Prong singer/guitarist Tommy Victor is set to launch a new YouTube series, Tommy Plays Prong, Retrospects Of Music And Life. Two trailers can be found below.

“Prong was definitely a Lower East Side band” says Tommy. “We weren’t a bunch of kids in the suburbs playing in garages. We were part of that whole art scene, the same scene as street artists like Keith Haring and Basquiat. It was a completely different world back then. A lot of people were willing to live Spartan lifestyles in shitty conditions in this fantasy art world.

“I grew up in Flushing, Queens, and used to go down to Bleecker Bobs in the east Village to and look for New Wave records. I waited in line for hours at CBGB’s to watch the early Ramones, and New York Dolls shows. Eventually I ended up finding an apartment in the Village Voice on 2nd Ave between 2nd and 3rd St. for $350 a month. It was poor Ukrainian Immigrants, biker gangs and drug addicts. Nobody wanted to live down there."

“This was all before the existence of digital technology and cell phones,” explains Victor. “We didn’t have much communication with the outside world. The outside world to us was, like, Bayonne New Jersey, or Bensonhurst in Brooklyn. Even bands from DC or Boston seemed alien to us. The only communication between scenes we had was the fanzines. That’s how Prong got a lot of recognition. Really, the whole scene survived through tape-trading demos and fanzines.”

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

(Photo - Tim Tronckoe)