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Luke Tonge: ‘On The Bow’ by Chuck Ragan
62 Plays7 months ago
Craft, community, solidarity and skateboarding: This chat with Luke Tonge goes places! It may be the shortest track we’ve heard so far on Survival Songs, but it sure still packs a punch. And Luke is the perfect person to introduce you to it. We hope you love it.
Luke is a graphic designer (& occasional lecturer), originally from Nottinghamshire and now, via Falmouth, proudly flying the flag for the West Midlands, where he & his wife Tash live. With a passion for craft, nourished by pop culture, his practise focuses on creating compelling identity & editorial work for brands, agencies and charities. As co-director of Birmingham Design, the organisation responsible for the Birmingham Design Festival & Gather, he spends much of his time championing the creative community. He is very into kindness, fun and wearing shorts.
Show notes:
Website: www.luketonge.com
Instagram: @luketonge
Help us a grow a community of survival song listeners by joining us on over on Substack:
https://survivalsongs.substack.com/
Luke Tonge: ‘On The Bow’ by Chuck Ragan can be found on our community playlist on Spotify along with our listener’s Survival Songs. Check it out and add your own!
This episode contains small portions of Luke Tonge: ‘On The Bow’ by Chuck Ragan. Survival Songs claims no copyright of this work. This is included as a form of music review and criticism and as a way to celebrate, promote and encourage the listener to seek out the artists work.
Find out more about ARTIST here:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6iU0naWn1UgiTReoiXqPXI?si=yhNIpsVRTEGW8PeAYfXeJw
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Transcript
Introductions & Concept of Survival Songs
00:00:01
Speaker
I'm Lydia. I'm Ed. We're friends with a playlist for everything. And it turns out, we both have one called Survival Songs. And he got us thinking, what are other people's Survival Songs? So we thought we'd find out.
00:00:15
Speaker
Welcome to Survival Songs. A podcast where each episode our guest tells us about a song that gets them through the best and worst of times. Sensitive topics might be discussed. So look after yourself. The show contains portions of copyrighted material.
Supporting Artists and Community Engagement
00:00:29
Speaker
We'd love for you to support and celebrate the artists by streaming, downloading and buying their brilliant music. And go give our guests a follow on social media.
00:00:38
Speaker
Help us grow the community of survival song listeners by joining us over on Substack and add to our public playlist on Spotify. Links are in the show notes. We hope you enjoy the show.
Guest Introduction: Luke Tong
00:00:50
Speaker
Welcome back to Survival Songs. It's Lydia here this week and I am talking to the wonderful Luke Tong. ah Luke sent me a variety of bios to choose from and I'm going to read you the longest because it's juicy. Luke is a graphic designer and occasional lecturer, originally from Nottinghamshire and now via Falmouth, proudly flying the flag for the West Midlands where he and his wife Tash live.
00:01:17
Speaker
With a passion for craft, nourished by pop culture, his practice focuses on creating compelling identity and editorial work for brands, agencies, and charities.
Influence of Music on Luke's Life
00:01:29
Speaker
As co-director of Birmingham Design, the organisation responsible for the Birmingham Design Festival and Gather, he spends much of his time championing the creative community. He is very into kindness, fun, and wearing shorts. And as I learned,
00:01:46
Speaker
in this interview, also t-shirts of the band that he is talking about. We had such a gorgeous conversation. There's so much in this song that relates to him the things that you've just heard in that biography and I'm sure you'll hear them as you go along. You're about to hear a little clip with the gorgeous On the Bow by Chuck Reagan.
00:02:08
Speaker
where
00:02:17
Speaker
And that was a little bit of On the Bow by Chuck Reagan, which is the survival song of our guest today, Luke Tong. Hello Luke, how are you? Hello. I'm really well, thank you. I hope everyone enjoyed that. Thanks for having me. That little bit that everyone just heard in post-production that we didn't just hear. Exactly. I hope it was a good bit, yeah. But if you're listening like me, you've been listening to it on repeat for the last hour. It's such a gorgeous, gorgeous song. My goodness. I get goosebumps every time. I am my cue. Yes, exactly. Same, same, same thing. Yeah. Tell me about it, Luke. How did you find this song?
