link to the ghetto
steep honking yo yeah yeah I can see how
you fit into that how you fit into that
world how you fit into that
that subculture yeah
I've also kind of been kind of taken in
by kind of cabaret and burlesque things
work because it's quite an easy act to
just put on stage in bitter do kind of
like two or three songs because it just
mean within the bands lately I can go on
and do a couple of songs and then just
go off and then you ever somebody coming
on and stripping so it's kind of tied in
quite nicely with that so I've been
doing a lot of collaboration oh nice
the Cabret I mean it's not so big here
and cabarets different in Thailand
usually it's a ladyboy show but yeah
when I lived in in the u.s. I went to a
few uh cabaret shows and in New York and
Cleveland that were like proper like a
evening theater cabaret with a little
bit of burlesque mixed in and here you
go to something called cabaret and it's
you're like are those women or are those
incredibly gorgeous men yeah when I
lived in Brighton that the lady boys at
Bangkok were often often did you it
pretty much every every few months that
they were kind of dated a big showdown
in Brighton let's see them in a few
times great show
definitely a thing and then it's like
what do you mean
origami oh my god you know some amazing
Thailand as a as a tourist I'd say but
yeah all right that makes sense the
Cabaret makes sense yeah it's quite an
item and then I was meant to be going on
tour from April early April 3 middle of
May just in the UK yeah just in the UK
but that's bound until November now I'm
not expecting to be playing any cakes
now till probably Christmas okay I would
have thought not easy dates on the tour
afraid not afraid not at the moment
can you put welcome out spread Satori
eleganza for sure I mean that's what I
was gonna say like any that would be
such a great show in my shop grand
opening grand opening is oh sorry
grand opening up this job well if Kovach
lives well supposed to be first July but
which is just a few days from now like
the thing if thing is limiting me from
being able to sort of see can I work
during the week and but also we've got
an old dog who doesn't get on well with
other dogs and we can't put her in
kennels and so actually kind of leaving
her for any extended period time we feel
bad about now cuz she's a fourteen
German Shepherd 14 as long as she can on
say you want to kind of spend the last
in many ways the whole kind of Cove in
nineteen lock down thing and meant is
we're spending a lot more time with our
old dog who I don't think is gonna be
around much longer and which has been
very nice even though she doesn't get
why we're still around and still in the
house bath
so we have to wait for a little while
before we can get jaded yeah or for
Bangkok well we'll see what happens
we'll see what happens is that yeah
we'll tour at some point you're a
married man so it's going to be
different way of entertainment not
provide you well thank you for would
change a little bit yeah it'll be a lot
of spicy food instead of jail be like
damn if you take you take Tom yeah you
and your wife dany you take them out I
got something I'm already late I already
paid for the hour the definition of
dapper villain yeah would you say you're
a villainous villainous caddish would be
the word I'd use
I wouldn't say I'm a necessarily a
villain and potentially call myself a
cab or a bounder you heard these terms
no no I was hoping Dana would have heard
these terms but now that the phd guy
doesn't know what it means that I'm like
I mean cabs and bounders are fairly
cheeky naughty ladies men who misbehave
a little bit but are ultimately likeable
so yeah Cavan bound there are definitely
terms that I predict you know we sort of
adopted villain and injected it into
like where I think most people would
consider an antihero
yeah yeah yeah definitely count cards
and CAD and bounder either the British
equivalent probably of that I would say
definitely kind of in terms of VM the
kind of areas that I kind of work in
nice well Tom we really appreciate your
time man thank you so much where can
people find out more about you about
your music about what you're doing right
so you can you can find me on social
media so I'm Tomas Benjamin Wilder
Squire on Facebook at Tom be wild on
Instagram at Tom be wild on
on YouTube Thomas Benjamin Wilder Squire
I've also got Tommy WorldCom is is the
website and if you want to listen to the
musical download music
purchase direct download and you can do
it through there or you can come and
support me on patreon as well because
I've got a patreon community as well
there's all kinds of exclusive things I
post on there I'm actually do it at an
interview thing where I can interview
people that I work with on there as a
regular basis as well so yeah well have
all that in the show notes so make sure
you guys check that out if you listen
this far on the podcast there's no
reason you shouldn't be great music and
we're also going to put a link down
below when we post this up we'll put a
link to the I've no more fucks to give a
video that that really turned me on to
your music thank you thank you very much
fuck you Dana dude we're supposed to do
it like a twin at the same time for you
all
