PAUL THORN BAND
BENEFIT FOR TYBEE WISHES
I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Paul Thorn before his
show at the Tybee Post Theater last week to get the scoop on the man
behind the microphone, as well as being the writer of two of my favorite
songs, “It’s a Great Day to Whup Somebody’s Ass” and “I Don’t Like Half
the Folks I Love.” Combining a mixture of Americana, Southern Rock,
Country Blues and Blues Rock, Paul Thorn is a perfect combination of
foot twitching, head bobbing, bass ripping, throaty vocals, down home
good vibes and just a great time with a beer in your hand! Here is the
history.
Born in Wisconsin, but raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, Paul’s daddy was
a Pentecostal Minister and Paul started out singing in the choir. Growing
up he got into boxing and was 14 years old when he got into his first
‘professional’ fight. At 25 years old and with a ranking of 29th middle
weight world champ and a record of 14 - 4 under his belt literally, he
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decided to retire his boxing gloves after his fight with the famous fighter
Roberto Duran. Wow!!! Good thing for us as Paul dipped right back into
music.
Playing all the local clubs and building up his repertoire, Paul was
finally discovered by a family member of the drummer for The Police.
He opened shortly thereafter for Sting! Sting!!! What a trip that must
have been. When I asked him what that was like and if he was nervous,
Paul said, “I’m not nervous with anyone. Going into the ring makes me
nervous.” Well, that’s fair. Paul has also opened for such notables as
Huey Lewis & The News, Bonnie Raitt, Toby Keith, Jeff Beck and more.
But this is not about them. It is about their good taste in their opening
act though!
Quickly getting signed on with A & M, they produced his first album.
When things went a little sideways, Paul hooked up with his old friend
Billy Maddox. Having met his best friend when they were just 17 years
old, Paul and Billy started self-producing and writing music. Purely on
a handshake this friendship and partnership has turned out 13 more
albums, all received well by the fans and the critics, and the duo and
the band members are continuing strong.
Having interviewed my fair share of bands (four), I have never seen
MusicProfile By Alaina Loughridge