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Recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with Lee Heir of Prime. Among other things, we touch on what he’s been up to during the lockdown, his newest music, his origins, and what he’s looking forward to the most once COVID-19 breaks.
Learn more about Prime via their webpage, Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, and Instagram. Cheers.
Andrew:
Lee, I appreciate you taking the time today. How have you been holding up over the last year or so? What have you been up to?
Lee:
I’ve been holding up okay thanks. Some rough times but it’s getting there. During the COVID situation, we released a CD compilation of our singles and album tracks from 2014 onwards called Art/Facts, and our penultimate Prime single, “Jeff Took A Trip,” has just come out. That and the video has had a nice reception.
Andrew:
Before we dive into your professional career, let’s go back a bit. What first got you hooked on music and was your earliest influence?
Lee:
I wouldn’t have called us professional at any point but thank you! I was always a big music fan, and I’d say that indie stuff like Blur, New Order, Oasis, and Suede got my attention before Classic Rock like Bowie, The Doors, and The Rolling Stones made me want to start a band.
Andrew:
Let’s talk about recent events first. Tell us about your new song, “Jeff Took A Trip.”
Lee:
“Jeff Took A Trip” is a mix of bluesy Rock, Indie, and Electronic music, and the story of a young man, who goes up North to a seaside town to make himself some easy money and gets himself into a whole heap of trouble, and it doesn’t end well for him, which we’ve clearly expressed in the YouTube video.
Andrew:
What lyrical themes are you exploring with your final music?
Lee:
To be honest, the last music we have out seems to have bought things full circle. “Jeff Took A Trip,” tells a completely fictional story like some of our first songs like “Take Me To Your Crew,” and “Teen TV.” “Sorry” — our final single out towards the end of the Summer — is a love song written by our lead guitarist, Chris D. Bramley. So, for the video, we’re going to shake up the theme of the song and flip it on its head, and we have a reworking of one of our early singles called “Bye Bye” to bring out too, and we’ve told a story of our life driving to gigs around the country and abroad, and the incidents that have happened along the way!
Andrew:
How about the production side of things for the latest release? Do you self-produce, or do you bring in outside voices?
Lee:
For these last tracks, we’ve recorded at RatCat Studios in Nottinghamshire, a really comfortable home studio. Lovely dogs roaming around and a trampoline outside!
Andrew:
Are you into vinyl? Cassettes? CDs? Or are you all digital now? What are a few of your favorite albums, and why?
Lee;
I have a mix of things, mainly CDs. I can’t be bothered with having my computer clogged up or a load of memory sticks. I have so many albums I love, The Band’s first album with the brown cover. I’m really into an album called Liberation by Jeff Beal right now, and the classics like The Clash’s Sandinista, PiL’s Metal Box, The Go-Betweens’ Liberty Belle, and The Black Diamond Express, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, so many wonderful albums, I could go on for days…
Andrew:
What other passions do you have? How do those passions inform your music, if at all?
Lee:
I love true stories — including ones from people I’ve gotten to know — and biographies. I’m also a big independent and classic film fan. So, these mediums 100 percent inspire my lyrics. I would love to try something mixed-media in the future and mix music, and film in some way, shape, or form.
Andrew:
In your opinion, what is the state of the music business these days? Should artists be hopeful? Scared? Both?
Lee:
Get on your knees and pray! No, in all seriousness, there’s money to be made in any industry if you work hard enough and have talent.
Andrew:
Last one. We seem to be nearing a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of COVID-19 restrictions. That said, what’s next on your docket? What are you looking forward to most in the post-COVID world?
Lee:
I really don’t know. I’ve become a bit unsociable, and bored of the whole thing. I would’ve said traveling abroad, but I’ve no rush to pay for a test there when I get into the country and back…no thanks, that’s typical of our greedy Conservative Government. I’ll stay here for now.
Interested in learning more about the music of Prime? Check out the link below:
Dig this interview? Check out the full catalog of VWMusic Interviews, by Andrew Daly, here: www.vinylwritermusic.com/interviews
