Jon Gomm - Topeka

"I've never been to Topeka, but I have reason to believe it sounds like this."

From the album "Don't Panic" - listen and buy here: http://www.jongomm.com/ (Also available on iTunes and from Candyrat.com and GuitarCDs.net)

With this tune I was trying to capture that feeling of nostalgia you can sometimes get for a place or time you've never actually experienced, only imagined. In this case I was going for 1950's smalltown America. I decided to name it after Topeka (pronounced "Tuh-PEE-kuh"), Kansas, which ain't exactly small, but it is the hometown of my buddy Andy McKee, the loveliest, most down-to-earth solo guitar player on the circuit.

The tuning is Ab, Eb, C, F, G, Bb. Like an Ab major 13 chord. And the top two strings both get retuned during the intro and outro - the G goes to an A and the Bb to a C. If you want to try this tune at home, I'd recommend tuning up a tone from where I am, cos I use super-heavy strings - try it at Bb, F, D, G, A, C.

Filmed by Dom Bennison and friends at the University of Chester, Warrington Campus, March 2010.