Interview: Rick Price on Hometown Album, Tour and Heaven Knows
Interview by Sheldon Ang
Australian singer-songwriter and ace musician Rick Price is travelling across 23 cities and towns with his latest record, Hometown – his 12th studio album and the first of original material in 9 years since the release of Tennessee Sky in 2015.
Initially known for big ballads of broken hearts such as Heaven Knows, Walk Away Renee and Not a Day Goes By, Rick Price revisits his country roots in Hometown, in what he describes as a full circle record. The ten-track album is an ode to nostalgia, narrating the stories of his earlier years and the obstacles of life, weaving across a spectrum of emotions from childhood anxiety and vulnerability while finding the inner strength through faith, spirit, tenacity, and self-belief.
Sheldon Ang, writer, photographer and founder of Sheldon Ang Media sits with Rick through a philosophical discussion on Hometown, the tour, childhood anxiety, challenges, strength, ageing, the 90’s classics, the biggest heartbreak of his life, and of course, Heaven Knows – which is indeed a true story, as the Nashville-based lyrical poet reveals if she eventually returned…in kind.
See the bottom of the article for the full video interview
Sheldon: I met you at the Don Russell Performing Arts in Forest Lakes – my old suburb in Perth. You did some karaoke with a lady, while you were signing autographs.
Rick: Oh, yeah. I love that venue. It’s good fun. It was good, wasn’t it.
Sheldon: So do you live in Nashville or are you in Australia?
Rick: Yes I do I live in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve been there about 15 years. I spend a good deal of time in Australia every year, at least 3 or 4 months.
Hometown the Album – a country story
Sheldon: Congratulations on your upcoming album Hometown, available on pre-sale from your website. Seven tracks are country songs and three are the sentimental kind. Tell us about the process…I mean you are more of a country singer, these days?
Rick: Well, I’ve always been influenced by country, rhythm and blues. I suppose you could say, as a kid, I loved all the country music scenes, and I love country songs because they were storytelling songs, which is how I write – a lot of the time.
I’ve had a fusion of more mainstream pop stuff and roots-based records, like the contrast between my first two albums – Heaven Knows and Tambourine Mountain. You can really see the contrast there. But yes, there is definitely, country and rhythm and blues influences in the new record. I really love that – storytelling songs, of course, the album is called Hometown which is about growing up in a little town in Queensland. And also what life is like for me today and my philosophy and my spiritual life, all of that sort of thing is included in the song. So I feel like it’s a full circle record in a way sort of come back to my roots.
Sheldon: So you’ve always been a country boy at heart.
Rick: Yeah, I’ve always love country music. My records don’t sound like modern country. I’m not a big fan of a lot of the modern country music. I’ll just be honest with you. But I love old school country, which sort of qualifies the sort of the 60s and 70s country and even back to Hank Williams and all that.
So, it’s the style of writing, it’s this style of storytelling etc. but yes, definitely those influences, moving in the music now.
Hometown the Single, and the 9-year-old boy
Sheldon: One of my favorite tracks from the new album is the track title, Hometown. There is this ode to nostalgia. Even listening to the first few seconds, I knew this will be a heart-wrenching song. So you mentioned in the lyrics something about the weight on your shoulders…on a very cold night. You spoke about a bittersweet moment. That’s a lot to bear for a nine-year-old kid. So if you don’t mind sharing – what happened to you back in 1970?
Rick: Man, you’ve really done your research. I appreciate that. That’s good man…you know what you’re talking about. So thank you I really appreciate it.
Those comments in the song mean that like as a nine-year-old kid, I was quite an anxious, hyper-vigilant child, you might say.
I was very alert to the elements of the world. And I think that’s what I certainly meant, what I meant when I said, like, oh man, climb in mulberry trees. And it’s a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon, and all is well, but I’ve sort of internally got the weight of the world on my shoulders.
I was a worried kid. I was a bit of a worrier, which comes with anxiety. I wasn’t overly anxious, but I was aware that I was concerned. I was watching as it was happening so as a nine-year-old when you’ve got those sorts of concerns, it does feel like that was the best way for me to describe it.