00:02:54
Speaker
Oh, my goodness. So I could I could give you the very long version, but we've only got a few minutes. So I'll give you the truncated version. and um I grew up in the 90s, I guess, was born in 85. So in the late 90s, when kind of punk rock was becoming a bit more of a commercial thing, I was getting into um alternative sports, which is such a funny title when you look back like alternative music, alternative sports, non mainstream stuff.
00:03:22
Speaker
um aggressive skating, which again, what a weird way to describe it, but that's what it was called. So I was clearly clearly in my teen angst years. And when I was probably, I think in 1998, I bought a CD that was a Vans off the Wall sampler CD from Roller Snakes, which was a bit of an institution in the north if you're into skating and BMXing as I was. And I discovered a whole new world of music. Prior to that, it kind of been stuff that I love still, like Bon Jovi and Queen and stuff that my big brother was into. But this this was like AFI and Mill and Colin and loads of like melodic skate punk stuff. And it just changed my world and has stayed with me ever since. i've kind of My musical tastes have not changed much in the last 30 years.
00:04:11
Speaker
um And yeah, so i I think around that time, a couple of years later, a band called Hot Water Music were on a compilation, which was probably one of the Tony Hawk's skateboarding games. And i I must have heard that track either on there or another compilation. and Sorry, a track called Remedy by Hot Water Music. And Hot Water Music is the band that was fronted by the singer, Chuck Reagan. And so throughout my whole life,
00:04:39
Speaker
Certainly adolescence, Chuck has been kind of one of those voices that I've just adored and seen live whenever possible. and Then kind of tracking with my growth in my mid-20s, Chuck started putting out solo music. and So i was ah lots of kind of punk singers, frontmen from bands started becoming more folk solo singers in that season. It was kind of a bit of a thing that he really instigated or was the first of ah people to do that. And I suppose that kind of tracked with my tastes changing a little bit and being more open to things that wasn't just shouty music in my shouty younger days. um Yeah, and i I went to see the Revival Tour, which we can talk a bit more about um in 2010, 11, 12, for a number of years when it happened. And this was just a song that
00:05:36
Speaker
as people will have heard, you know the music stops and a group of singers come together and do this acapella. Really raw, emotive, very short, like less than two minutes long, this song that Chuck had written. But it just it encapsulates so much for me about that.
00:05:53
Speaker
that community, about that music genre, about my relationship with that music, about so many kind of points in my life. So yeah, it was an easy pick for me, although there were so many songs I could have chosen, that just really stands out. It's also my ringtone, so I, sorry, it's my alarm tone, so in the morning, Chuck sings, I woke one morning and that wakes me up. And I've not got bored of it, and I've had that for several years. So yeah, it's just a very special piece of music.
The Power of Live Music Events
00:06:21
Speaker
Yeah, and you're the first person to send me like five different versions of it in the run-up. Keep listening to it. Here's another one. Yeah, yeah and here's one with a woman and here's one that's warm and it's long because they're taking their time i am yeah and it and it never ever fails. Like I thought the ah streaming service one was amazing, but then you send me three or four live versions and it's just it's just time-saving, isn't it? Do you have a yeah Do you have a go-to or is that too big a question? Is there a version where you're like this is it really? So I'm a sucker for good musical production so I really like the studio version that's like the real authentic one and the the musicians that are singing well sorry the singers that are on that track with Chuck um their voices really come through in beautiful ways. There's a singer called Dave House who's from a band called The Loved Ones and he hits these like really
00:07:17
Speaker
higher pitched, just really beautiful notes. And that comes through on that that proper studio recorded version. So I think that is that's the one that I can just listen to and not get bored of. But I do still watch some of those videos on YouTube to get the vibes and relive those days. Sadly, the the revival tour didn't last for too many years. And So I feel like it was a very special point in time and actually having those videos to look back on is really lovely as well as having the the kind of songs that never average age. Well it sounds like a total time capsule of a song for you because it stretches so far back and then there were these live music moments since it's you've grown up together by the sounds of it. Yeah.
