Tom Goss is a singer-songwriter whose muscular style and sensitive spirit has earned him a growing national following. With an acoustic guitar (and sometimes piano), Tom moves from powerful pop to beautiful ballads as he sings of love, loss and longing. The Washington, DC-based, former Catholic priest in training, has released three albums since 2006; he is just back from a 58-city US tour in support of his latest, Back to Love. The video for 2008's "Rise" soared to #2 on MTV's LOGO and the video for 2009's "Till the End" created an instant buzz, generating more than 100,000 views on YouTube and Facebook and eventually reaching #1 on MTV's LOGO.

 

Tom is a gay singer-songwriter whose muscular style and sensitive spirit has earned him a national following.  The Washington, DC-based, former Catholic priest in training, has released three albums since 2006; the video for 2009's "Till the End" created an instant buzz, generating more than 100,000 views online and eventually reaching #1 on MTV's LOGO.

33: You grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. What was that like?
TG: I love Kenosha! It's a very family friendly place to live. Lots of cheese lots of snow. I spent my summers playing baseball in the park and running through the graveyard. Nothing more freeing than that.

33: What bought you to Washington DC?
TG: I moved to DC to go to graduate school. I was training to become a Catholic priest. Bad idea...

33: What made you switch to wrestling since your parents were gymnasts?
TG: Hmm, well to make a long story short, I was very angry. I started fighting with my gymnastics teammates and wrestling just was a much more appropriate outlet. I mean, that's the point of wrestling right? My parents have always wanted me to be happy so it wasn't like it was a disappointment.

33: What are some of your musical influences?
TG: Dave Matthews, David Gray, Seal, Damien Rice and Ben Harper.

33: What made you decide to become a singer? I know you got a guitar as your high school graduation present but what made you decide to go into music?
Tom Goss: Well music wasn't the main focus for a long time. I was doing it in the periphery, eventually the other things I was focusing on fell to the wayside. Music didn't. Like most of my generation I'm a little ADD, the longevity of my interest had a lot to do with me realizing it was a big part of my life.

33: What are some other artists you've worked with?
TG: Matt Alber, Catie Curtis, Jake Walden, Mike Ofca, Stewart Lewis

33: What made you want to study to be a teacher?  Why teaching?
TG: HA! I didn't really care. I went to college to wrestle. Eventually you have to pick a major. I went to a guidance counselor when I was picking my junior year classes and she told me I should do SS Edu. I said OK, simple as that.

33: Why did you decide to become a priest? Did you think it was your calling?
TG:  I did, I really did. That being said, I don't think my mission has changed that much. I wanted to focus on reconciliation, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue. I wanted to help facilitate a dialogue between people to create positive. That is still what I aim to do, I just have a different platform.

33: When you decided to be a priest were you openly gay?
TG:  No, I wasn't. I was more asexual than anything. I fell in love in the seminary and that was a beautiful thing. In all honesty it was a relief, it's much more isolating to be asexual than gay. I was happy to self-identify as gay, it was a great discovery.

33: How did you like working with the homeless while running the breakfast program?
TG:  Actually, I still help run the Charlie's Place (www.charliesplacedc.org). At this point I do mostly development work, writing grants and dealing with donors. I'm lucky to be able to work from the road and follow my passions while still focusing on the homeless.

33: Where did you meet your partner Mike and how long have you two been together?
TG: We've been together 4 years now. We met on Yahoo during a time when we both really needed each other. I'm extremely lucky.

33: Can you tell me about your self-produced album, Naked Without?
TG: Naked Without was a very emotional journey for me and you can hear it. It's raw and real, emotional and intimate. I wrote it while in the seminary, while leaving and after I left. That was a very hard time for me. The album is pretty much in chronological order, the waves of emotion are obvious and real. I'm not sure I could do that album again.

33: What festivals have you played at?
TG: I don't play many festivals outside of pride festivals. I play a lot of those!

33: Tell me about your second CD Rise. What was it like to make that album?
TG: That was quite a learning experience. With Naked Without I learned that I shouldn't be recording my own stuff, that was a valuable lesson. With Rise I enlisted some professionals and learned a lot about arranging, recording and writing. It was a long process but the result was a great EP, full of big acoustic sounds.

33: You seem to be very involved with the Gay Community, what are some things you have coming up involving the Gay Community.
TG: I'm putting out a marriage equality EP in April that I'm working with Marriage Equality USA and Freedom to Marry on. It's going to be fantastic!

33: Will you be performing at any of the Gay Pride's in Virginia this year or the one in Washington DC?
TG: Maybe both! Last year I did Chesapeake and Roanoke, not DC. But I've done DC as well and I'm happy to do them all.

33: Tell me about your new album, Back To Love. I listened to the song Back To Arkansas and I have to say I listened to it over and over again, it's such a great song. What was it like making the album and where did the name for the album and the song Back To Love come from?
TG: Thank you. BTL was the best experience I've ever had musically. I write a lot and as we (my producer Mike Ofca and I) started pairing down what made sense for the new album I realized that all the songs had to do with love. Not all romantic love but loss of love and love of family etc... Then I wrote Back To Arkansas and the last line of the song (Back To Love) just stuck with me. I thought it was an appropriate title and so that's what I named it.The whole album was done front to back in 11 days. It was such a whirlwind.  Every now and again things just match up, this was one of those times. You can really hear my emotions on this album. You hear the realness of Naked Without but in a refined and mature voice. I'm very proud of the sound we created on BTL.

33: I heard they made Gay Marriage legal in Washington DC, what do you think about that?
TG: It rocks!

33: I read somewhere that you were on the Logo Channel. How did that go? Were you excited?
TG: LOGO is great. My latest video "Till The End" was #1 for 6 weeks, my first video for "Rise" went to #2. It's great to have a channel that focuses on LGBT media, I'm very grateful for that.

33: Have you ever been on OUT magazine or in OUT magazine or ever thought about being in the magazine?
TG: Hm, I think so but I'm not sure. I'd have to check. I did a tour with 2 other LGBT artists and it was sponsored by Regent Media (who owns Out Magazine). They were very generous and helped promote the tour through the magazine and their other outlets.

33: What do you think about being an advocate for the gay community?
TG: I'm honored to be one. I hope that I represent the gay community in a positive light.

M33: What can we see from you in the future?
TG:  I've got the marriage equality EP coming out in April as well as a live DVD/CD. In addition I'll be hitting the road immediately afterward for a 50 city national tour in April and May. I'm psyched.

M33: Where will you be playing in Virginia if anywhere?

TG: You know it! June 3rd at The Camel in Richmond!

Photos courtesy of Tom Goss' management.

 

By Author: Angela Bean

Angela was born in Waynesboro, Virginia. She has since lived in Townsend, Tennessee, and Stuarts Draft, Virginia. She can be a very interesting person to get to know. She is much like a book, you have to open the cover to get to her many talents and qualities that are hidden in her pages. Her love for music came when she played drums in a band as a teenager. She always loved every genre of music. She also has a passion for photography, poetry, blogging and writing. She enlisted in the army in 2004 and is a Persian Gulf War veteran. She recently attended Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center and became Student Government Association President. She was editor of the SGA newsletter Old Ragtime News and worked in the Marketing Department at WWRC on the 2008 Annual Report. Recently she achieved a certificate in Web Design and has started her own business, Fine Designs & Creative Works. You can find her online on Facebook, and numerous other sites.

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