Letting 'Freedom' reign: Geneva musician Tom Fuller gets real, raw on new album

GENEVA – After a whirlwind European tour, The Tom Fuller Band will return to its roots with a special homecoming show in Geneva.

Geneva resident Tom Fuller will perform the blues-infused, classic-rock musings off the group's newest album,"Freedom," on Friday, Dec. 5, at EvenFlow Music and Spirits, 302 W. State St., Geneva. The show will kick off at 9 p.m.; tickets cost $7.

The album "Freedom," of which Fuller said delves into the "highs and lows of living" and breathes raw and unsheathed emotions, hails as the group's fourth album in a lineup that includes "Ask" (2011), "Abstract Man" (2008)" and "Chasing An Illusion" (2005).

Of the band's return to the Geneva venue, Fuller said, "We got back from being on tour in Europe ... and this is a great way to thank some of our Chicago-area fans for their support."

Kane County Chronicle features editor Kara Silva got to talk further with Fuller about opening up as an artist, touring and the stories behind the music.

Kara Silva: On Friday, when you perform at EvenFlow, what can the audience expect to get out of your homecoming show?
Tom Fuller: First of all it's going to be a lot of fun. And by the end of the night, it will probably get crazy.
But I think the idea is that we're going to split it up into two sets. The first set will be mostly songs off of the new album, and then the second set will be some of our well-known songs off of other projects. Everyone will have a good time.

Silva: You just released your fourth album, "Freedom." What is the essence of that album? What does it mean to you?
Fuller: I consider myself a classic rock guy, but I also have a heavy Chicago blues influence in what I write. I've also got pop sensibilities [and am] a guy who writes ballads. So, I'm a pretty diverse songwriter, but it all came together magically with "Freedom."

"Freedom" is kind of a breakout thing for me. The title track, "Freedom," is brutally honest. I talk about dealing with alcohol; I talk about dealing with cigarettes; and I also talk about the fact that I don't have a relationship with my only child.

I made a choice that I was going to tell the world about my life the way it really is. I've written about the pain with my son, Patrick, many times before, but I used to write it in a clever way that nobody would know who I was talking about. So, for me, "Freedom" is liberating, and I just came out and said it. The punchline of the song is ... getting to the kind of freedom from emotional pain.

The rest of the album is all of the highs and lows of living – the human thing.

Silva: Has your son heard the song?
Fuller: No. I would think that he hasn't. I haven't seen this child of mine in a number of years. I'm not sure he even really gets all of the magic that's happening. I'd like to think that he does and he's keeping track of me, but I don't really know.

Silva: This album is a lot more about wearing your heart on your sleeve and kind of steering clear of metaphors.
Fuller: Exactly. It was kind of hard to do. What happens is, if I was hiding behind metaphors, I can do that – I'm really good at it – but I have to look at myself in the mirror all the time, too. I just got to this place where I was like, "What have I got to lose; I'm going to tell people about what's going on and not worry about it."

Silva: Do you feel that by opening up more you would also be opening yourself up to judgment, and maybe that's why you were fearful of telling it like it is?
Fuller: I don't know about that. Probably not. Because I've done and tried everything that has been suggested to do to heal [the relationship with my son]. So, no, I wasn't feeling that people would make judgments.

I was feeling more like I was really naked. Like I'm this guy on stage naked and everybody else has got clothes on. I just told you my worst tragedy that I know of, but – in reality – it wound up being liberating.

Silva: Do you think there's a reason why you decided to open up on this album the way you have? Was there some sort of catalyst that helped you get there, or is it just a culmination of years of experience?
Fuller: In life, there's times where we do things and we don't even know why we did it, and there are other times where you get to a place where enough is enough, and I think that that's where I got to.

Silva: After your November CD release party at The Art's Theatre in London, you got to perform at The Troubadour, where Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Jimi Hendrix all performed. What was that like?
Fuller: Yeah, I did an acoustic thing there. It was fun, but my whole reason for wanting to play there was just because of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. They played there, and I wanted to play there.

Silva: You also got to play at the Cavern Club in Liverpool where the Beatles started out, right?
Fuller: I did (laughs).

Silva: After having played at all of these amazing venues all over the world, have you had a moment where you're on stage and you're just like, "Wow, I can't believe I'm here right now?"
Fuller: I have. When it happens is when you're backstage, because as soon as I get on stage and I have a guitar around me, I've got a job to do.

But, I think about that stuff all the time.

Silva: So, did you have a favorite city or experience during your European tour?
Fuller: I'd never really been to Paris before. So, we did this rock show in Paris and, honest-to-God, it was probably one of the best shows we've had. I would have played all night long if I could have.

But one of the cool things we got to do was we went to Jim Morrison's grave. There were flowers everywhere and there were probably 20 people. What made it cool was that if you just walked to the left [of the grave a few feet], there was a clearing of trees, and – out in the distance – you could see the Eiffel Tower. It was really breathtaking.

Silva: With the amount of experience that you've gained over the years, is there a certain message that you want to pass on?
Fuller: I usually tell people to figure out what your passion is, go in that direction and ask the universe for help. If the universe has given you the gifts to succeed, you will. If you believe you can do it, you will.