MK Magazine Interviews

PRONG

Unfinished Business: Tommy Victor of PRONG
Interview By Nikki Neil

Since the release of Primitive Origins in 1987, Prong has blasted its way across America making friends with fans and peers alike. Over the years Prong created an uncompromising style of music that influenced many with its provocative mix of thrash, metal, techno and hardcore. During the course of its lifetime the group released six albums and two EPs, and with each release Prong's loyal cult following, ranging from metal devotees to techno freaks, grew.

In 1997 Prong unofficially disbanded and Tommy Victor seemingly disappeared from the music world without a word or trace. People began to ask, "What happened to Prong?" Friends inquired, "Have you seen Tommy?" But devoted fans never lost faith that one day their beloved band would return and, in time, their loyalty paid off.

After a five-year absence the pioneering industrial rock act is back with Victor at the helm. The group is tighter and harder than ever and, once again, is poised to turn the underground upside down. Those who have witnessed the newly reformed Prong-also featuring Brian Perry (bass), Dan Laudo (drums), Monte Pittman (tour guitarist)-attest that this is the best line-up ever.

Nikki Neil: I haven't spoke to you since Rude Awakening came out. How ya been?

Tommy Victor: I've been well. How about you?

NN: No complaints. Welcome back.

TV: Thank you hun.

NN: It's definitely nice to know that Prong is back.

TV: (laughs) Cool.

NN: So obviously the big question is…what have you been doing for the past couple of years?

TV: I moved out to L.A. and I sort of lost track of the seasons. I just wasted a whole bunch of time. It took a really long time to get this thing going again. I had a lot of obstacles to overcome. I was trying to get out of quicksand for a while. I played with Danzig for a year, and then I played with Rob Zombie for six months. After that, I tried to get Prong together because it just seems to be what I'm supposed to be doing in the interim. I sort of just fell into a whole bunch of potholes and quicksand and sort of screwed up my life a little bit and then…You can fill in the blanks. Actually, the last couple of years I've been trying to get this thing going. Monte plays with Madonna, and he had to go do that. So then I got another guy in, Pat Lachman from Diesel Machine and from Halford's band, and he helped me to finally finish this demo. Then I hooked up with a manager and got thrown on the road. Things have been going really well ever since I finally finished the demo.

NN: What exactly happened to Prong after the release of Rude Awakening?

TV: I was getting really disgusted and bitter and full of self-pity about a lot of things that were totally in my head. Epic dropped us and I just didn't want to have anything to do with Prong and the guys. There were just too many disappointments. I spent a lot of time on the Rude Awakening record and it was only out for three weeks and Epic dropped us. And, actually, I was planning on getting a regular job - just throw in the towel - then Glenn Danzig called me up and I went out and played with him for about a year, so that took away from Prong for quite awhile. Then I went to work for Rob Zombie for six months. But, none of those projects seemed to work for me. I finally, god willing, figured out that Prong was the thing I was supposed to be doing. Initially, I was going to form a new project under a different name. I did make a couple of other demos and the response wasn't that great. People said it was too electronic, blah, blah, blah. So, for some reason or another I was weaned into the direction of doing the Prong project and people are really excited about it. There are a lot of fans out there. This tour is going great. I'm quite surprised. I was really down on myself and everything for quite awhile and it took awhile to get out of that whole frame of mind. It was just really bad.

NN: You mentioned that you were thinking of getting a regular job. What would you have done?

TV: Believe it or not, it was going to be fast food oriented. I do have some other talents like sound mixing. I worked at CBGB's for five years as a sound engineer, but the music business just really got to me. I just fell into this really bad rut and, at that point, I would have done anything as long as it wasn't music business oriented. My self-esteem was shot to hell, but somehow that has been lifted.

NN: After all the crap that you went through with Epic, and now that Prong is back together, did you ever consider releasing future Prong albums on your own and just cut out the record company all together?

TV: Yeah, we did. I've sort of been leaving all of those types of decisions up to my manager and our lawyer because I really don't know what is right for me. I've made so many mistakes in my life and so many bad decisions that I'm willing to follow now and be led. We are just going to go with an independent contract. We have a live record that is going to be coming out in October and then a follow up studio record. The actual label hasn't been solidified so I'm not going to say what label, but it is a pretty good deal. We're happy about it. I'm trying to limit my duties these days. I go up and I do what I do. I know Monte is going to be participating and so will Pat in regards to writing the next record. I'm just trying to spread it around a little bit and trust other people to guide me a little bit. Especially with decisions like that. I'm no expert. I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a manager. I'm a guitar player, singer, and a songwriter.
NN: So, your fans will be able to buy new Prong material by the end of the year?

TV: Absolutely.

NN: Did your fans play a big role in your decision to bring Prong back?

TV: No, actually, I didn't know that there were any fans out there. I had not gone on the Internet. I didn't have a Website up. Now that the Website has been up, which is www.prong-23.com, I've been getting a slew of e-mails with people saying, "Thank God you are back. We were waiting." The response has been amazing since we've been on the road. Just all these people from the past coming back and saying, "Where the hell have you been? You fell off the face of the earth." People have just been waiting and now it's time to get a new audience since the band has been gone for five years. I'm overwhelmed that people have been waiting. I'm really grateful.