I’m a kid climbing a mulberry tree, but I’ve sort of got the weight of the world on my shoulders and worried, as night comes, I get a little angst and a bit concerned about a lot of things. So that was that. And bittersweet – I think because my parents broke up when I was really young – 3 or 4 years old. So there was disturbances in the home, even though there was a lot of love in my family, and still remains that way. I felt very loved. I was never mistreated or anything like that. But when all of that’s going on in marriages, ending divorces, all that stuff is going on in the home – it’s unsettling to little children.
And I remember that even though it was a beautiful setting, it was bittersweet because there were there were hardships and difficulties, that we had to deal with as a family. And that’s just how it is. But look, there’s nothing unique to me. Everyone’s like that. Every life has challenges, you know? So I’m certainly not singling myself out as unique.
Home life, family life is a challenge for everyone. And I just was sort of saying I’m painting a good picture. But at the same time, there were challenges.
The emotion of song writing
Sheldon: Was it difficult to write something as deep when you evoke those memories?
Rick Price: No, it’s not hard for me. I want to dig deep. I want to feel like I’m touching on some emotional points, some emotional triggers if you like. Because I think that when you index songs with emotional themes and pictures and images and stories, it makes your song powerful, not just from my story perspective, but I think what like you said, as soon as you hear the song, you know, oh, this is going to be a deep song.
And when other people hear it, they find their own hometown story in the song. And that’s how music works for me. When I hear a great song, I often think of the great songwriters of Australia – Paul Kelly and people like that, and I listen to his songs and some of them are quite personal.
I think I can put myself in that scene or I can relate in a similar scene. I can relate to that emotionally, and it stirs something up in me, makes me feel alive, and moves me in a certain way. And that’s what I want my songs to do. I want to move people, hopefully not in a bad way, not to upset anyone, but to inspire them and to make them aware of their own experiences.
You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down, life’s challenges, and the inner strength
Sheldon: So your songs are transpired from personal experience, and one of them is called You Can’t Keep a Strong Man A Good Man Down. Is that you?
Rick Price: It is me. Yes, most definitely. And it’s also for others.
I do write sort of from a personal perspective that when the challenges of the world come and they do, I’ve had a lot of challenges in my life. And so for other people – that’s the nature of being a human being on the planet. And so, what really, this song is saying is, when difficult times hit in your life or when difficult times in my life, it’s important for me to not let the circumstances of life overwhelm me.
And they do sometimes. I get overwhelmed, but I can reach in for a higher power that carries me over that because I think everyone has that inner strength, that inner wisdom. We all have it. And when we can really go in and engage with that, it makes us strong and it carries us through difficult times. And when I talk about, sneaky old Satan wants to trick you and harm you and put a fox in your barn and all that, what I’m saying is, I think that’s the nature of the world, it is negative and positive, isn’t it? Challenges come, like what’s happening. And sometimes people do put a fox in your barn. Yeah. And unexpected. And you got to deal with it. And it’s important to be able to move through life. This is me I’m talking to. It’s important to me…and embrace the challenges that come and remain strong throughout.
And if I choose to remain strong through two experiences, what does that mean? Reaching for my foundation, for who I really am? It’s like soul searching, you might say. Some people have philosophical or spiritual or religious beliefs that that carry them over their foundations. I certainly have that that carries me through those times.
But I realise, where is it? Well, go out there for help and try and drag it in. Do I expect help from others? No. You know, it’s lovely when you get it. But what happens if you don’t get it? You’ve got to be able to reach in and find that inner strength within yourself. And I find that inside myself.
I have a foundation that feels strong, that feels confident, that feels it’s got a can-do mentality. And that’s what I want to reach into that and broadcast that out rather than trying to go out there and find help and drag it in. I’ll come empty in here. No, it’s the other way around…I’m full in here…I’m strong in here. It’s all in here. I have everything I need to carry me over. If I engage with it. You see what I’m saying? So go in, and draw on a soul power, if you like. And, that carries me through this difficult circumstance…difficult things happen and you think, oh, God, that’s terrible. You know, but sometimes it’s the right thing eventually, or, you know, a good thing, From all situations, good things come. Isn’t that a lovely affirmation to carry around with you, even from this set of circumstance, good things will come on. I’m Supported. I’m safe. I’m solid. I’m grounded. I’m okay. I’ve got plenty in the tank.
