Inside the Music with Tom Higgenson
Catching up with the Plain White T’s frontman and Elmhurst native
Music has always been a defining part of Plain White T’s founding member Tom Higgenson. “I honestly think I learned to read by looking at album covers and sounding out the names of bands,” said The Plain White T’s frontman as he smiled. “My parents had music on all the time in the house when I was a kid. From Michael Jackson to Guns N’ Roses. Lots of stuff from the eighties.”
Plain White T’s, a pop-punk band known for their catchy melodies, began as classmates at Willowbrook High School. In addition to Higgenson, the band, who also includes Tim Lopez, Mike Retondo, De’Mar Hamilton, and Dave Tirio, rose from humble DIY roots and self-funded albums early on. The world realized their feel-good, storytelling style largely through their breakout single, Hey There Delilah, re-released as a bonus track on their fourth studio album, Every Second Counts, in 2006. The song hit the Billboard Hot 100 as it went worldwide and was one of the ten best songs of 2007.
The following year saw it nominated for both Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Since then, Plain White T’s have toured worldwide. The band is known for its heartfelt lyrics and the genuine rapport it builds with fans. Subsequent hits like 1,2,3,4 (I Love You) and Rhythm of Love, among others, resonate with audiences. After a few upcoming local shows this winter, the band will be hitting the road in the spring with some new music.
Higgenson made time to chat with his hometown via Elmhurst Magazine Contributing Editor, Maureen Callahan
ELMHURST MAGAZINE (EM): HOW DID YOU START PERFORMING?
HIGGENSON: I got into music in middle school at Jackson Junior High in Villa Park. The music teacher’s name, funny enough, was Mr. Rock. He heard me sing in class, so he told my buddies in choir to convince me to join. That gave me confidence. From there, my choir friends and I tried out for a kids’ production of The Music Man. Another friend and I had a little rap duo called TNT (Tom and Tom). We wrote a rap song and performed it at the talent show and then the eighth-grade dance. I also played the lead in several musicals in high school. I realized how much I liked the stage.
EM: WHAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST IN MUSIC?
HIGGENSON: In my freshman year of high school, I got a set of drums. I put on Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters albums and played along. I got pretty decent. The following year, I got a guitar for Christmas, and a couple of buddies showed me some chords. I started writing and recording my own songs with a four-track. I brought some cassette tapes to school and passed them out to the other kids. My friends and I started jamming and playing Green Day stuff in my basement. It just led to starting a band. And that was Plain White T’s.
EM: HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME?
HIGGENSON: A lot of our favorite bands’ CD booklets had photos of people in plain white T-shirts, and we always thought it looked sort of classic.
EM: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST SHOW?
HIGGENSON: Our very first gig was a house party in Lincoln Park. The manager of a theater, where a couple of us worked, was throwing a holiday party and asked us to play. So we had to come up with some songs! We probably sounded terrible, but for us, it was the greatest thing ever. We covered some Lemonheads and Smoking Popes tunes.
EM: WHAT MUSICIANS/SINGERS HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR MUSICAL JOURNEY?
HIGGENSON: Weezer, for sure, in the beginning. Plain White T’s started out at a time when this shift was happening in music with bands like Nirvana and Green Day, and that kind of punk stuff. That music always spoke to me. As I got into writing music, I tended to lean more toward things that were a bit quirkier and less grungy. I feel like the band has always had an alternative heartbeat.
EM: WHAT WAS THE STORY BEHIND YOUR ALBUM ALL THAT WE NEEDED?
HIGGENSON: Plain White T’s had been pretty local up to that point. We had put out some self-funded releases. Then we made Stop, which was also self-funded, but we had our manager helping us at the time with A&R (artist and repertoire). And he told us we should record it. So we recorded it at a sixteen-year-old buddy’s house in Lombard. It ended up getting picked up by Fearless Records in California, and we got signed. It was a tiny, independent label. Then we toured on it.
EM: SO, WHO IS DELILAH?
HIGGENSON: She’s a completely real person, but it’s probably not what you think. I was playing a show at House of Blues, and my good friend asked if we could pick up her friend Delilah on the way. She was from the south side. I was trying to flirt with her all night, but she had a boyfriend, so I was just being goofy. At the end of the night, I gave her one of our Stop CDs. She left to go back to school in New York the next day. We kind of kept in touch over AOL Instant Messenger. From then on, whenever she came home, and I saw her with my other friend, she would ask ‘Hey, where’s my song? When do I get to hear it?’ So, then I actually had to write her a song!
EM: WHAT WAS HER REACTION TO HEY THERE DELILAH?
HIGGENSON: Delilah loved Hey There Delilah. But she was always very humble about it. She came with me to the Grammys when the song was nominated in 2008. She was very supportive of the band and always came when we played in New York. Nothing ever really happened with us, but I know the song meant a lot to her, especially as the tune went worldwide. I mean, for all we know, there’s someone humming that song on a train in Japan or somewhere right now. Delilah was glad to be a part of the moment. She still lives in the area. I’d like to think she’s happy when she’s driving around in her car and the song comes on the radio.
EM: WHAT IS YOUR SONGWRITING PROCESS?
HIGGENSON: It’s honestly different for every song. The other day, I was trying to push through some ideas, but that never works well. I find that if I have a lyrical idea, the song will sometimes write itself. I usually start something, then kind of step away from it and return later with fresh ears. Sometimes it’s days later. Other times, it’s an hour.
EM: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU HIT A CREATIVE BLOCK?
HIGGENSON: When I get writer’s block, I usually try to listen to something new. There’s a band called 100 gecs that wakes up all my senses. They’re kind of hyper-pop – sort of insane and glitchy and all genres mixed together. Jazz also helps. It’s such a palate cleanser. I can listen to a jazz song ten times because it’s so free-formed and structureless. It’s kind of the opposite of the music I make, so oddly enough, it helps my creativity.
EM: WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT ELMHURST?
HIGGENSON: What’s not to like? Elmhurst is paradise! Honestly, maybe it’s John Hughes syndrome or something, but growing up in suburban Chicago was amazing. I spend a lot of time out in L.A. in this industry and the friends I make usually end up being other Midwesterners. Seems like we find one another no matter where we go. There’s just something about this area. It’s a solid place.
EM: THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
HIGGENSON: My best advice came from our [Plain White T’s’] first manager, who helped us a lot with Stop. He always said, ‘Don’t quit. It might take one album, or it might take seven albums, but if you do your thing and stick with it, you’ll eventually find some sort of success.’ He was right. ■
The Encore Center for Performing Arts presents An Intimate Evening with the Plain White T’s on January 30. Ticket availability may be limited; visit ecpa-elmhurst.org for current details.
