The Tom Petty Project

Today’s episode is a wonderful, sprawling conversation that I had with the inimitable host of the Booked on Rock podcast, Eric Senich. Eric and I met through the Van Halen show, And the Podcast Will Rock, which is hosted by my good pal and Ultimate Catalogue Clash co-host Corey Morrissette. Eric’s knowledge of rock n roll is staggering - and at times quite intimidating - as his insatiable thirst for knowledge is coupled with an excellent memory for facts and timelines. On top of this, he’s just a genuinely nice fella and we spent a really enjoyable couple of hours visiting and chatting about music and of course, Tom’s career. Make sure you check out Booked on Rock. I’ll leave a couple of relevant links to specific in the episode notes but for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversation with Eric Senich.Check out Eric's website here, where you can find links to all the episodes: https://www.bookedonrock.comIf you want to catch my appearance on Booked On Rock, you can find that here: https://tinyurl.com/2e3vsu2nAnd if you want to hear Eric chatting to Warren Zanes about Bruce Springsteen's album, "Nebrask", that's available here: https://tinyurl.com/4wcyhw8aNOTE: There is some profanity during my conversation with Eric.Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyprojectTwitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProjectInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyprojectYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyprojectAll music, ncluding the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.comThe Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".Producer: Kevin BrownExecutive Producer: Paul Roberts

Another excellent conversation with John about an album that we both obviously adore. We both talked a little about how the album lands differently for people of a certain age and particularly the way certain songs resonate with parents. We also get into drumming styles, Spotify stats, and for the first time, we don't run through the producer-for-a-day segment as we agreed heading into this one that you just don't need to change Wildflowers. Or do you.......?Do check out www.4for4.com if you're into fantasy football and follow John on Twitter at @4for4_JohnDon't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyprojectTwitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProjectInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6BLRWuuAR43zHpNKIirOwAll music, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.com/Logo provided Ed Booth, who you can find here: https://edboothart.com/The Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, Conversations with Tom Petty, this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research.

Every story needs an ending and this song gives us that final scene of the hero walking away into the sunset to begin the next chapter of their life. It’s an ending that starts a new beginning. It’s a line drawn under the statement that the entire album makes. The statement that pain doesn’t define us. Our reaction to it does. It brings us back to that thread of redemption that pervades Tom’s entire catalogue. It speaks of the future, rather than the past, as its final word. Today’s guest conversation sees the return, for the second time this week, of Jake Thistle! We recorded this way back in March, when Jake was on the show to talk about his album, The Half Left Out. As always, Jake was insightful and incredibly generous with his time. I simply can’t wait to see him perform down in Gainesville, especially performing the Wildflowers set and then a solo set inside the Heartwood. It’s going to be so cool!You can find the song here: https://youtu.be/nS2C8BmHP-cHere is the alternate version: https://youtu.be/hVENPHePfOEHere's the home demo recording: https://youtu.be/gXyy5paqU1oAnd here's the live version: https://youtu.be/8AKpIYkiivIDon't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyprojectTwitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProjectInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyprojectAll music, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.comThe Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".Producer: Kevin BrownExecutive Producer: Paul Roberts

This episode is a fairly hastily organized chat that I had with Jeff Slate and Jake Thistle about the upcoming Wildflowers and Some of the Rest mini-tour that they’re embarking on which kicks off at the Tom Petty Weekend in Gainesville. It was fun digging into the dynamic between the two of them. We recognized that Jake has been performing with Jeff for pretty much a third of his life, that they haven’t yet nailed out exactly who is singing which songs, and that the name of their supporting band is the Gator City Allstars! You can find tickets for all four (so far) dates here: Jeff Slate: https://jeffslatehq.com/calendarJake Thistle: https://jakethistle.com/eventsDon't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyprojectTwitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProjectInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyprojectThreads: https://www.threads.net/@thetompettyprojectAll music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.comThe Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".Producer: Kevin BrownExecutive Producer: Paul Roberts

