e8: Brian Paddock

Courtesy of the Artist

In his distinctive voice, Knoxville-based singer-songwriter Brian Paddock delivers eleven incredibly honest, acoustic heavy story songs on his latest outing, Under New Management. Here, Paddock speaks about the album, the importance of having thick skin, John Prine, and more.

Please share the story behind your album’s artwork.
-The main image on the cover of the album is a photo of me as a kid taken by my Dad at a castle in England. He was stationed in Europe at the time and we had taken a brief sight seeing trip with some family who had come to visit. At some point, my parents had bought me a plastic sword and in the photo, I am challenging the knight to “do battle”. It’s a funny story, but most of the time I still feel like that kid with the plastic sword.

Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
-The vast majority of my songs are from direct personal experience. I do mix in some observations and may alter some details, but I try my best to make sure the content of the songs is real and honest. There may be better or more interesting stories to tell, but these are mine.

Choose one song and tell the story behind it.
-The title track of my record is “Under New Management”. I woke up one morning and made the mistake of turning on the news. They were showing members of Congress discussing a new tax bill and asking questions about the things one would receive tax breaks on. The author of the bill admitted teachers could no longer write off the supplies they purchased out of pocket for classrooms, adoption fees would no longer be a write off (among other things), but corporate jets and the costs associated with moving production to a cheaper, foreign location would be write offs.  I’m no financial expert, but those things seemed to me to be the opposite of what should be in our tax laws, so I sat down and wrote out my frustrations. This was one of the few songs I’ve written that isn’t actually about me or someone in my life, but I think it turned out pretty well.In 2010, when he was 30 years 

---

​Which song of yours gets the best crowd response?
-It really varies from show to show, depending on the crowd. Sometimes the more rockin songs go over better, sometimes is the slow sad ones, or the funny ones. Overall, I probably get the most people complimenting the title track, or the song “Goodnight, Jessica” which is one I wrote for my wife while I was out on tour.
​
What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out?
-If you don’t have a thick skin, get one. You’re going to hear “no”, or nothing at all, 10x more than you’ll hear “yes”. People are going to tell you you’re the best thing they’ve ever seen, then not return your calls or confirm the gig they promised. At some point, someone won’t pay you what they’ve agreed on. You have to be tough, and you have to keep going. The lows are low, but the highs make it all worthwhile.

Have you met any of your heroes? If so, how did it go?
-About 10 years ago, I met John Prine at an unannounced show he was playing at the Station Inn in Nashville. I introduced myself, told him how much his music meant to me, he took a picture with me and I expected that would be the end of it. It wasn’t. He started asking me questions about me, I was unprepared, but amazed at how humble and kind he was. He is exactly the guy you’d imagine him to be by listening to his music, or at least he’s exactly who I imagined he would be. I think the people who say, “never meet your heroes”, need a better quality hero.

Is there a professional “bucket list” item you would love to check off?
-I would do just about anything to get booked to play the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion Festival. I started going to BRRR before I started playing and saw many of my current favorite bands for the first time there and my wife and I initially bonded over some favorites from the festival. Going to Bristol became an annual tradition for us. Getting to be a part of the event which really helped form who I am as a musician(and person) would be something very special for me.

Do you have a favorite gift from a fan?
-I’ve gotten quite a few bizarre things gifted to me over the years, but the one I really appreciate the most, and this is very cheesy but it’s also very true, is people’s time and attention. Few things make me want to keep writing and playing out more than someone genuinely listening to what I’m saying in my songs. Sometimes they want to talk about the tunes after the show, and sometimes they go on with their day, but you can almost always tell when someone is really invested in attentively listening, and it means the world when they take home a CD after the gig.

Website/Facebook/IG