00:08:00
Speaker
Yeah, and I feel like I'm one of those people that annoyingly has to like rank everything in my brain. I'm always making lists of like top 10 this, and it's ah it's followed me throughout my life. It's not an intentional thing. but Chuck Reagan is definitely like my top one singer and top one hot work music would be my favorite band from that kind of point of view. um So it is, it's a voice that's been with me for 20 years. And I feel like unless people really know that music, have given some time to listening to that, you you won't appreciate quite like what a weapon Chuck's voice is. It's this like incredibly rich, deep gravelly, it's like,
00:08:41
Speaker
It's like gravel. I don't know. It's incredible. his His voice is amazing. When you see him live, you really get that. I think there's something really lovely about when a song kind of aligns with how you see the world or or the singer does. And I feel like Chuck He's all about camaraderie and community, and the tour really epitomized that. It's very, without ego, it's people just singing together and sharing. And yeah, it just it resonates on a lot of levels.
00:09:12
Speaker
I can hear that. Yeah, you're a you're a play space guy. And it sounds like the whole vibe of the content of the lyrics and the way it was shared with the world both resonate with that. But I'm interested in when you first heard it, if or around the time that you first heard it, if you can recall what first struck you about it because this is all very kind of, it all makes a lot of sense to your way of being in the world now but as a young man to be arrested by a song like that, it's i mean yeah it's not the Skater Boy song I would be kind of assigning to to most lads into punk rock in their their bikes you know. Quite and I think it was very different to
00:09:53
Speaker
you know, anyone that's any seen kids growing up in the noughties that were into that alternative stuff, it mostly was quite shouty, quite angry, quite fast, quite abrasive. And I think it spoke to me on a deeper level because I I think it's what it represented and it felt like a ah really lovely break from the chaos and that kind of stillness that descends, even in those shows, they're still quite
00:10:25
Speaker
lively and energetic and sweaty and it's this kind of moment of pause. Not everything has to be 11 and super loud to be lovely and there's there's a lovely tradition that this kind of sits in of like folk music and sea shanties and gospel and all of these things country that it's not any one of them but it's kind of akin to all of them.
00:10:50
Speaker
Yeah, just it really hit me where I needed hitting and stayed with me and has felt like one of those goosebumps moments every time I hear it. And it's like a safe place to go in and I would just play it on repeat for you know ages and ages, just listening to these voices and the mix.
00:11:09
Speaker
um And it felt like a very pure moment when I would do that. Yeah, and you hear something different every time. um This feels like a harder question for you because it is such a short song. and We've had a lot of people choose so five, six, seven, eight minutes and ah and then just casually say, oh, it's because it gives me a moment to rest. I'm like, it's not a moment, it's an hour.
00:11:33
Speaker
no But you really, it's it's a minute and 40 if you're looking at the streaming platform version. And like you say, it's only 10 lines long. So I feel bad asking this, but is there a bit, Luke? Is there a bit that you wait for or a line or some kind of musical element to it? Like, if there isn't, I mean, the the whole thing is short enough.
00:11:55
Speaker
Yeah, but no band playing on it either. um I think it's it's the opening line is that it's that I woke one morning. a wo one moon
00:12:09
Speaker
a I feel like I love it so much that i as soon as it's gone, I miss it and I'm like, oh, wait wait till it's finished and then I'll play it again. Just that the opening kind of rasp of Chuck's voice and then the other voices coming and joining.
00:12:23
Speaker
I'm just like, oh yeah, I'm there again. That's good. This is, yeah, this is nice. And you've you've painted a few pictures that relate to this question for me, not least that it's your alarm in the morning, which I think is amazing. I'm interested in how this summarises survival for you or is related, has a relationship with survival for you, because I can see why it would be a favourite song, but to yeah think of it as a survival song is something else.
