Q&A: Meet Thomas Fiss

On Saturday, Aug. 13, recording artist Thomas Fiss performed during the Shop ‘Til You Rock event at . After breaking away from pop group Varsity Club in 2009, Fiss has made a name for himself with his melodic voice and impressive guitar chops. 

In an interview with Patch, Fiss talked about his new musical direction. Here is the conversation.

Patch: Are you trying to shed the image of a former “boy band” member?

Thomas Fiss: I’m not so much trying shed it, I'm just exploring different styles of music. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do since high school. With music, everything influences the final product, so [being in the Varsity Club] was a stepping stone.

P: Do you find that your fans are following along with your career? 

TF: When leaving a group, it can go one of two ways: it can benefit you or it can be the worst decision you ever made. Thankfully, it’s turned out to be all positive. The fan base is growing and it’s amazing.

P: Do you find it difficult, having it be all about you now and not having to share the spotlight?

TF: Definitely. It’s difficult, but I’m comfortable in an open mic setting with just my guitar. I love it. Doing this is way better than a normal job. 

P: Speaking of your acoustic guitar, you seem to be much more musically experienced than the average “boy band” member. Have you had musical training?

TF: Thank you. I picked up the trumpet in the fourth grade (super random), then moved on to drums, then the guitar. 

I studied music by taking college courses through my high school. When other kids got out at 1:45 p.m., I stayed until 5 p.m. every day, studying.

I actually applied to San Diego State for their music program, but I didn’t get in. And then a week later I got signed to Capitol Records. You can’t let anyone say no to you; you got to go out and get it. 

P: What are some of your musical influences?

TF: Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, The Beatles — anything that I can get inspired by. One Republic is a huge inspiration. 

P: Do you write your own music?

TF: Normally, I do. I was about 80 songs deep for this new EP, but I wasn’t really happy with any of them. I kept going back to these songs written by Ryan Tedder [lead singer for the band One Republic] and I was just inspired by them. I went to him and now I’m doing them my own way. 

P: Now that your new album RT EP is about to come out, how do you feel?

TF: There’s always that moment when you’re recording something and you go, “Can I change this, should I do this differently?” But listening to it now, I can honestly say it’s the first body of work where I’m like, “No, it’s perfect.”

Follow Thomas Fiss on Twitter @ThomasFiss, or his Facebook page by clicking here. To visit his official website, click here.