Some guys wear their hearts on their sleeve. Tomi Swick wears his on his chest. At least that what it looked like at the 2007 Juno Awards when he was called to the podium to receive his Juno for New Artist of the Year. After taking hold of the shiny glass trophy, a bewildered Swick turned to the camera and revealed a shout out to his hometown, Hamilton, splayed across his t-shirt.

That moment was the culmination of a year that took the young singer/songwriter from total obscurity to national recognition. After years of playing in a variety of cover bands he had struck out on his own and written a huge cache of emotionally charged rock songs and ballads. His influences run the gamut from James Taylor to Radiohead and Jeff Buckley to the Beatles. The thirteen songs he wrote for his debut, Stalled Out In the Doorway, tell honest tales of some of the harsh realities or relationships. His beautiful and lilting melodies sometimes belying the dark subject matter in many of his songs.

Tomi Swick is a song writer and story teller but most of all he’s a rock ‘n’ roll troubadour

Tomi Swick is just trying to be honest…