Photo Ops is the moniker of Terry Price, a singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. His new album, “Pure at Heart,” was released in September. While there has always been a yearning in the melodies of Photo Ops tunes, his new songs channel those feelings into more wistful vignettes of living in a city that has the distinct juxtaposition of being surrounded by people but somehow constantly feeling alone.
We spoke about the making of his latest album, Pure at Heart, his chance meeting (and brief friendship) with Adam Schlesinger, and what the future holds for his musical style. See the Q&A below the album stream.
On writing and recording Pure at Heart…
Terry Price: I [went into the studio for] a week in August of 2017 and another week in December 2017. [With those] 10 songs I was able to get a manager on board, and we were trying to get a label involved. We couldn’t get one, so my manager said, “okay, this is what we do: we record 4 more songs as singles ... and then we self-release those and send you on the road touring as much as you can manage.” I started talking to another label in the fall. They were like “you should put 2 of the ones you already put out this year on the album.” Then the label ghosted me. Not the first time that’s happened to me, by the way. [laughs] But I’d already worked really hard to reincorporate some of the songs I’d put out on to the album, so [I included] 3 of the songs I had written and recorded last year. So it started in 2017 but finished last year, so it’s not that old, really.
On recording during COVID…
Terry Price: I’ve been building up my home studio a bit. My plan is to continue to work with Patrick Damphier — the guy I’ve been working with through the whole Photo Ops project — but he’s in between studios and building his own studio and I’m not really sure what his timeline is. I’m trying to get to a place where I can do a lot more on my own recording-wise if need be because I have a lot of ideas I’d like to start exploring.
On the future sound of Photo Ops…
Terry Price: I don’t know how much I want to keep relying on the rock band formula for arrangement styles. I’ve always liked the idea of a solo artist calling themselves a band name and presenting as a band, but it’s actually just one person’s project. Being able to hit the road last year a lot I just ended up playing a lot of solo shows or just me and one other person kind of shows, and I got a lot of good feedback.
Albums are different than live shows, and I’m okay with them being different, but I do want to see how much I can get away with sort of taking out the rhythm. On this new album, Patrick played all the drums and all the bass. I gave him full reign and it sounds so good. I’m so proud of how that record sounds. But at the same time, if I’m going to go out and be more of a solo performer, I don’t want to necessarily have to worry about getting drum sample sounds in a soundcheck. Like, “oh, are the drums loud enough for my solo performance?” I don’t really want to have to worry about that.
Do the songs hit you the same with now — 3 years later with the world turned upside down — as when you wrote them?
Terry Price: Yeah, they do. I basically got seriously started on them after the election [in 2016], and I definitely felt like I have a need to look outwardly in addition to inwardly. The political situation, the state of our country, the fact that it changed so abruptly at the end of 2016 did have a big impact on how I wrote, and I think it holds up. I still relate to it. I feel the need to take a break from the insanity and appreciate the value of natural beauty, musical beauty.
On finally getting a label and meeting Adam Schlesinger…
Terry Price: I think it was April 1st. Two really weird things happened that day. One was [record label] Western Vinyl expressed interest in putting out the album even though a pandemic had just started, which was really awesome and surprising and weird. And also I got word that this guy that I had just met, Adam Schlesinger, had died of COVID. It was just a really strange thing. I met him in December. I played a show in Silverlake last-minute, and afterwards this guy came up to me and said a lot of really, really nice things about my voice and my writing. He said some really insightful things — very specific kinds of compliments — that [made me think], “okay, this isn’t just anybody saying this.” He referenced his band, and [when I asked] “what band?” he said, “they’re called Fountains of Wayne.” I was [thinking] “oh my god are you serious??” We exchanged info and stayed in touch, and then I got to hang out with him again on Valentine’s Day. We sang karaoke and talked about music a lot, and he was just really encouraging. It was crazy to meet someone like that who encouraged me so much. Then he just died. I feel weird talking and posting about it because I didn’t know him that well, but at the same time he had a huge impact on me. And then also the same day getting a message from Western Vinyl expressing interest. It was just a strange, surreal way to move into the pandemic.
On writing music during COVID…
Terry Price: Musically, I have a lot of compositions I’m working on. It’s a lot easier for me to express [those thoughts] musically, but lyrically I don’t know what to say right now. I don’t want to write about politics necessarily, but at the same time, I feel like art requires some kind of hope for the future or some kind of curiosity about the future. I have to wait and see what happens.
Photo Ops’ new album “Pure at Heart” was released on September 18, 2020, and is available on Bandcamp or wherever you stream music.
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