Spotlight on Luke Tuchscherer

It’s that time of year again, when Belles and Gals has a change around, where for three days only we’re going all male! To start the weekend we have a feature on the brilliant Luke Tuchscherer, who very recently signed for Clubhouse Records. I’ve been lucky enough to see Luke perform live a couple of times in recent months and if you haven’t had the pleasure, I suggest you look him up and go see him. The most recent performance I saw was at the award Green Note venue in Camden (appearing alongside Belles and Gals favourite Hannah Rose Platt), an intimate gig, which was just perfect for his sound.  As you can see from the video above (the song  from Luke’s debut album  ‘You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense‘) Luke mixes meaningful and heartfelt lyrics with an evocative delivery style which is just perfect.

I caught up with Luke last week and asked him about his career so far.

How did you get started in the music industry?

I started playing drums at 13, playing in a band with Ben Haswell and Taff Thatcher. We went on to form The Whybirds in 2006 with our friend Dave Banks. We put out three records over 11 years, played hundreds of gigs and generally had a great time doing so. I put out my first solo album, You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense, in 2014.

Which artists have influenced you over the years?

I was a grunge kid growing up, the first band I loved was Nirvana. From there I really got into Pearl Jam, and through Pearl Jam I discovered Neil Young. Young was my entry point to the world of Americana, and from there I got into Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams, Steve Earle, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and so on. All the greats!

Tell us about your songwriting process

There’s not really a process so much as they just fall out. I rarely take more than hour to write a song, and it’s usually closer to half an hour. I feel if I’m labouring over a song, I’m forcing it, so I stop. Usually the whole thing comes out in one burst, but sometimes I’ll have some scraps of lyrics hanging around, or have a melody hanging around a while before the words come, but most of the time it’s very quick.

What have been your career highlights so far?

With The Whybirds, I think everything from putting out good records, doing it all off our own backs, touring the UK and beyond, playing Azkena Rock in Spain, and playing with great artists like Drive By Truckers, Billy Bragg, Evan Dando and Alejandro Escovedo were all highlights.

On my own, the reception my first record received was a definite highlight, as was signing with Clubhouse Records earlier this year.

What are your plans for 2017?

My second album, ‘Always Be True’, is coming out on Clubhouse on 2 June. I’m playing a bunch of shows, including Truck, Red Rooster and Elderflower Fields festivals. You can find out more about what I’m doing at www.luketuchscherer.co.uk