Photo by Genaro Molina for the Los Angeles Times
Tom Pettyās unexpected passing MondayĀ left the music world shook, in large part because the 66-year-old seemed to be rolling along as usual, having just completed a 40th anniversary tour that was the Heartbreakers’ most successful to date. In the aftermath of his tour-closing three-night run at the Hollywood Bowl, Petty sat down with Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles TimesĀ for a forward-looking conversation thatās now heartbreaking in the context of Pettyās sudden passing. Over the course of their hour-long conversation, Petty shared his upcoming plans both as a solo artist (a second Wildflowers album, producing The Shelters’ sophomore LP) and with The Heartbreakers (“Itās amazing that weāre still doing it, and doing it well”). He also spoke passionately about the joy of listening to and creating music.
You can listen to the full interview here, and find a few of the most notable passages below.
On the joy listening to music still brings him:
āI love doing [SiriusXM radio show] Buried Treasure. It keeps me listening like I used to do. I always listen. I could come home and I would spend the rest of the night just lying on the floor or the sofa listening to albums. It was like a movie to me. I still do really, and doing the radio show ensures that Iāll be sitting there listening.ā
On staying driven:
āItās hard for me … If I donāt have a project going, I donāt feel like Iām connected to anything. I donāt even think itās that healthy for me. I like to get out of bed and have a purpose… I compare it to fishing: Thereās either a fish in the boat or thereās not,ā he said with a laugh. āSometimes you come home and you didnāt catch anything and sometimes you caught a huge fish. But that was the work part of it to me. ⦠I just remember being excited when I had a song done, and I knew I had a song in my pocket, I always felt really excited about it.ā
On the joy that creating still brought him:
āTo go into a studio and hear a band play [one of his new songs] for the first time is always exciting. And usually when they play it, it became something I hadnāt even pictured. Yes, I love the studio. I love the studio as much as I love playing live, easily. Iām pretty much in one every day, and Iām still at that.ā
On what could stop The Heartbreakers:
āIf one of us went down,ā he said, āor if one of us died ā God forbid ā or got sick ā¦,ā letting his voice trail off at the thought of it. Weāre all older now,ā he said softly. āThen weād stop. I think that would be the end of it, if someone couldnāt do it.ā
On his purpose for creating music (donāt read this one if you donāt want to tear up):
āThe thing about the Heartbreakers is, itās still holy to me. Thereās a holiness there. If that were to go away, I donāt think I would be interested in it, and I donāt think they would. Weāre a real rock ānā roll band ā always have been. And to us, in the era we came up in, it was a religion in a way. It was more than commerce, it wasnāt about that. It was about something much greater⦠It was about moving people, and changing the world, and I really believed in rock ānā roll ā I still do. I believed in it in its purest sense, its purest form. ⦠Itās unique to have a band that knows each other that long and that well⦠Iām just trying to get the best I can get out of it as long as it remains holy.ā
The music world has been paying tribute to Petty, as have we here at CoS, follow this link for our full coverage. RIP Tom.