Tim Pryce - Powerhouse part III

Dan, Ivan and Tim with Powerhouse, Photo courtesy of: Powerhouse

Here's part three of our interview with Powerhouse guitarist, Tim Pryce. Big thanks to Tim for answering our questions and being one of the good guys all these years. Also, thanks to Ivan for sending me the Powerhouse DVD, which spawned the whole idea to make this interview happen. Check out Tim's new blog, http://timpryce.blogspot.com/ Still friends… Tim DCXX

How did things come together with Powerhouse and New Age Records?

I was writing to everyone I could all the time, making great friends. I think it was Jeff Terranova from Up Front who first got me in touch with Mike from New Age. We used to talk on the phone (back when long distance calls cost TONS of $) all the time. Jeff from CT, Mike in CA and me in Miami. We all hit it off so well, Mike liked the demo a lot, and he was very cool about wanting to do the EP. We were super happy about it.

What memories do you have from the 7" recording session?

I remember that it went pretty smoothly, we recorded on tape then (this was just before Pro Tools and stuff), so there was quite a process to go through, but we had a lot of fun - and a BIG back up vocal session!!


Ivan brings it down with Powerhouse, Photo courtesy of: Powerhouse

Favorite tracks off the 7" and why?

For me, A First Time and Still Friends stick out because they were the songs that had the most personal meaning to Ivan and me. I mean… Ivan is still my closest friend… I wrote Still Friends about him - and he sang it loud right back. A First Time was really about uniting everyone together and controlling the strife that we did have in our scene. It meant a lot to us that it seemed to bring a lot of people together.

Once the 7" was released, what kind of changes did you see within the band and outside of the band as well? Did Powerhouse's popularity peak after the release of the 7"?

Well, we did write & play about 6 more newer songs after the EP came out that we never got to record. Ivan and I were growing into a lot of post-HC stuff, listening to a lot of Quicksand, Rollins Band, Fugazi, Jawbox… even stuff like The Melvins & Helmet. I believe our very last show was with Quicksand in 1990 in Tampa. We wanted to progress a bit – but it was hard to find like-minds at the time – it was frustrating.

When and what brought forth the break up of Powerhouse? If there was anything you could change about how things went or turned out, what would you do differently?

Actually, there was no big blow-out or anything. We all remained close, but were going in different directions. Ivan and I were trying to put something together for a while after that, but then he moved back to Arizona for a bit, so that was put on hold. It’s kinda strange that we never really did a “farewell” show, or a reunion, for that matter, but we did stay involved in the scene and the music that was happening at the time.


Back cover of Powerhouse 7"

What kind of interest do you get from kids these days regarding Powerhouse? What are your thoughts on the band's legacy? How do you look back on those days with the band and the band in general?

I still can’t believe that anyone really remembers the band as well as so many people do – it makes me (and Ivan too) very happy. When I was playing and doing a little touring with Where Fear And Weapons Meet, I was surprised by how many people I met who knew about us… Lately, we’ve been talking & getting back in touch with a lot of great people we used to know. There’s a really cool HC band down in Miami that plays A First Time in every set! We just saw them play in Gainesville and it was really great. They are called Hardware Youth – great people who really have a blast playing cool HC stuff. They do it really well.

We (Ivan and I) look back on those days with a lot of great feelings. I think we did something really cool and fun, made tons of great friends all over the place, and it feels really good to be remembered in a positive way.

What are you up to these days and what kind of connection do you have to the other members of Powerhouse?

Well, Ivan and I are of course still very, very close. We both have teenage kids and we live about an hour or so away from each other in northern FL, but we’re still friends with everyone we played with. Dan (who went on to play in Cavity) & Scott Baldwin – great people… as well as a lot of people who were just a big part of what we did at the time. Sadly, we lost Andy and miss him very much… that is a horrible thing for us to think about. He was a great man, and a great musician as well.

Well, Ivan and I have been working on something that might be really fun with a couple of other great musicians… hopefully before year’s end… stay in touch if you’re interested! You’ll probably hear about it here first!!!

Thanks Tim!!


Tim Pryce and Ivan White of Powerhouse, 2010, Photo courtesy of: Tim Pryce