Isn’t that a good way to think? Because when I think and breathe like that, I know. Oh, man. I’m good. I’m solid.
The Tour, and the stories behind the nostalgia
Sheldon: You are touring in Australia. So is this tour similar to the previous one, where it’s a one-person acoustic?
Rick Price: Yes. I love that, solo acoustic performance and environment. It’s a really personal way to connect with the audience. I get to play the songs in the way I wrote them and so that’s good. But I do love that.
I love being able to sort of stop and start at my own pace, and it’s very impromptu. It’s very sort of free to just move in any direction, that I want to go and to improvise the show and the song and the arrangement if I want to. And I can stop and tell stories about the songs are very important to me.
I feel like that connection, when I have that intimate connection with the audience, I can tell a story and say, you know, this is why I wrote the songs. Or give the song a little setup. So is creating the movie for people, to give them more insight into what the song means to me and maybe how they can find their own story in the song. So I love that intimate solo setting for the live shows.
Sheldon: So this is an album tour, Hometown. Will you be doing the classics as well?
Rick Price: Absolutely. I always want to play, my sort of well-known songs or favorites with my audience. I think people will feel a bit ripped off if they can’t go shown and if I didn’t do Heaven Knows and Not a Day Goes By or Walk Away Renee and some of the pop hits I had in my early days. So it’s really nice to get a balance to play those songs and play new songs as well.
The early 90’s and ageing.
Sheldon: How was it like in the early 90s for you? You were…and you’re still a good-looking, man. Back in the 90s, you were one of the hottest stars in Australia. It must be so surreal.
Rick Price: (chuckles) Well, it’s funny, we don’t see ourselves, do we. We really operating on our insecurities for most. You look in the mirror, you think of all that…you’ll notice all the things that are wrong with you, not what’s right with you. But I was very grateful that I had good photographers, people to make good film clips with me – that really made them look beautiful and shot them well.
Well, I’m enjoying being older. I like getting older. I think it’s a privilege to get older. I try to embrace it as much as I can because we all want to stay looking young – sort of. But I like this perspective of like, as we get older, we’re more interesting as people. We’ve got more stories to tell. Our faces tell stories in every wrinkle, as they say, tell stories. And I’ve got plenty of them, but I don’t mind. I’m quite happy to get older and I feel lucky that I’m aging, that I’m living to this age, you know? And a lot of people don’t get to live into their old age.
So I just think it’s wonderful. But I certainly was very happy as a young man. It was just good fun to go out and try to carve out a career with people, and people always said nice things about that. But I never thought about looking in the mirror and say, oh, what a handsome bugger.
I never thought like that. Always thought, oh, the things that are wrong with me. And I still do. But, as I get older, I’m more accepting of myself, you know.
Heaven Knows – Did she eventually return in kind?
Sheldon: Back in 92, I think one of my best friends, he got dumped by his first love.I told him I told him, if you really love her, you got to set her free. If she returns in kind, you know she’s yours. Unfortunately, she didn’t return.
In Heaven Knows – I was wondering, is that a real story, and if so did she return in kind?
Rick Price: Well, she did…briefly, that was what happened. It was a huge heartbreak for me. In any relationship, it’s like a death, if you’re really in love with somebody and you can see yourself spending your life with them, and they decide,You know what…I don’t want to be with you anymore. I need to move on and do something else. It’s a heartbreak, it can really tip you sideways. I was pretty tipped sideways by her, and that’s what inspired the song. But I also knew in the back of my mind, you can’t beg and plea for a person to come back. If they come back of their own steam, then, you know, that’s because they wanted to, not because you’ve convinced them or try to make them feel guilty. I like this idea that we can love…that I can love people today. And if they stay around, wonderful.
If they don’t stay around wonderful, it’s okay. Because all the love I will ever need in my life is inside me – I’m experiencing. It is love. We just attach it to other people and give them ownership of it. Does that make sense? But really, the experience of love and loving that person is all happening inside of me.
