Matt Pryor, one of emo punk’s most critically acclaimed singer/songwriters, has fronted many different bands: Secret Encoder Ring, The Get Up Kids, The New Amsterdams. In the late ’90s, he helped James Dewees get cult synth-pop act Reggie & The Full Effect off the ground; in the mid-2000s, distraught over missing out on his daughter’s childhood, Pryor took a break from touring and wrote two charming children’s albums under the name The Terrible Twos.
But irreverence is not Pryor’s thing. Stretching back to the very first songs he penned as a teenager through The Get Up Kids’ iconic 1999 album Something to Write Home About and into the 21st century with six solo albums and counting, this Kansas City native has always worn his bruised but not broken and damaged but not dead heart bravely on his sleeve.
Pryor’s new solo album, Momento Mori, out this week on Equal Vision/Rory Records, doubles down on that honesty. Lead single “I Will Not Be Afraid” confronts Pryor’s creeping fear of mortality, exacerbated in 2015 by the passing of several close friends. Call it emo folk, call it acoustic punk, call it whatever you want — the song is tenderly devastating but also uplifting, highlighting Pryor’s reedy, robust pipes and his lifelong penchant for blending melancholy and exuberance.
Oh, and Northeast Florida fans, you can rejoice — Pryor kicks off the new tour one night before Momento Mori’s release here in downtown Jacksonville, with longtime friend (and St. Augustine resident) Dan Andriano on the bill.
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Folio Weekly: The tour hasn’t started yet, but do you think the performance of songs from Momento Mori will represent a moment of catharsis for you?
Matt Pryor: I just relearned the songs for tour, and to be completely honest, some of them I didn’t even want to listen. They’re sad [laughs], and playing them was not making me feel better — just reminding me of why I was sad when I wrote them in 2015. They might eventually come around, although that’s never been a magic pill for me: “I’m upset about something, so let me write a song about it and everything will be fine.” That works when I’m angry — anger doesn’t seem to last as long as sadness does. Wow … I haven’t thought about this so deeply.
Well, we all need a song like “I Won’t Be Afraid” in our lives right now. So it’s resonating on that deep of a level.
It’s kind of creepy, because the song is more than a year old. After losing a lot of people in my life in 2015, I wrote all these songs about death and memory — and then 2016 hits and you couldn’t get away from death. It’s, like, “Did I jinx this? Or summon death?”
You’ve always been a nonstop worker, putting out an album a year with one band or another and touring as much as possible. Is that a way of keeping death at bay?
I guess so. [Laughs.] I’m happier when I’m busy, which is one of the reasons why touring can be hard on me. The down-time is really taxing: you drive, sleep and play — there’s not a whole lot to it. I’m a stay-at-home dad with three kids, so when I’m off the road, it’s a mile a minute. Although for this tour, my oldest daughter is actually coming out — she’s a singer/songwriter now and she’s going to back me up on a couple of songs.
That’s amazing. You and Dan Andriano seem like family, too — you’ve toured together many times and recently released two collaborative songs, a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” and the stunning “Gail.”
I must have met Dan in, like, 1998-1999, when The Get Up Kids used to play with Alkaline Trio. But we didn’t really know each other until we started getting paired up on acoustic solo tours. He and I have a very similar laid-back-ness.
Which explains why the tour is starting in Dan’s Northeast Florida home.
[Laughs.] It’s strictly logistical. But I haven’t been to Jacksonville in a while! I can’t wait to go to the beach. Also, the last time The Get Up Kids were in Orlando, we got there a day early and went out the night before to a club near The Social where there was some sort of dance party. We watched this crazy guy that looked just like Prince in Purple Rain — Jheri curl, suede suit on, everything — pull up on a chopper motorcycle. I’ll never be able to “unsee” that guy. We also played a lot of crazy shows in South Florida with the guys from Dashboard Confessional and Newfound Glory’s first bands.
That provides a perfect segue into asking what you think of The Get Up Kids’ impact on emo punk.
How do I phrase this? I don’t want to say I’m not surprised by it, because that sounds like I’m an arrogant person. I don’t think about it that often is the bigger answer. It’s flattering, and I’m glad people like the band. But you liking the band is just as important to me as Blink 182 liking the band. We just do what we do — we did what we did. I’m grateful for [The Get Up Kids’] success. I’m aware of it and I appreciate it. But it doesn’t enter into my daily life, except for when I do interviews.
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