the notorious tom waits
tom waits: “(my fans are) nerds. pretty much. i’m a nerd. they want to secede from the union. they want their own state. actually, most of the people that i’ve met are really nice people. sincere. they don’t seem to be too intimidated by me. i’m not david bowie. my image that people have of me, i guess kind of goes with the subject matter i write about. somehow people expect me to be someone who lives in the same kind of stories i write about. and you know, for the most part, i guess that’s probably somewhat true. my records are kind of like dispatches of my own and people pick through that and find some truths for themselves. i’m just glad to be in the soup. i’m being influenced by everything around me and i’m influencing others and that’s definitely where i wanted to be. i’m glad to be doing it. i could be working in the sewer.”
tom waits interviewed by mikel jollett
tom waits: “…a lot of people think that most song-writers are just writing the same song over and over again. trying to find different ways to say the same thing. then a lot of people say that you’re opening new doors with each song. like you’re staying in different motels across the country and in every one of them you’re exploring a different room in your head. I try to make something in the studio, i maybe haven’t heard before. a different combination of voices and instrumentation. like, “what is this, ruska-billy or is it gypsy-rap or what is this thing?” my thing is more mutating things.”
music legend tom waits gives intimate details and advice in this editorial story art directed by ucef hanjani and photographed by russ flatt for soma magazine. view all work for editorial / art direction.
