Interview: Tommy Prine Shows That Stellar Songwriting Runs in the Family at Fete Music Hall
When it comes to the craft of songwriting, very few musicians have had as much of an impact as John Prine. His influence on other musicians is immense and his legacy is still being felt after his passing back in 2020. The direct carrier of that legacy his is son Tommy, who has recently forged a solo career of his own while showing that the apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree when it comes to musical talent. On June 23 at Fete Music Hall on 103 Dyke Street in Providence, Tommy is going to be performing in the lounge for what should be an intimate experience. Kentucky rockers Wayne Graham are going to be opening up the evening around 7pm.
Tommy and I had a talk ahead of the show about a new song he has out, having a wide palate when it comes to the music he listens to and his thoughts on performing in Providence.
This past March, you released a new single, which is a rendition of the John Moreland heartbreak ballad “You Don’t Care For Me Enough To Cry”. Where was it recorded and what inspired the ambient tones that act like a sheen over the acoustic guitar chords?
We recorded it at the Apple Music offices in Nashville as part of my Apple Sessions where they essentially invited an artist out to a super nice studio to cut two or three songs. I chose to do that song by John Moreland because he’s on my Mount Rushmore of songwriters and the thing that was fun about it specifically was it was my first time producing my own stuff. It was just me and my good friend Jason Wilber, who was actually my dad’s guitar player for quite some time. We went into the studio, and I basically just tried to mimic the melody that John wrote in that song as well as I could, but kind of through the lens of my own fingerpicking. I’ve seen Jason play so many shows where I know what kind of flavor he can add to it, so it was easy to communicate to him that I wanted these swelly, sort of atmospheric tones
It lent itself to applying the focus of the song onto the amazing lyrics that John Moreland wrote, so I just wanted to create an equally beautiful sonic space but also give enough room to where the focus point was the lyrics.
Very cool. The cover art for the single is really cool with it being a sketch of a girl sitting in a field in front of a mountain. Who originally made that and is there any symbolism behind it?
That actually is from one of my oldest friends, his name is Caney Hummon. We met in the fifth grade, and he’s always been a prodigy at drawing, painting and everything so I’ve had him do a couple things for me. He’s done some of my merch designs. I called him and sent him the song when it was mastered while telling him “I don’t really know what I want but I want you to draw something for this”, so that was all him. He created this very beautiful, scenic, kind of moody drawing and he picked the colors & tones for it with the sharp lines. He’s an incredible, incredible artist.
That’s awesome. It’s obvious to say that your father John has had an influence on your music, but what are some other musicians and bands who’ve made an impact on your artistic approach? Do you consider yourself to have a wide-ranging musical palate?
Yeah, man. Honestly, I listen to so much music that I don’t make and likely will never make. I listen to a lot of ’90s hip hop, stuff like Outkast, but when I sit down and I write, it’s essentially the opposite of that kind of music in a way. It’s not really so much of me drawing from specific influences of certain projects, artists and genres, it’s really more of me drawing from my love those things and trying to imitate what I enjoy about those types of music while implementing that into my own songs.
Ok, I totally get that. What are your thoughts on coming up to Providence to play Fete Music Hall? Is this going to be your first time playing here?
I think so, I think it is going to be my first time coming to Providence and I’m excited. I’ve been to Newport, which I know isn’t that far from Providence, and I just love that part of the country in general. I’m really looking forward to getting up there and with the nice weather it should be a good time.
Yeah, absolutely. Can we expect a new record from you in the near future or do you plan on releasing any more singles?
I actually just released a deluxe version of my debut album This Far South, which people can check out on all the streaming services.
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