And, I understand that now, so that makes me able to love people more freely. I can still get sidetracked into wanting and needing things from certain people, but it doesn’t last long. I realize a lot of the blame when I’m locked out. If I feel like I’m needing and wanting something from somebody, or I want them to behave a certain way, what’s that as mad, you know, so I think of that now. And that was the message in the song in a way I knew it at the time. You can’t trap people. You can’t make it Come back in love that come back.
She did come back briefly. And we’ve remained friends to this day. We’re still friends – which is lovely. She’s a wonderful, wonderful woman, who has gone on to have a beautiful career. And she’s married and she’s very happy in her life.
And we see each other every once in a while. But, she came back briefly, but it wasn’t the same, and I don’t know many situations where you break up with someone and then you get back together and it works. Now, I’ve heard that it can, but I think significant changes need to happen. We haven’t really changed that much.
So she came back, but it didn’t last. You know, we stayed around together for a little while, but we eventually, parted again. It was a very brief re-engagement. And then, we went on because it what just wasn’t meant to be. Her life path was different to mine, and I understand that now. Yeah, that’s what goes on for people.
People have to follow their own…they have to walk their own trail and, nothing changes that. And if you stay on a trail that’s not yours, man, it’s uncomfortable and it’s rocky and it’s vicious terrain. So I try to stay on my own path and not get too preoccupied with anyone else’s path that I can.
And did Renee look back?
Sheldon: And she has nothing to do with Renee?
Rick Price: No, I didn’t write, Walk Away Renee. That’s an old song from the 60s that was written by a group called The Left Bank. I just love the song. I didn’t even in a lot of ways I went on record. I said, I still don’t really know what this song is about, but I just loved it.
I love the chorus and I and when I was making my Heaven Knows album, I was rehearsing with the band that I had. So these amazing, musicians that I worked with, for this record and they came up with this, like I had this great guitar player, Michael Thompson came up with this incredible guitar arrangement right there on the spot.
And I was shock and I said, I wanted to record this, and it was a song that I’d worked up with a buddy of mine in Australia, but we never really took it to the final production. So I took some of those ideas as well, melded it all together. We came up with a really unique version of the song, I think, and it ended up in a movie, I think in the States in Home Alone or so, in one of those movies. And so that was good.
I like those old songs. I just don’t really write songs like Heaven Knows much anymore. I just that’s not my world anymore. I’m not pining for somebody or heartbroken. And if I do get heartbroken over something, I don’t want to stay there.
You know? I want to focus on all the positive things going on in my life. You got to feel your pain and your wounds and your emotions. You have to feel them. You can’t bury them up and out. Friend of mine used to say, it’s got to come up in an outbreak. In other words, if you have a troublesome experience, you’ve got to feel it and really embrace the feeling of go hard into it, lean all the way.
Oh my God, I’m heartbroken. Oh my God, I feel so rejected. Also. And now I feel so let down. I’m still so hurt. But you can’t stay there. You get to climb up out of that and you got to let it up and out like it’s a wound. You know? I sound like I know an awful lot about life – I don’t, I’m just old. I’ve lived a long time (chuckles).
Sheldon: You look like, in your 40’s still (Rick chuckles). One of your fans is in this collage. The top photo is from the early 90’s. The bottom is taken last year at Forest Lakes’ Don Russell. Same person. Her name is Amanda Taylor.
Rick: Ah, yes…that’s great. Yeah. Every now and then, people will send that to me a before and after from 30 years ago, and I think, God, I’m so lucky that I have this beautiful connection with people who are now my age, too, you know who were young, at that time. So it’s really nice to have that connection over a long period of time.
Destination WA
Sheldon: So Rick, you’ll be coming to Western Australia next month; Mandurah, Margaret River, Manjimu, and Fremantle in October. So tickets are available from www.rickprice.com?
Rick: That’s correct. All the tickets for all the shows are on my website. But if you come to the website, you can just click on shows and all the ticket, links and show dates to times all the information and tickets, and the new album.
Sheldon: When will your album be released?
Rick Price: It’s available now to preorder on CD and on vinyl. No cassettes, but CD and Vinyl will be out some time in October for the physical release.
And on Spotify, we’re going to stay…going to come a little slow and we’ll release song by song.
