Live at Lake Effect is our music series featuring local and nationally touring artists performing in the Lake Effect Surf Shop in Shorewood, Wisconsin.
We brought the Lake Effects together, along with Visionary Studios, to showcase musicians once a month through an interview with the band exclusively on Lake Effect, plus filmed performances.
This episode features singer-songwriter Paul Thorn. Born in Kenosha, Wis. and raised in Tupelo, Miss., his musical style is a mix of blues, country, gospel and Southern rock thanks to his upbringing as the son of a Pentecostal preacher.
"Tupelo is most famous because that's where Elvis [Presley] was born and believe it or not I grew up in a lot of the same exact churches that Elvis attended," says Thorn. "And I know so many old people that, you know, that knew Elvis and everything, and then he was just a guy that went to school with."
Thorn says going to different Black and white Pentecostal churches and learning about different music styles such as Blues and country western gospel served as his early music education. "I got a really good training ground to learn about music just going to church," he notes.
"I'm no longer engulfed in the church like I was growing up, but I still have a lot of fond memories of it and it was the main building block of me learning how to play," Thorn adds. "Because at three years-old I was standing in front of a congregation singing 'I Saw the Light,' so I wouldn't be doing this without the church experience, I don't think."
He notes that his church upbringing also taught him "the big secret" of involving the crowd as much as possible in order to deliver a quality show. Thorn's live performances are never one in the same, much like a preacher's sermon. "Preachers are there to give a message of hope and all that, but they also gotta be entertainers," he explains.
Thorn also learned from friends along the way like the legendary John Prine, who Thorn got to open for many times and credits him with helping him build his audience. "[John] was everything they said he was and then some," says Thorn. "He was actually going to sing with me on my last record — he agreed to do it, it was a duet song, and I was so excited about it then he selfishly died," he jokingly adds.
Despite dedicating the last nearly three decades of his work to music, it wasn't Thorn's only career. In fact, he was a professional boxer who worked his way to a nationally televised fight with former world champion Roberto Durán. While both jobs might be under the "entertainment" umbrella, Thorn says he considers them two separate things in his life.
"They're completely different to me for a lot of reasons, but one of the reasons is when I go on stage I'm not feeling fear," he explains. "But I had 50 fights and I never went into the ring when I wasn't scared. Any boxer that's honest will tell you the same thing."
While Thorn is only on stages and not the ring, he still trains and exercises in the same manner to keep a strong mindset towards his life and music.
"Everybody gets to a certain place doing a certain thing, and my thing is you know right before show if I'm not ready now I ain't going to ever get ready," he notes. "I always say 'Don't get in shape, stay in shape,' you know what I mean? I try to stay in shape because if you got to get in shape that means you ain't in shape."
SET LIST
- It's Never Too Late to Call (0:13)
- Joanie the Jehovah Witness Stripper (3:24)
- Where Was I? (6:13)
MUSICIAN
- Paul Thorn: vocals, guitar
Live at Lake Effect Team:
- Executive Producers: Audrey Nowakowski & Trapper Schoepp
- Audio Engineering: Jason Rieve
- Location: Lake Effect Surf Shop in Milwaukee
- Production Company: Visionary Studios
- Camera Op: Kieran Walter Sundaram, Jessie Wolff & Kelly Pudroski
