On Wednesday, had the wonderful opportunity to interview Mississippian Paul Thorn. He has an incredible story to say the least. He's a PK (preacher's kid), and most notably, a former professional boxer. He even went six rounds in a nationally televised match against Roberto Duran back in 1988. After his boxing career was over, he went back to what he'd been doing since he was a kid - playing music. After playing local gigs, he was discovered by Miles Copeland (brother of Stewart Copeland of The Police) and soon after signed a record deal. He's opened for notable acts such as Mark Knopfler and Sting. He was just in town supporting his 9th full-length release and his most successful yet - "Pimps and Preachers."
As he shared, the album represents the two different people in his life. The "pimp" is is uncle that showed up at his doorstep when he was just twelve-years of age. His long lost uncle that many in his family thought was dead. And yes, he was a "pimp." His father, on the other hand, was a "preacher." The point in sharing these two polar opposites, the evil and the good, is that each of them became equally influential in Paul Thorn's life. His father taught him incredibly valuable things but his uncle also taught him some things about this "evil world" that his father could never have.
Anyway, thought I'd just share my admiration for not only another musician, but an artist that is also telling an incredible story through his writing. Each of his songs tells a story - my favorite, (and his dad's too) is "I Don't Like Half the Folks I Love." Here's a video link to Mr. Thorn that you might be interested in.