Rick’s Singing Masterclass – Yes you can
Sheldon: And finally, you teach music writing and vocal projection,
Rick Price: I run masterclasses about 3 or 4 times a year. And I really, really enjoy it. And I’m teaching about singing and songwriting and performance, and it’s not really as much about technical things, singing or technical aspects of songwriting or technical things about performance. It’s more about what’s going on inside you internally. What are the roadblocks that are stopping you from achieving your goals and living your dreams? Because I’m a big believer in people living their dreams. You got to dream. You may as well live it because that’s your path. That’s your destiny. And so when people have an interest in singing and songwriting – it’s not a mistake. They need to follow that. And sometimes we just don’t give ourselves permission. People say, Oh that’s alright for Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Rick Price, But you know, who am I to think that I can get up on the stage and do that? And I say, well, you can. And, that’s what I do. I’m helping people internally, consciously, trying to go. Let’s go inside and see if you’ve got any roadblocks or any false stories about yourself that are prohibiting you from living your dreams and making music in tune with the world, whatever it is you might want to do goes beyond music in a way, but I focus my classes on singing and songwriting and performance, and as a songwriter, I realise that, you know, there’s that sort of channel of spontaneity that’s always open to us.
(and Rick Sings) I’ve got a song in me right now, I can just make up a melody right now,
Right there, is there all the time. But we just don’t know. We can tap into them because people stop when I say sing the melody and I go, oh, it’s because I think they’ve got to sing a good melody, right?
I said, hey, don’t worry about the good ones. Just sing any old one. So in brief, without going into it too much, talk a lot about tapping into your inner world artistry, about the inner tools of creativity and how to access them. And it’s marvellous. It’s so it’s great and anyone can do it. Anyone.
Sheldon: I don’t know about anyone! But Rick, it’s such a pleasure to have a chat with you, mate. Hopefully, I will be able to photograph in your gigs, in the coming October. Thank you very much, sir. Thank you,
Rick Price: Thank you, Sheldon, it’s really just wonderful to be with you. And I really enjoy chatting with you, mate. Thank you. Catch you later. Bye.
Visit www.rickprice.com for albums, tour information, merchandise, masterclass, and more
“HOMETOWN” TOUR
Tickets are available from www.rickprice.com
SEPTEMBER
Friday 13th Nambour RSL Nambour QLD
Saturday 14th Lefty’s Brisbane QLD
Sunday 15th Helensvale Tavern Gold Coast QLD
Friday 20th Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge Marrickville QLD
Saturday 28th Scarborough Harbour Brewing Scarborough QLD
Sunday 29th Bone Idol Brewery Toowoomba QLD
OCTOBER
Saturday 5th Flinders Hotel Port Augusta SA
Sunday 6th Beach House Café Victor Harbour SA
Wednesday 9th Redmanna Waterfront Restaurant Mandurah WA
Thursday 10th The River Margaret River WA
Friday 11th Gatsbys Manjimup WA
Saturday 12th Duke Of George Fremantle WA
Saturday 19th Birds Basement Melbourne VIC
Friday 25th Woopi Brewery Co Woolgoolga NSW
Saturday 26th Sanctus Brewery Maclean NSW
Sunday 27th The Welders Dog Armidale NSW
NOVEMBER
Friday 8th Moffat Beach Brewing Company Production House Caloundra West
Saturday 9th Club Parkview Goodna QLD
Sunday 10th Brass Monkey (Lunch Show) Cronulla NSW
Thursday 14th Centro CBD Wollongong NSW
Friday 15th QIRKZ Abermain NSW
Saturday 16th Avoca Theatre Avoca Beach NSW
Sunday 17th Royal Hotel Queanbeyan (Afternoon show) Queanbeyan NSW
Sunday 24th Thirsty Messiah Broadmeadow NSW
DECEMBER
Thursday December 5th Agrestic Grocer Orange NSW
About the Writer and SAM: Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) are a source of news and features on live entertainment. SAM have been accredited to over 100 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), KISS, P!NK and Robbie Williams with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, UB40, Delta Goodrem, The Wiggles and Toni Childs on social media. The founder has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro (pictured below), Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 50 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Albany as a music journalist
