Thomas Bryan Eaton - “Nothing Is”
“This is definitely a night time record,” Thomas Bryan Eaton says as the sun, blazing through a cold, clear December sky, glints off of his glasses, “it’s largely a contemplative and even meditative album that has been kicking around in the back of my mind for quite a while, probably best to listen to alone and on headphones.”
The previous evening, as I listened to “Nothing Is…”, Thomas’ fourth full length solo record (that’s not including the two vintage rock ‘n’ roll EPs he’s released, which could count as one record, but my factual, archivist side just couldn’t), the first thing I noticed was that it was different than anything I’ve heard from him.
And to me well, being him, that’s surprising! So I sat down to ask myself a few questions about the record and the process of writing and recording it.
(Check out a few tracks and pre-order “Nothing Is…” below)
•••> Can you tell me how this record got started?
Well, in a lot of ways, it began unknowingly about 15 years ago. That’s how old the song “Emptiness, pt. I” is. That track has been on my back burner, mostly forgotten for all that time. Fast forward a bit, and about five years ago I took an afternoon in my Brooklyn apartment to try to write a song starting with a programmed drum beat, I came up with “Inhuman.” I was happy with my accomplishments that day, but it quite obviously didn’t fit on the classic country record I was working on at the time.
•••> That’s your record, “Been Through This Before,” right?
Exactly! With my move to Nashville, finishing that album, and working more closely with Miss Tess; “Inhuman” also got pushed to the lower portion of my to-do list. I knew I needed to do something with it eventually though.
The concept for “Nothing Is…” really began to crystallize during a songwriting lodge I did in 2016. You try to write 20 songs in 12 hours. Pretty intense, but a wonderful way to kick start your creativity!
In the later half of that day, in an effort for a new perspective, I again started with a drum beat, this time from my Dad’s old Casiotone keyboard and “Say It in the Morning Light” was born. Later, as I began to delve into that song and remembering “Inhuman,” I realized I had the beginnings of some kind of more synthesized, electronic batch of songs.
•••> So it seems that a lot of the genesis for this album is an attempt to look at music differently than you might normally?
I suppose I would say that. Though those that have really been on my musical journey from the beginning might recognize plenty of echos of the past. I mean in college I was simultaneously in a bluegrass band and an electronic jam band playing lots of drum & bass and house grooves. Differing worlds of music have always enticed me. Like the old saying goes, good music is good music.
•••> Definitely. Even “Close Your Eyes” from your first record, “Dreams, Demons & Butterflies,” is basically a krautrock song.
Yup, and there’s programmed drums on there too! As well as three live drum kits. What was I thinking?!?! Ha
•••> There’s definitely a darker mood on most of this album, where did that come from?
A lot of this record is a journey inwards. Self reflection is key to growth and that’s one of my number one goals in life, to continue to expand upon and refine myself and my endeavors.
If you delve deep inside of your mind, you’ll find lots of darkness there, the only light is what you bring with you. This record is in a lot of ways an attempt to peer into that void, to sink into loss, lies and the emptiness that surrounds us. Talking about these things, putting them into ideas, songs and words can actually help us overcome them. By making them tangible, we can actually start to process them.
•••> There are some pretty strong rays of light here too.
I like to think so! Most of those rays on this record come in more meditative forms like “All Around is Love” and “Emptiness, pt. I.” The former being a call to seeing the beauty and love that truly surrounds us all, the later being a dive into the Buddhist philosophy on emptiness. I’ve been contemplating and sinking deeper into that to try and understand it for 15 years now. I still have work to do.
•••> Did you know “Emptiness” was going to be on the record from the beginning?
No! I had totally forgotten about it. I had what I envisioned as an EP of material in this more synthesized, electronic vane about ready to be worked on after finishing my “Promises” EP. But then COVID hit... literally the day that EP released, Friday, March 13th was the day that the Miss Tess tour van turned around towards home two days into a tour.
With more time at home in my studio, I started doing things like exploring old hard drives to see what was there. I re-discovered “Emptiness, pt. I” and it just made sense! That got me thinking about expanding what this project was or could be.
•••> Is there a part II?
Yup! It is far less finished though and may never be… time will tell.
•••> How else did it expand then?
I had worked up a version of Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s “Tonight I’m Gonna Go Downtown” a while back that definitely fit the bill, but wasn’t going release it cause it wasn’t finished and it was a cover. I also re-evaluated “When the Sun Goes Down,” a tune that was supposed to be on my “We All Want to Be Love” album but got dropped at the last minute. Rehashing that opened up the potential for using the “Sundown” interludes as well, also originally an idea for “We All Want to Be Love.”
Before I knew it, things just kind of fell into place and I had enough like minded material for a full length record.
•••> So it sounds like most of these recordings are actually a bit older?
For sure, the time I have to put into my own recordings has never been plentiful… the newest recording is actually “ReConnections” which is still almost two years old at this point. Both “Sweet, Sweet Lies” and “All Around is Love” are just a little older.
Most of the tunes were pretty much fully tracked when the album came into focus, they just needed some finishing touches and to be mixed.
•••> Can we talk about “ReConnections” for a minute? What is that?
I’m glad you asked! My “Connections” concept is one that has also been around for over 15 years. Without getting into the details, it’s an experiment in the studio, an attempt to create new patterns by taming randomness. Or something… ha
I’ve done quite a few of these experiments over the years and hope to continue with them. Perhaps even release more of the ones that yield satisfying results. “ReConnections” was a rekindling of that concept that was one of the first things I did in my new studio.
•••> Interesting… Speaking of our new studio and knowing you quite well, you must have your next plans already forming, right?
You do know me well!! And yes. I’ve been focused in the last year or so on tuning not only my live room, but leveling up my recording capabilities. I’m looking forward to really getting going on tracking here in this new space. Though first I have a handful of tunes and recordings still simmering and in need of the final touches.
I’m hoping to get more, and much newer (to me) music released quite soon.
•••> One more question, isn’t “Nothing Is…” already the name of a Sun Ra album?
I was wondering if anyone would notice! It is. While most of this music is a bit far from Sun Ra’s world, in many ways it’s the closest thing I’ve released to his catalogue. Sun Ra has been, and continues to be, one of my strongest creative inspirations.
But really, the title comes from the meditation in “Emptiness:”
“No thing is empty, nothing is… emptiness.”
When I was thinking of album names and that popped up as an idea, it really encompassed the album concept well. The synchronicity with a Sun Ra album, well, I’ll take that any day!
•••> Thanks for your time, I look forward to following you on your creative path!
Not like you have a choice, eh? But all the same, here’s to pushing boundaries, trusting in your abilities and following your instincts!
~ December 18, 2020