Tom Tikka, formerly of the Sony/BMG/Warner Music band Carmen Gray, is now releasing solo songs as The Missing Hubcaps. He is also one half of The Impersonators, a Finnish musical duet. Tikka signed with MTS Records in 2020 and released a solo EP named "Working Class Voodoo." It contained the title track, which was a UK iTunes chart-topper. Following the global success of his Christmas classic, "Just Like Xmas (Love Is War)," Tom released the "That's What Winston Churchill Said" EP in January 2021, which included many Top 5 iTunes global successes.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Tom Tikka & The Missing Hubcaps, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What have you been up to over the past year in this big old mess?
I’ve been doing what I’m always doing anyway: writing and recording!
We’ve gone from one lockdown to the next. COVID-19 is awful, isn’t it? I hate living in constant fear of catching this illness. A few friends have succumbed to it. I wish we’d get rid of it already. I miss travelling and I miss going to places without wearing a mask. I keep telling myself that we’ll get back to normal one day.
Having said all of that, none of this has really had any effect on my making music. If anything, there’s been more time to record and mix. Like quite a few people, I’ve been working from home, which means I have two extra hours every day that I’d otherwise spend on commuting. I’ve put that towards cutting records. I have a home studio, so it’s very convenient. After the family retires, I go upstairs and plug in.
How was the collaboration with The Missing Hubcaps?
Well, the thing about The Missing Hubcaps is that they are actually missing. That’s where the name of the group comes from. The band has one member: me. I play and sing everything. It’s an imaginary rock band.
The name pays tribute to my late father. After breaking one of his custom-made hubcaps when I helped him put on snow tires about twenty-five years ago, my dad angrily suggested that I change the name of my band at the time to Tommy & The Missing Hubcaps. I remember thinking it was the lamest band name I had ever heard. Obviously, it wasn’t meant to be a keeper – My dad just took a verbal stab at me for not focusing on the task at hand.
He wasn’t crazy about the fact that I was thinking about music constantly, even when I was helping out around the house. As a father of six these days, I get that. When things break just because somebody can’t find it in them to concentrate, it’s aggravating. However, when it came time to choose a name for my solo venture a few years ago, my father’s heat-of-the-moment suggestion entered my consciousness again. My dad passed on a few years ago so I also felt that choosing that particular name for my make-believe band would be a great way to honor his memory.
Your latest song is 'By 2022'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
I wouldn’t say there was anything unusual. I’m actually wondering now what something like that might even be and it’s putting a smile on my face.
This was just me sitting down in an attempt to write a bona fide pop tune. In fact, the genesis of “By 2022” was a bit unusual now that I think about it. I was asked to write a tune for somebody else but I liked the end result so much that I wanted to put the tune out myself. I really dig the harmonies in the chorus and all the little electronic bits that are happening here and there.
It’s a song about New Year’s resolutions and the lyrics are basically addressing the upcoming year. The tune was born out of an extremely naïve thought that perhaps by the time the year changes, everything will fall into place miraculously. I’m sure I’m not the first person to play such mind games. Of course, in real life, miracles don’t come around very often. My grandma used to say, “If you want a miracle, work hard at producing one.” Obviously, she was right. Yet, every once in a while, it’s wonderful to take a break from reality and pretend that you can have a conversation with the future, a bargaining session almost, where you speak your mind bluntly and express your fears, hopes and dreams, and possibly change things for the better.
What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?
Friday nights. My parents were music lovers and there was always music on around the house. I have these vivid memories of my dad coming home from work on Fridays and pouring himself a stiff drink. After he had downed that, the records would come out. I loved sitting down with him. He owned quite a few legendary albums of the sixties and seventies. We’d listen to them together and then he’d tell me about the artists. He was a merchant marine in his youth, so there’d always be a few sailor stories thrown in for good measure. Those are great memories. My eyes are welling up.
One special Friday comes to mind. My dad and I were making lasagna. This was in the late eighties. Keith Richards’ Talk Is Cheap had just come out. He had bought it on the day it was released. We listened to the album quite a few times that night and my dad told me how he had seen the Stones play in the sixties.
My dad was a wee bit toasted and started singing over “How I Wish”. All of a sudden all the lights went out and the music died. My mom had turned the power off from the circuit breaker. She had gone to bed a few hours before and had decided that we were making too much noise. I remember that my dad and I just cracked up. We were laughing and laughing. “I think we’d better turn in, son,” my dad said. We giggled while walking in the dark, running into the furniture, trying to find our way to our bedrooms. It was fantastic!
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as an artist?
In my case, I write and record constantly. I have a studio at home, so I’ll finish a song every week. I play and sing all the parts myself and I mix and produce my own stuff, so I’m wearing many hats. Yet, there’s so much I still haven’t figured out about record production. That’s what I am doing now, trying to get as good as possible in producing records.
I’m always learning new instruments also. It took me a few years to learn the drums and the bass properly. Now I’m learning harmonica. Next, I’ll try to figure out the ukulele. It’s a never-ending process that I love. I don’t need to ensure that I evolve, nobody’s ever been able to keep me away form making music. It’s what I’ll be doing until I croak.
What is the biggest challenge of being an artist?
To find an audience!
I’ve gotten very lucky. I’ve been blessed with people who have truly appreciated my music and consequently, have released my records and furthered my career. It all really started when Carmen Gray was signed to Sony/BMG. Little by little, I became a professional songwriter and artist. I remember the first time I heard my tunes played on the radio. It was amazing.
How do you structure your day?
My kids structure my day for me. In the mornings, I take them to daycare and school, then I work, after which I pick them up and bring them back home. Then, it’s the usual stuff: cooking, playing, watching some TV and ultimately going to bed. I record at night when everyone’s gone to sleep. That way, I don’t lose any time with my family.
Do you have any shows coming up?
I don’t do live shows anymore. It’s a one-man band so it’d be rather difficult anyway. I won’t say never though. If my music goes viral and there’s a real need and demand for me to go and perform, I’ll put a band together and teach them the parts. However, until that happens, I’ll do this from the comfort of my own home.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Stick with the music you like because that’s where your ultimate strength lies. So many bands and writers start writing and producing tracks that they feel improve their chances to become successful. However, if it isn’t the real you, it will not be the best you, and this usually means that there are people to whom the music style you are copying comes naturally, which gives them a huge advantage over you.
I’m also pretty sure that a lot of musicians burn out chasing after the wrong thing. It’s very easy to do that because anyone who ever goes as far as signing a recording contract will have at least a small attraction to becoming famous and being worshipped by fans and critics alike. If you don’t grow out of that and realize that cutting records is a job like everything else, you will probably end up disillusioned and miserable. I’ve seen it happen to quite a few people. Try to avoid that.
What are your plans for next year?
Well, as we already established, I have a new song out called “By 2022”. It came out on December 3rd along with a music video.
There will be another Hubcaps single out in February and my group The Impersonators will release a new album in the summer or fall. Beyond that I have no idea. Man makes plans and God laughs!
Looking forward to 2022 though. It’ll be exciting.