Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Gibson.
Hi Tim, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am originally from Philadelphia, PA. I grew up in a very musical family (musical theatre, classical musicians) and have been singing and performing my entire life, but I started my professional entertainment career in the United States Army Reserve band, singing for soldiers going to and coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. I originally moved to Nashville in 2009, and taught music at School of Rock and Guitar Center. In 2018 I started singing on cruise ships, traveling to over 47 countries performing at Syd Norman’s Pourhouse. With the pandemic grounding ships in 2020, I moved into musical theatre, performing in shows such as Rock of Ages (Stacee Jaxx), Mamma Mia! (Sam Carmichael) and Urinetown: the Musical (Bobby Strong) before making the decision to come back to Nashville and take one more shot at a music career. When I saw how the city had changed, I immediately knew Nashville was where I belonged. Broadway had morphed from a relatively fun collection of bars to see music in to being the worldwide destination it is now, showcasing world class musicians on a five block strip of non-stop entertainment. I, like many in the Honky Tonk scene, auditioned at the World Famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge and started attending the Honky Tonk School, where I met my band, the Business. We now play regularly at Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk and Rock and Roll Steakhouse, Honky Tonk Central, Rippy’s and Tootsies Orchid Lounge. Currently, we are writing and producing an album of original music, while continuing to entertain the masses of people that flock to Nashville every day to hear amazing music.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenges have been mostly mindset ones. The first time I moved to Nashville, I didn’t have the mindset that I could indeed make a living performing. I had been taught “have a backup plan and do music on the side”. I didn’t realize that if you have a backup plan, that will become your primary plan, and for a long time I was not happy with what I was doing. The stage is where I feel the most myself, and ships taught me that not only is an entertainment career possible, but it can be sustainable. Of course the first challenge is “where to start, how to break in” etc. Nashville is not only a top destination for music lovers, but the people that play it, and Lower Broadway is incredibly competitive. You have to bring your A game all the time because those shifts are highly coveted, and people can wander in and out of honky tonks at their leisure and if they’re bored for even a second, they’ll go on to the next one. And of course you have to learn a lot (and I mean a lot) of songs, because most of the show will be request based, which is a stark contrast to the curated environment of a ship where you play the same show every time. Fortunately I was very lucky (and they say that luck is when preparedness meets opportunity) to fall in with an incredible group of people and in incredible organization. I get to have fun with my friends every day and bring joy to people from all over the world.
The challenges of singing four hour shifts also require me to maintain my instrument (steam treatments, copious amounts of water and tea, and lots of sleep) and by extension my body, so I am in the gym a lot and resting my voice frequently (its not nearly as much of a party as people think!), and my band The Business also sings a lot as well.
The biggest challenge is not getting in your head and reminding yourself “you can do this, you are good at what you do, and you deserve to be successful just as much as anyone”. Because whether you think you can do it or not, you’re right.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am first and foremost an entertainer. My biggest influence is Freddie Mercury, whom I consider to be one of the greatest entertainers to ever do it (I even got to be a Freddie impersonator! And yes, I grew the mustache). I mainly am a rock and roll front man, but I also play guitar, keys, bass and drums. I am proud that we get to play and sing for the amazing people that come into our venues every week in Music City, and look at my work as a vital part of helping those people do their work, whatever it may be. I love to engage the crowd and make it feel like it’s their show, and no matter whether there’s 5 people or 500, I want each person to leave feeling that euphoric feeling that only a great concert can provide. I also love to arrange music, harmonies etc, which allows us to do some really cool things with our show (the first time we played Bohemian Rhapsody was a dream come true!)
I also am an arranger and producer, and have created numerous backing tracks for my fellow cruise ship artists. I enjoy this aspect of my creative work, and am looking forward to applying it to the original music that we are working on. I love arranging harmonies, orchestral parts and synthesizers, so I think we’re going to be able to make some really cool stuff. Someday I also intend to create my rock opera as a stage musical.
In addition to music, I am also an actor, and will be performing as Jesus in New Star Nashville’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and I also act with the Murder Mystery Company. I also love to cook, build lego, and take care of my fish tank.
Any big plans?
Now that the band is established, I plan to get back into writing and creating music. I used to write all the time when I was a kid, but I transferred my focus to creating a band that could play and make a living with. Now that we have done that, I want to focus more on the artistic aspects of making music, so expect to see some original work coming out towards the end of this year. In addition, I’ll be performing as Jesus in New Star Nashville’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Looby Center July 25 and 26, in which I’m looking forward to being back in the musical theatre space. But mostly I’m looking forward to continuing to entertain the masses of people coming to visit our fair city of Nashville!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/timcgibsonmusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timcgibsonmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timcgibsonmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@timcgibsonmusic