NN: I bet it feels great to receive such a warm welcome from your fans after being gone for so long.

TV: Yeah. I've been seeing it every night. It's incredible. Every show on this tour has been really good. The response has been amazing. I'm only getting positive feedback from everyone.

NN: Which song do you get the most requests to play live?

TV: Most people would think it's "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck," but people know that song is going to be played. They can take that for granted. We've been getting a lot of requests for really old Prong songs that go back to the days of Primitive Origins and Force Fed, which aren't even on Epic. We've had so many different stages of our career - of my career really - that the style has changed with each record. There's a big coalition of different fans that are at the shows for some reason. I guess mainly because there has been a revival of New York hardcore. There have been a lot of requests for the early songs, which, unfortunately, the rest of the band doesn't even know because they go so far back.

NN: Did you have to refresh yourself on some of the older songs?

TV: I hadn't listened to Primitive Origins for so long, and I didn't have a copy of it. I had to hook up with the guy who ran our fan club for many years and he made me a copy. I'm going to burn that. I enjoy listening to the old stuff. It's pretty funny.

NN: It's funny that you have to burn a copy of your own album.

TV: I don't have any of the stuff because I wasn't living anywhere for a while. I was doing the whole rock thing for a while-living out of my suitcase, crashing on couches, staying in a hotel room for so long. All my stuff is scattered about, stolen…

NN: Are you still living in Los Angeles?
TV: Yeah.

NN: Being that you live in L.A. have you seen Monte play in the band that performs at Club Make-Up?

TV: No I haven't. But I've seen him with Madonna. I know he does a lot of different stuff. He's been really amazing. He's a great guy to have around, and he's an amazing guitar player. He's a blessing.

NN: Will Pat ever come on board as a permanent member or is he just going to collaborate with you on future material?

TV: I don't know. I just take things one day at a time these days. We were working with Monte and then he got the Madonna gig, so that sort of put us on hiatus for a while. Then Pat got involved, and Pat helped me out a great deal with finishing the demo. We wrote a couple of songs together, so I firmly believe that he is going to be at least playing on the album along with Monte. We are going to have three guitar players on the record. We're hoping to get some other special guests as well. Some other guys that are willing to support us and give us a hand.

NN: How does the new sound differ from the past?

TV: It's hard to say. These guys are amazing musicians. If you go on some of the message boards you will see that people are saying that this is the best line-up ever. Jonathan Phillips, the guy who runs our fan club, said, "This is the best line-up Prong has ever had. It sounds better than ever." I think just the quality of playing is really good. We have some songs written and we're working on more. I just think the confidence level is really high and it shows through. I've learned the hard way to just rid myself of all the nonsense that doesn't have anything to do with what I am doing and just focus on what I'm doing for the moment and disregard my place in the rock world. I just have a lot more faith in what is going on these days. I think it really shows through and it has been great. I try not to try too hard and that philosophy has been helping me out a lot.

NN: Are you glad that you have a second chance?

TV: I'm very grateful for that because that is a gift that doesn't necessarily happen to many people. When I was approached to do a tour my first reaction was, "No one is going to come to see Prong. No one even knows we exist any more. Everyone is probably on social security or something." But that was so far removed from the truth. And, that just proved to me how diluted my own thoughts were and how I could stray into negativity and go from believing that I'm the best to the worst in just a matter of minutes. So I try to completely drain myself of all my perceptions of the way things are. It's just the best way to go about it.

NN: So, based on your past experiences what do you plan on doing differently this time around?

TV: Take it easy on myself and everybody else and enjoy each show for what it is, regardless of if there are 20 people or 2,000 or 200,000 people out there. Also, I try to just be really grateful and appreciate everything. Again, the whole thing is a gift. It was just thrown in my lap. All I did was finally finish up a Prong demo, and I've been thrown all these blessings. It's just amazing.

NN: What has been the hardest thing that you've had to deal with so far?

TV: The only thing that is hard to deal with is the fact that I screwed around for four or five years, but I needed to learn a couple of things. I needed to find out a lot of things about human nature. I'm from New York City but I was really naïve when I moved out to Los Angeles. I learned a lot from being in L.A. and dealing with the shenanigans that go out there. It really hit me on the top of the head, but I survived.

NN: L.A. is quite different from New York even though there are similarities. It's a whole different mindset.

TV: Yeah, enough said.

NN: What advice do you have for musicians who are just starting out in their careers?

TV: That is a really good question. I think you have to trust your own higher power and do what you do. It's okay to be a fan, but I think it is best not to be a carbon copy of your favorite band. Don't try to mimic whatever groups are making it right now. Prong has never been the biggest band in the world. It's ironic because most records we come out with get a lot of scathing reviews…"That's a lot different than the last one. This one sucks," or whatever and then five years later, for instance, with the Rude Awakening album people are now saying, "Oh that record was great!" Where were you when it came out? Everyone was blasting it. I didn't get that much positive feedback on it when it came out, so sometimes longevity is good. It depends on what you want to do. Longevity comes when you are just being yourself and you give yourself some time. Relax and don't expect everything overnight. Sometimes it takes time before you get established. It has taken me a really long time to get to the point where Prong can go out and headline a tour. It has taken a really long time to do that.

