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I made this art when Trump was elected the first time in 2017. It's been hanging on the wall in my house ever since. It found a new home for the month of April, 2025 in the Reclaimed Gallery Show at @thecolabraleigh
The Gist of this Art
The stars in the lower right suggest an upside-down US flag. The U.S. flag code, which is not legally enforceable, says explicitly that the flag is not to be inverted “except as a signal of dire distress in an instance of extreme danger to life or property.” We're currently in a real instance of dire distress.
Another common distress signal is an orange flag with a black square and a black ball. It can be used as an alternative distress signal when other methods fail.
The gold tinfoil coin is a chocolate candy wrapper. The chocolate wasn't very good but the wrapper worked for this project.
The torn newsprint in the background is the May 2017 cover article that the Indy Week ran when NC Senator Richard Burr sided with Trump and said that "He wont let the Trump-Russia investigation turn into a which hunt."
This is my second version of this piece. My first version was used for the CD cover design that I did for Tin Whiskers 2017 album "Plans for a Gong".
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Still Awake & Alive (Field Recordings)
Here are some videos from my recent gigs. These are recordings done by my family and friends on their phones. The sound quality varies from half decent to pretty bad depending on who was recording me, what kind of phone they were using, and a host of other variables that we were all experiencing out "In The Field". My best videographer is my 12-year-old son, Brock. He has gotten some pretty good clips for me at my gigs with my iPhone XR. The Sleepy Tom Marketing Machine rolls on! Thanks for listening!
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These are some of the home recordings that I've done over the past twenty years.
Bio
Tom Forsythe, AKA Sleepy Tom, Blues and roots singer/songwriter/guitarist. Designer/Owner, Archetype Graphic Design & Writing Services and SmallDogLaughing.
I've been living and playing music in the Triangle for over 30 years. I play mostly blues along with a few originals and covers by artists like Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. Over the years, I have played with blues artists, Big Boy Henry and New Orleans street singer, Slewfoot. I have also recorded with monster guitarist & multi-instrumentalist, Kirk Charles Heydt, AKA Tin Whiskers.
I perform solo as a one-man band. For some of the electric Chicago-style blues, I add drums using a floor tom and snare with foot pedals. For funkier songs, I also add bass and drums using a Digitech Trio "Band in a box” pedal.
LOCAL OBSCURITIES
A collection of my original songs that almost no one has ever listened to.
I record everything at home. I do the vocals, most of the guitar, and percussion instruments. Cello, Sax, Keys, Drums, and lead guitar were played by Tin Whiskers A.K.A Kirk Heydt.
I do the mixing and the incredibly unmasterful-mastering myself. I am also the sole proprietor and staff member at The Sleepy Tom Marketing Machine. All of this might explain why, after playing music in the triangle area for over thirty years, I am still so obscure even in these small towns. The above-mentioned in addition to of course having a style the taste for which needs to be acquired over time and seems not to have been by many also probably explains why these songs have been heard by so few. So thank you for listening if you did and thanks in advance if you think you ever might!
VIDEOS