00:12:47
Speaker
Yeah, and there's definitely songs that are more yeah i don't more emotive in their lyrics, for instance, that I love that i I would think, oh, that makes me feel sad, or that makes me feel happy, or I think it's the bigger picture of what this song represents. And it is that there's a real um community is such a esoteric, hard thing to pin down. But I think you see it really distilled and like crystallized. when When you go to shows like The Revival Tour and you see singers singing together and an audience and the interplay and you're there with friends or loved ones, those moments of interaction and live music are so can be really transformative and special. And over a period of time,
00:13:37
Speaker
They kind of fall into lore and folklore and myth in your life of like these magical times and these experiences that you've had with people. and to be able to kind of For me, it's like a bottling of that. and It's this harmony and this togetherness and this blend that speaks to me of what that scene is all about, which is about all of those things togetherness and brotherhood and camaraderie and not being like, who's the front man? And who's the when you when you see them sing it live, Chuck will often step back from the microphone because he's got such a big voice and it lets all of the others kind of find their place. And I feel like there's so many metaphors and like beauty in that as a picture of
00:14:20
Speaker
how life can be with people. um it I hear those notes and I get like friendship and warmth and community and togetherness very quickly. And that I feel like that's what makes it survival song for me. it kind of It fills me with those feelings to get through tough times or to ah feel a bit of hope in the face of uncertainty or adversity.
00:14:45
Speaker
What I'm hearing is that you're kind of, and you're spotting a model of hospitality. It's like, ah he he's hosting a stage full of people. Can I assume that the group around him changes? So like, there'll have been all sorts of people over the years who've sung those extra harmonies. He just pulls up, lovers around. and But the container is there for people to take part. So there's a way of doing it and it's,
00:15:09
Speaker
so He's driven the bus up and he's opened the doors and everyone's jumping in and going for you know that journey. and That's what makes it or what made it a really special experience because he knew you would never see these specific groups of people together again. When you know that this is a one-off, that feels really special. you know So many of those singers that were on those tours were my favorite singers from other favorite bands.
00:15:32
Speaker
So to get this kind of stripped back, raw, more vulnerable performance from them and for them to be doing it together with this real sweet spirit of unity, you know, they would just wander on and off stage and start singing in the middle of each of the songs. And you don't get that at shows normally. You might get like one person comes out and plays one song with another band. But it it really did feel like that communal thing. So yeah, you're bang on with what you've just said. yeah Well, I hope I'm not reaching too far, but it feels very, very resonant with how you work and the kinds of spaces that you lead or the kinds of invitations that you extend just from the bits that I know about the work that you do.
Parallels Between Music and Design
00:16:13
Speaker
i ah i' I'm sure that this song maybe played a role in some of that feeling and fueled, if not possible, but like ah you weren't making that work forever, so you've probably had the song longer than you've been making the spaces.
00:16:28
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're right. I think that I try and spot the parallels and sometimes they're there and sometimes they're not, but that piece about togetherness and unity and sharing shared experience.
00:16:40
Speaker
um yeah This year, we I helped run a design festival and there were so many parallels with like the live music experience that I was just seeing and feeling and just thinking, oh, this this is like our version of that. And it's not quite the same and it is a different thing. but It's as close to that feeling of shared experience and and joyful community thing that I'll ever get to because I'm not a musician and I'm not in a band. The nearest I get is doing their logos. So yeah, there's definitely learnings and parallels and a kinship there of how I see what, how I want us to approach that kind of community work.
00:17:22
Speaker
um and how I see that playing out in this kind of music and this kind of scene, definitely.
Conclusion & How to Connect with Luke
00:17:28
Speaker
I've absolutely loved this conversation. We've um alluded to your work a little bit, but if people want to find out more about what you're doing and what's coming up for you, where would they go looking for that? LukeTongue.com is the easy answer. Luke Tongue on the socials, fairly findable.
00:17:46
Speaker
weird surname so yeah come find me say hi if you're ever in Birmingham anyone swing by come to our events we'd love to see you thanks Luke this has been great thank you so much for having me let me talk about music
00:18:08
Speaker
We really hope you enjoyed the episode. If you want to support the podcast further you can choose to upgrade your subscription on Substack, but most of all we'd just love it if you told your friends about what we're up to. Thanks for listening.