NN: When I spoke to back in '96, you mentioned that you were working with Trent Reznor on the Tapeworm project. What is going on with that?

TV: I have no idea. I've gotten several e-mails about that issue and for some reason, god willing, whatever it is, when I get involved with a project that is dictated by a bigger name than me I sort of get…I don't know. I don't want to say, 'dicked' on it but… I even went down there and worked on the Manson record. I didn't get any credit. I worked on stuff with Danzig and Rob Zombie and I didn't get any recognition for that, so I don't know. I go and play on these records and then people use my stuff and I never hear anything back from them. I don't have a clue. I did a lot of recording with that project and laid down a lot of tracks and ideas. I haven't been really up on what Nine Inch Nails has been doing or Manson or even Rob Zombie or Danzig for that matter. I don't know how much they've used. I'd love to do something with Trent Reznor and see what happens with it, but I keep my expectations really low because of my past experiences. I volunteer my efforts and it just winds up becoming some kind of resentment or something. But I've freed myself from all that. If I can contribute to the music world I am happy. I don't need to make a gang of cash. If I can stay on this level and do this and just be of service to others in the same way, whether it's playing guitar or hanging out, that is fine with me. That is a reward in itself.

NN: What are you doing to keep yourself in a stable frame of mind?

TV: Staying clean and sober. And, I'm trying not to step on anybody's toes.

NN: Is hard to stay clean and sober now that you are back on the road?

TV: No, actually, it's easier than when I'm hanging around in L.A. where I tend to get a little antsy and restless. Out here I see what jackasses people make of themselves and that sort of deters me. It's just a matter of being responsible. I'm sort of the elder statesman of the whole project, and I'm grateful for being in this position. I have to take responsibility for it, so I can't do a lot of the things that I used to do.

NN: Did you happen to know Layne Staley?

TV: I did. Actually, Ted [Parsons] knew him a little better than I did. Jerry Cantrell hung out with us when we were doing the Cleansing album. It's a shame. It's easy to get into that whole thing. First you have Kurt Cobain and now Layne Staley. I know the vile. I completely understand how you get into that world of ego gratification and it's just never satisfied and you just have to turn it over somehow. What happened to him is a shame.

NN: It really is. Hopefully more people will learn from this. What are some of your favorite places to hang out in L.A.?

TV: I really don't have any. It wouldn't be a club because I never go out to clubs. I try to stay away from everything in L.A. I try to protect myself because it is so easy to get into trouble out there. I think Ralphs (grocery store) is probably my favorite place to hang out.

NN: Are you taking any specific bands out on the road with you or are you playing with local acts?

TV: It is all local support. There were a few shows where we did have support. For the Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Madison shows we had this band called Brand New Sin with us.

NN: Are you listening to anything that is current?

TV: Oh yeah. I don't want to sound completely mainstream but I heard the new KoRn record and I think it is brilliant. I got an early copy of it, so I heard the whole thing. I really love System of a Down. I still listen to a lot of hard stuff like Meshuggah. I also listen to a lot of R&B too. I have to admit that I listen to what is on the radio because I've been sleeping on floors and have been a bum for so long that a lot of my CD's are lost. I haven't been buying that much stuff because I've been really broke too. I'm really satisfied with what is on the radio. Don't crucify me for that. I listen to KROQ (Mainstream Rock) or Power 103 (Top 40 Rock) in L.A.

NN: How do you occupy your time on the road when traveling between shows?

TV: I do a lot of reading. I go on the Internet. Since I'm such a cheapskate I didn't get a laptop, so I'm actually carrying my full tower Gateway PC around and setting it up in hotel rooms. I also go on-line and chat and answer e-mails. I try to keep it simple. I just relax and watch sports, talk to fans, chat it up with the ladies. You know typical stuff.

NN: You mentioned how you used to work at CBGB's. What was probably the most memorable show you have seen there?

TV: Well, I'm not trying to blow my own horn but the most memorable show was when Prong opened up for White Zombie, and War Zone went on before us. We got signed from that show. Unfortunately, there were a million fights that night. It was really crazy. It was pandemonium from start to finish. I was involved in that show, so it wasn't actually a show I saw. As far as one of the shows I've seen, the most memorable was when Agnostic Front did their live album there. I worked on that record. That was an amazing show.

NN: How would you define success?

TV: That is a really good question. I think the definition of success is losing your ambitions and realizing the vanity of self-gratification.

NN: That is one of the best answers I've heard so far. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

TV: Anyone who is willing to chat or listen to the new Prong music we have a song available for deep download on www.prong-23.com. You can also e-mail me through that site, download some new songs, and see some pictures of some really handsome young men.

Posted by Alex Zander at November 1, 2003 12:00 AM