Scott Pryor swaps cameras and scripts for mics and guitars as he finally shares his debut album. Across the 12 songs on this record, Scott brilliantly holds a mirror up to celebrity culture, family tragedy, addiction, veteran struggles, the dark side of social media, and the issues plaguing modern America.
Scott Pryor is choosing 2024 as the year he will finally make his mark in the music world.
Pryor, a filmmaker, actor, attorney, and entrepreneur, has spent most of the last 20 years earning his stripes in the film world. His top achievements are writing, directing, and producing several films, including the widely acclaimed films The List, Blackbear, and Tulsa. Scott’s extraordinary success in the entertainment world has also seen him set up his own production company, Pryor Entertainment.
But in recent years, Scott has partnered with some of the most significant figures in the music world to make his long-in-pipeline debut album.
Having been influenced by bands such as U2, Imagine Dragons, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Guns ‘N’ Roses, Scott wanted to make unabashed music in its alt-rock style. To help him perfect his sound, he teamed up with renowned vocal coach and producer
"Mama Jan" Smith (Rob Thomas, Usher, Justin Bieber) along with musician and producer Jesse Owen Astin (Demi Lovato, Juliet Simms, Billy Ray Cyrus).
Working with this team - and in their award-winning studio - Scott wanted to ensure he had all the resources he needed to make his first album a success story. Scott expressed his ideas: “My vocal coach, co-writer, and mentor, Heidi Huelskoetter (Jan Smith Studios), encouraged me to pursue this project. I am grateful for this team's songwriting and production skills as they continue to bring out the best in me."
On the album itself, Scott tells stories from different vantage points about the hurdles we face. On ‘Breakaway’ - the album’s lead single, January 26 - the singer recalls a problematic conversation he had with a friend about addiction. In the song’s lyrics - against a backdrop of coruscating alternative-rock riffs - he explores the “tug of war” that takes place daily between a person with an addiction and the drug they’re addicted to.
Meanwhile, on songs like ‘Ecstasy and Agony’ and ‘Say Goodbye,’ he offers honest reflections on the chaos of breaking up with someone, even if you know the break-up will cause you immense pain.
There are also songs here that address celebrity culture and celebrity worship, such as the aptly named ‘Celebrity’ and the sardonic track ‘Cellophane Self.’ Scott brilliantly shares his raw, unfiltered views on the entertainment industry in these songs after a lifetime of working in it.
But perhaps the best and most heartfelt song on the album is ‘Wide Awake,’ which was written in memory of Scott’s son Elijah, who died by suicide early in 2023. As the artist himself says, both his life and his album took on “new meaning” following the loss of his son. He was devastated but decided to write for Elijah, so his memory lived on in the music.
Check out Scott Pryor’s debut single, ‘Breakaway.’