I’m expanding the non-Petty aspect of the podcast just a little by looking for conversations with artists who might not be strongly or directly influenced by Tom’s music but share some characteristic or characteristics with his writing or approach to the art of songwriting.This week’s guest, Amelia McLean, is a Nashville-based songwriter who is preparing to release her debut album, possibly later this year. We chatted for a little over two hours and listened to parts of some of the songs from that new album, which she very generously shared with me ahead of our conversation. It takes a lot to surprise me in music these days because, as the Barenaked Ladies once wrote, “It’s all been done”. So how refreshing to find an artist that has something original to say and has found the perfect collaborators to bring her artistic vision to life.Amelia uses her own life experiences, some of which have been hugely unpleasant, to create these beautiful, sometimes haunted, sometimes heartbreaking, always powerful sonic oil paintings which you can stand back and admire as a whole or get close to and really admire the detail and precision of a master at their craft. There is a depth, humanity, and reslience that underlies her work, making it a deeply affecting journey that she brings us on, as she tells of something of her life and herself through her songs.You can find Amelia on social media at the following places:Instagram: https://instagram.com/ameliamcleanmusicThreads: https://www.threads.net/@ameliamcleanmusicYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDwyDGK6iHsqkO_EN4dC4AYou can also support Amelia on her Patreon account, here: https://patreon.com/AmeliaMcLeanDon't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.FB: https://facebook.com/thetompettyprojectTW: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProjectIG: https://instagram.com/thetompettyprojectYT: https://youtube.com/@thetompettyprojectTH: https://www.threads.net/@thetompettyprojectAll music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.comThe Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.Producer: Kevin BrownExecutive Producer: Paul Roberts

Tom explains to author Paul Zollo in “Conversations with Tom Petty” that “I remember us tracking it all night and being really frustrated that it wasn’t working. Then they came on the idea of having us all walk out, and “Play this like we’ve never heard it before. I’m just gonna start playing, and whatever we fall in on, we’ll go that way.” And that was the take. It worked. I started to diddle on guitar, we went around a couple of times, Ferrone dropped in on that beat, and bang, we had it. But we would have never had that feel if we hadn’t have done that.” And this is one of the many reasons why Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are one of the all time great rock n roll bands. They can just improvise and come up with exactly the right feel for a song as epic in scale and emotional weight as Crawling Back to You. Tom concludes by saying “That’s the value of a live group in the studio. I’d have never come up with that without them.”Today’s guest conversation sees the return of the very first Tom Petty fan I spoke to on the podcast, the wonderful, encyclopedically knowledgeable Dallas Heliker! We dug into the alternate take, live takes and discussed differences, strengths and… well there are no weaknesses in this song are there!? We also dug pretty heavily into the lyrics of this one and the differences between the lyrics in the demo version and the final version. It was fantastic to reconnect with Dallas and this certainly won’t be the last time he’ll appear on the show.You can find the song here: https://youtu.be/QqAEigytf7IHere is the alternate version: https://youtu.be/5ccIrg3AWWMHere's the home demo recording: https://youtu.be/BbiAeqH4TsAAnd here's the fantastic PBS special version: https://youtu.be/OtbzIDnEGsIDon't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyprojectTwitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProjectInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyprojectAll music, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.comThe Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".Producer: Kevin BrownExecutive Producer: Paul Roberts

Today’s episode is part two of my wonderful conversation I had with Nora Hayward Olsen; her answers to my ten questions. Nora hit me with a new artist I'd never heard of and was most apologetic about her decision in the choice between Mudcrutch and The Traveling Wilburys! Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyprojectTwitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProjectInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyprojectAll music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.comThe Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".Producer: Kevin BrownExecutive Producer: Paul Roberts

Today’s episode is an excellent conversation I had with Tom Petty superfan Nora Hayward Olsen. Nora comments frequently on the podcast socials and was every bit is personable, warm, and funny in person as she is online. Nora was at one of the Fillmore show where the band played Heartbreakers Beach Party which ended up on live album release. That song was only ever performed six times live, so it’s super cool that Nora was there for that one! We chatted about that and about how Tom’s music has changed for her over the years and all sorts of things in between! Sit back, relax, and enjoy, hopefully as much as I did, my conversation with the wonderful Nora Hayward Olsen!Don't forget to follow me on social media, like, subscribe, and please, leave a rating if you like the show.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetompettyprojectTwitter: https://twitter.com/TomPettyProjectInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetompettyproject/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thetompettyprojectAll music other than the piano version of Wildflowers, including the theme song, provided by my very best friend Randy Woods. Check him out at https://www.randywoodsband.comThe Tom Petty Project is not affiliated with the Tom Petty estate in any way and when you’re looking for Tom’s music, please visit the official YouTube channel first and go to tompetty.com for official merchandise.A last very special thanks to Paul Zollo. Without his book, "Conversations with Tom Petty", this podcast wouldn't be nearly as much fun to research. And further thanks to Warren Zanes for his outstanding book "Petty, the Biography".Producer: Kevin BrownExecutive Producer: Paul Roberts