Throwing stones out on the coast
It’s only rocks and sand
Watching the water carry ‘em out
And bring them back again
Tommy Prine releases his second single “Turning Stones” at the end of a full, emotional week as fans of his late father John Prine streamed into Nashville for a week-long celebration of the iconic singer-songwriter’s life and words.
Proud to acknowledge his family and his name, Tommy is quick to remind people, “I’m not John Prine Jr. I’m Tommy Prine, and I have a story as well. This is my story, so take a take a peek into my life.”
Tommy admits that as he was going up, he didn’t plan to play music professionally. He gained a wide range of experience behind the scenes. He worked a couple of internships, at a label and a gift shop. He even worked the door at Basement East for a while.
“Over time,” Tommy said, “I think I was afraid to take that leap. I knew that if I did, there was no turning back—it’s who you are–and it’s a very big commitment. Once you start putting yourself out in the in the public eye, you’re pouring all of you into what you do.” He obviously knows the demands of the life of a singer-songwriter.
He added, “As soon as I made the transition to being an artist and played my first show, I felt this huge wave come over me after I got off stage. I felt more like myself than I’d ever felt in my entire life. I realized I had just found what I need to be doing.”
Now that he’s taken the plunge, Tommy says he’s all in: “I think that’s the only way to make this work in any capacity. Anything worth something to you needs your full attention. The only way to do that is not to have a Plan B.”
Even though Tommy hasn’t always planned to perform, he started writing songs early. He had written a few songs for fun in his teen years but did not show them to friends until his early twenties, when he started inviting friends to write a song over a couple of beers.
He says, “After my father passed, I had so much going on in my head and in my heart, and I just didn’t know how to get it out or what to say to someone about it, so I just picked up a pen and start writing. It was the most beneficial thing I did it for myself through that time and still is. I feel like writing is the only way I can process my own emotions and my own perceptions of the world. Honestly, it’s been a kind of saving grace for me.”
Prine had the opportunity to take the stage during AmericanaFest 2022, playing a set at the Five Spot in East Nashville. While his first releases are labeled country music, he says Americana as an organization and as a genre is “a wide and accepting umbrella that takes in all sorts of sounds and culture and music, all under one big family.” His own music, he says, makes sense as country and makes sense in Americana–and some alternative as well.
Playing the festival was an honor, he said. “Anytime I get to play in Nashville, it’s special to me, obviously, because I’m from here. That show was my first time playing my songs with the band, and so many of my friends came out. Once I got up there and I started playing, I was just having a blast.” After opening his set with his full band, Prine switched to an acoustic portion, joined for a few songs by his good friend Ruston Kelly, who with Gena Johnson is co-producing Prine’s debut album set for release in early 2023. They performed Tommy’s first single “Ships in the Harbor,” released earlier this fall, as well as other new original songs, some co-written with Kelly.
Prine says that with the upcoming album, “I’m basically introducing myself to the world—as an artist and a person. All these things that make up our identity—brother, husband, son—are the things closest to us.” He calls the project “personal, vulnerable, the most self-reflection I’ve ever done in my life” but adds, “as a songwriter and an artist, if you’re not going to those scary and vulnerable places to the point where you’re asking yourself, ‘Is this too much?’ you’re not doing your job right.”
Prine says his working relationship with Johnson and Kelly is based on friendship and mutual trust. They could tell him which songs needed to be on the album and which did not. Prine wrote nine of the songs on the album himself, and two were co-writes with Kelly.
“In terms of the sound of the record,” said Prine, “Dena and Ruston put their heads together, and since they both know me so well, they found a sound that represents me as an artist.”
Prine is also pleased with the response to the first single, “Ships in the Harbor,” with big streaming numbers across all the platforms. “I just wasn’t expecting that, to be honest,” he admits. “I don’t know what I was expecting for my first time releasing music. It’s all so precious to me, and I care so much about my music. When I go play shows, it’s an intimate thing for the people that spent their hard-earned money to be there.”
Prine also recognizes that “Ships in the Harbor” resonates with people. The closing lines allude to his loss and the challenge to create songs of his own:
It takes time to know when your wrong
It takes even longer to put it all in a song,
And I wish it was easy too, like he did.
When I’m by peaceful waters
It gets harder and harder
I’d do anything just to talk to my father-
but I guess he was leaving soon, as we do
Yeah I guess, he was passing through; and I am too.
He said, “I know that my story of losing my father is obviously not an isolated experience. So many people have gone through various similar tragedies, whether it’s losing a father, a parent, a sibling, or a best friend.” He says is he touched most by people’s messages saying the song brought back emotions of their own losses or telling him that they hadn’t had a moment to grieve their own recent losses until they heard that song.
“Little things like that remind me then I’m so lucky to do what I do,” he added. “It’s overwhelming in a really good way.”
Tommy Prine’s experiences before launching his career as a performing artist served as preparation for the road, including a tour in November with Todd Snider. Prine said, “The number one thing you need to do if you want to be an artist is to go out on the road by yourself, just completely alone. Go out there and get your hotel rooms, wake up the next day, go to the next city, play the show, do everything all over again. Go meet the people at the show, sell the shirts, do it all yourself so you can learn. And I’ve learned more about myself in the last year and a half than I ever have.”
He spoke of the long, lonely nights on the road for ten days, which he had not done before, dealing with thoughts going on in his head.
“I think the road will show you who you are; it’ll create these little scenarios where no one else is gonna pack your things for you and make sure you eat breakfast and brush your teeth, make sure your voice sounds good later that day. It will make you ask yourself, ‘How bad do you want this thing?’ To be honest, it has taught me some of the most valuable lessons about being a person.”
Fans of his father’s songs may recognize his facility with word play, a skill that can’t be passed down without the hard work to mine the jewels. He says his songs reflect the way he has always thought about the world, adding, “The way that I communicate has always been a little off center. It’s like having a very descriptive narrator in my head. I know what’s good when I hear it and see it. I try to figure out what I like about someone’s writing style or lyrics and not necessarily mimic it, but learn what I like and why and then use that as a as a lens next time I write. It all just kind of adds up over time and I build my own style.”
Prine says he is particularly drawn to melodies. “Lyrics are important. There’s an infinite number of combinations of things you could say–and most of them are wrong, but melodies are what I focus on the most just because it’s so difficult to create an original melody. Sometimes when I write a song, my wife will tell me it’s just ‘Cover Me Up’ by Jason Isbell with different words. I’ll think, ‘Alright. Sweet. Back to the drawing board.”
Tommy Prine knew before he started that he had to come to terms with expectations based on his last name. He knew people would have judgments and preconceived notions. He said, “There’s only one way to do this. I’m going to doing it my way. I’m sure people can find some similarities. The man was my father. I learned a lot from him, obviously, but I have my own styles and my own experiences. I’m a different person, and I’m thankful I’ve been able to get that across. I don’t necessarily feel like I’m walking in his shadow. I feel like I’m walking alongside my dad’s legacy.”
Tommy has come to terms with the reality that fans feel as if they own a piece of his late father. He explained, “There is John Prine and then there’s my dad. People didn’t get to go on a road trip to Arkansas and hop in a fishing boat with my dad. They didn’t get to see the new Quentin Tarantino movies at the Green Hills theater every time one came out. That’s the stuff that I did. There’s the guy on stage and we love him, but then there’s the man he was at home.
“I appreciate deeply what my father did with music and the number of people that he touched. I don’t think I’m able to wrap my head around the impact he had—but people are people, and we all want to feel connected. Music is the sturdiest bridge that connects all of us.”